By Nick Henderson 
Have you ever felt like life has become a never-ending hamster wheel? Days consumed by work, laundry, packed lunches, and managing finances far from the dreams you once held. In 2015, we found ourselves caught in that very trap, losing sight of our true passions amid the struggle to keep everything running.
My wife and I had long talks about it and agreed that something had to happen something had to change. We wanted adventure back in our lives. We wanted to travel more, experience more, and we had to find a way through the obstacles so that we could live out our adventures again. But what did that take?
The first thing we agreed on was that we needed a way to keep ourselves focused on the mantra “there needs to be more adventure in everyday life.” To that end, we decided to start a blog where we could share both the small and big adventures we experience and where we could blog about bringing adventure into our lives. We ended up creating Eventyrsstyrelsen.dk to focus more on adventure in the hope that everyday life would no longer trap us in the safe hamster wheel.
Now, three and a half years later, we are still holding on to adventures and Eventyrsstyrelsen. We are still fighting against the safe hamster wheel that can easily trap us in a busy everyday life, but we break free from it at spontaneous intervals. We have found some little tricks that help us stay focused on adventures, and we would like to share them with you.
Would you also like more adventure in your life? Then read on…
1. Get up early and get going
I know the headline sounds banal – but yes, it really can be that simple. Magical things often happen early in the day or at least that’s how it feels.
For example, try getting up at the same time as the sun rises on a spring day. Go out into nature and see the amazing light, listen to the gentle breeze and the birds singing – it’s as if the animals and nature have realized that this is when all the fun starts.
You can also try walking around town early in the morning (when you haven’t been out late the night before ;-)) Experience the very special atmosphere that you find in almost every town in the morning. There is a silence and you can sense the town quietly waking up it’s quite magical.
You may also be on an adventure outside the Danish border, in which case it’s great to leave early. That way, you can experience more of the day when you arrive at your destination and take in the city/nature when you arrive. It can often be a bit heavy if you arrive too late at your destination. Personally, I can get a little annoyed if I don’t get to experience the vibe of a new place a little more before bedtime.
But Peter, I’m a total night owl and hate getting up early. Don’t you have a better idea for an adventure? Sure, read on and see more great ideas for more adventures…
2. Not everything costs money
One of the many bad excuses we’ve had over the years is: “we can’t afford it.” Everything costs money, and so do many adventures. For example, it costs around $10 to go to the movies if we also want soda and popcorn for the film and then we’re “only” entertained for about two hours. If we go to Djurs Sommerland, it costs just under $150 for all three of us to get in plus food and drinks. The same goes for many amusement parks…
One of the things we have learned is that amusement parks are not necessarily the same as adventures. And that adventures don’t necessarily have to cost anything – or at least not much. It’s about opening your eyes to where you can find free adventures or almost free ones.
Think about when you’ve had your best moments and greatest adventures. Write them down and see if there aren’t quite a few that didn’t cost anything.
We’ve done this and found lots of adventures that are as good as free! For example, we might have a chat over morning coffee about whether we should go out and experience something. We talk about what the adventure should involve that day. It could be that we talk about how Sebastian has never seen a desert… We can’t exactly fly to the Sahara to experience a desert, but we can start the car and drive to Råbjerg Mile, which only costs gas for the car. Another adventure could be driving to a town we’ve never been to before just to see what it’s like. Or taking a trip to Mols Bjerge, where you can hike in authentic Danish nature, which we can always do. It’s just a question of what to wear.
There are many possibilities… it’s mostly about being aware that adventures don’t have to cost money.
3. Wish for experiences as gifts
One of the things we make a virtue of in our family is to wish for experiences. We’re not just talking about paid experiences that you can get in a Smartbox, but experiences from others and with others.
For example, we received a gift card for an all-inclusive picnic with wife’s brother’s family, where we were picked up in their dinghy. We were sailed to a scenic area where we could spread out our picnic blankets and were served delicious food in nature. It was a fantastic day, and we couldn’t have asked for a better gift from them.
Since we want experiences ourselves, it’s easy for others to catch on, so they also start wanting experiences from you. This means you get to go on even more adventures and spend time together that you’ll remember for a long time, rather than just another piece of clothing, kitchenware, [fill in the blank].
Not everything is free. And no, you can’t wish for everything. I know that… Read on and see what we do…
4. Do I need…
As mentioned, not all adventures are free. For example, a weekend trip to London or Paris is not free. So no, not everything is free!
Our trick is to decide on such adventures well in advance. For example, a trip to London. For some, it might be a matter of reaching into their pocket, but for us, it requires saving up. It probably sounds very simple and trivial (and in principle it is) – but the trick is to think about what else you spend your money on.
Just because it’s Sunday and you don’t feel like cooking dinner, you don’t have to buy pizza or sushi to take away. You could, for example, cook extra large portions of food one day a week and freeze it. You could also choose to buy a frozen pizza and put it in the freezer for a day when you need it – after all, it’s cheaper than buying food out. The money you save each time you’re tempted by takeaway can go into your adventure savings. Also, think about whether you really need that extra piece of clothing, that extra gadget, or whatever else you’re tempted by – put the money in your savings account instead.
Then think about whether you need it… or whether you don’t. Save the money and put it in your adventure savings account.
5. Try something new (every day)
This may also seem trivial and perhaps a little exaggerated – but nevertheless, forcing small changes in your everyday life works. It wakes you up, opens your mind, and makes you more receptive to new adventures. Often, adventures are right in front of you, but you don’t notice them because one day is much like the next without any major changes.
Here are some examples:
- A small change in your daily routine could be taking a different route to work by car, on foot, or by bike. Perhaps you usually take the shortest route, so try changing it up a bit and see if you can find a more exciting (or just different) route.
- Do you eat a slice of bread and cheese for breakfast? Try replacing it with muesli. Or banana pancakes… or something else delicious.
- Do you usually go to the same café/restaurant every time you go out to eat? Try trying a new café/restaurant every time you go out to eat for the next two months.
You can also change the details of your vacations a little. Instead of going to an all-inclusive resort in Italy, try island hopping in Greece. Conversely, if you usually go far away every year for example, to Thailand—try going to a closer destination.
You could also change your travel plans a little for shorter vacations. For example, it is very obvious to travel to some of the classic cities in Europe such as London, Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona try traveling to other cities such as Warsaw, Bratislava, or Kiev instead. It could also be that a smaller city could be interesting (almost) all cities have something to offer.
The whole idea of trying something new every day or more often than you usually do is to spark creativity and inspiration. Adventures often happen when we’re a little challenged. It can be really nice when things just work, but unfortunately, adventures don’t happen easily when we’re not challenged.
Do we live up to all these tips ourselves?
No, we definitely don’t.
But we are aware of them and try to incorporate as many of them into our everyday lives as possible. We are only human and often fall into the trap of forgetting about adventure. However, it is when we remind each other of these tricks that we get back on track and have (or create) more adventures in our everyday lives.
If you have any good tricks or comments, please feel free to post them in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you