Adventures come in all different shapes and sizes from the swash buckling and daring to the more reserved adventures of self-discovery and enlightenment. Adventures can be exciting things and for my 5 year old Sam, everything is one big adventure. I love introducing him to new things and playing a part in these adventures which are shaping his personal development, experiences and memories. Some of these adventures are based on real life physical experiences like our recent trip camping but some of our more fun adventures are created using only our imaginations.
Playing as superheroes or pirates, (I’m always the evil bad guy) whatever it is we play I love the way he gets immersed in whatever we do and these adventures are just as real in many ways. They sadly won’t last forever as Sam gets older these imaginary adventures will dwindle in frequency and creativity and give way to things like girls, Xbox and according to Sir Ken Robinson as he goes through our educational system he will slowly be stripped of his creative thinking anyway.
As a parent I feel it’s my responsibility to prolong the magic of childhood for as long as possible and nurture and encourage creativity in as many ways as possible. I will do my best to keep introducing new experiences and doses of the unknown to Sam so he is open minded and willing to keep himself out of his comfort zone.
Staying in your comfort zone certainly doesn’t lead to adventure. How many of us are content to stay in a state of mind that doesn’t rock the boat or do anything different to what we have become used to. Have you ever heard the words, “come on, where is your sense of adventure”? Well if you’ve heard it more than once or you’ve stopped hearing it because you stopped seeing the people who asked the question it’s time to take a step back and reflect. I’ve recently come across and been learning about the nudge theory:
“The main idea behind nudge theory is that humans are innately lazy and are more inclined to take the default choice (or in this case stay in their comfort zone). The “nudge” is something that is intended to gently guide us into the right direction – whether that’s for our own good or to improve society”
So we may need a nudge but I think the idea that we take the default choice is very interesting, is it just too much effort for some to leave their comfort zone and enter the “adventure zone”. I’ve been inspired recently by Flora Marriot who has decided not only to visit the adventure zone but to live in it for a while, you can follow her blog about here adventures here. OK so we can’t all do what Flora is doing (can’t we?) but I love the sentiment, imagination and sense of bravery that is behind it and I think we can all learn from Flora in some way. As we can also learn from Sam who takes every new opportunity in his stride and jumps at every new experience with enthusiasm and gusto. I hope this lasts and I will be nudging him as best I can as well as reminded myself that life is about experimentation, trying new things and being curious whilst seizing every opportunity that comes along.
So don’t be content with the comfort zone as there is an adventure round every corner if you let yourself see it that way. Never forget that life is the adventure YOU make it.
So it’s time to ask yourself when are you next paying a visit to your Adventure Zone?
Anyone need a nudge?
This article was first posted as part of a collection of stories, tales, and ideas about Adventure on the InMovement Blog ,you can also explore more at Playground Sessions on the 5th of March 2013. It’s all about Adventure #IAAA, in Manchester from 6.00pm, book your place here-Playground Sessions.
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Comments
I think I pay too many visits to my adventure zone :) Sam is just as cute as a button bless his heart! I have seen Steve speak too Adam, he's fab and presented us with some really nonsensical questions to prove that even when there is no right or wrong answer we stay in our comfort zones.
My favourite was 'what is the naughtiest thought?' :D
Great blog post Mike! Prolonging the magic is the way forward!
I recently went to a RSA event on creativity and watched a weird and wonderful talk ‘unplugging from the corporate matrix’ by a guy called Steve Chapman (www.stevechapman.org). It was essentially his story of creativity on how he lost it, found it and then treasured it.
He said that our creativity becomes eroded and we start to devalue it as we get older. This is because our creative permission field is reduced and we surrounding by an invisible ‘cooperate matrix’, which causes us to worry about being mad, bad or wrong.
His advice was to dig deep, get the crayons out rediscover that child-like approach if your creative spark has gone flat. Kids don’t have those worries of being mad, bad or wrong, they are brave and wild with their creativity! So all we have to do is think back to when we were fearlessly creative and will all come flooding back.