Why You Don’t Have to Climb Mountains to Live Adventurously
We’ve all seen the story.
A regular person stumbles into something extraordinary. They get a letter. A call in the night. A mysterious stranger shows up and tells them they’re meant for something more.
Suddenly, they’re off—chasing adventure, finding purpose, facing dangers, becoming someone new. Someone bigger than they were before.
It’s the hero’s journey. And humans have been drawn to it for as long we’ve told stories.
We see it everywhere—movies, books, games, social media. Different faces, different worlds, but the same feeling every time: adventure is out there.
Something is waiting for us, if only we could find it.
It pulls at something deep. That hunger for more. For challenge, freedom, and a life that feels meaningful. A life that asks something of us. A life that feels heroic—not just productive.
But somewhere along the way, that story got twisted.
Instead of inspiring us to live boldly, it started telling us we’re not quite there yet.
Now, the call to adventure comes with a price tag. You can chase the life you want—as long as you buy the right gear. Book the flight. Follow the program. There’s always one more upgrade, one more subscription, one more thing to fix before you’re ready.
And so we wait.
We wait because life feels too messy, too full, too uncertain. Because no one ever told us we’re allowed to go looking for more. Because deep down, we’re hoping someone will show up and pull us out of the life we’ve settled into.
We tell ourselves we’ll start when the timing is better. When our schedule opens up. When things calm down. When we finally feel ready.
Until then, we tell ourselves it’ll happen someday.
And in the meantime—we watch.
We follow fictional heroes and real-life highlight reels from the sidelines. We scroll past big moments and wonder what it’s like to feel that alive.
But the truth is—most of us aren’t living the story we want. We’re just consuming it.
***
That was me.
I spent twenty years as a professional game developer—designing adventures, building stories, and shaping virtual quests that were meant to feel bold and meaningful.
Then one day, in yet another meeting about how to make a moment “feel cool,” it hit me. We were debating whether a character could climb a seven or eight-foot wall—and how to make that action feel exciting from behind a controller.
And all I could think was: I could go do that. In real life. So why wasn’t I?
I was sitting there talking about adventure while feeling completely disconnected from my own life. Work had stopped being an adventure. So had everything else.
I was more than burned out—I was numb. I told myself it would get better eventually. That it was just a phase. That I just had to get through the next stretch.
But the truth is—I had been stuck for a long time. And nothing was going to change until I did.
There was no stranger coming to knock on my door and tell me I was meant for more.
If I wanted a life that felt alive again, I had to start living like it.
That was back in 2019. I didn’t have a plan or a clear path—just a commitment to stop waiting and start trying. I started writing about it on Medium (#1, #2)—just trying to make sense of my own life. I had no idea it would eventually lead to endurance sports and coaching, helping others chase their own epic goals as runners and adventurers. But it did.
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” — Oprah Winfrey
What an Adventure Mindset Really Means
It took me years to realize I’d built a career full of stories I wasn’t living myself.
Most people think of adventure as something you have to plan for. A big trip you take every few years. A bucket list goal. Something you’ll do once the timing’s right.
But adventure isn’t a destination. It’s a way of living.
An Adventure Mindset means choosing to live like your time matters now—not someday. It means deciding to stop waiting. To stop drifting in the same loops.
To stop thinking that your best life is somewhere else.
You don’t have to quit your job or move to the mountains. You don’t need to be rich, retired, or ridiculously brave.
You just have to stop putting off the things that make you feel alive.
This mindset is about making your life richer, more meaningful, and more yours—without waiting for permission, the perfect plan, or the “right time.”
You get to choose what adventure looks like.
Maybe it’s taking on a new trail or a race.
Maybe it’s putting your phone down and spending real time with people you love.
Maybe it’s going to a concert alone, taking a creative risk with a new job, or moving to a city where no one knows you.
Maybe it’s just saying no to something that doesn’t feel right—and standing by it.
When I started, it wasn’t coaching or racing—it was hiking with my dog every morning. Something simple. Something real. Something that gave me space to feel challenged and pushed, but also relaxed, and just for me.
It’s not about being extreme. It’s about being honest—about what matters to you, and how you want to live.
It’s about treating your time like it belongs to you, and investing it in things that make you stronger, more present, and more awake to your own life.
And once you start living that way, some people won’t get it. They’ll question your choices. They’ll wonder why you care so much. Why you’re doing things differently.
That’s fine. It’s not their adventure.
An Adventure Mindset isn’t about chasing thrills or proving a point. It’s about choosing a life that feels bold, honest, and fully yours—even if no one else understands it.
Because adventure isn’t something out there waiting. There’s no mysterious stranger coming to knock on your door. No letter. No call in the night. No sudden moment that tells you it’s time to begin.
In real life, if you want something to change—you’ve got to be the one who starts it.
What Changes When You Choose Adventure Daily
Living with an Adventure Mindset doesn’t just change how your days feel—it gradually shifts the shape of your life.
You stop moving on autopilot and start making more intentional choices. You begin working with what you have, instead of waiting for better timing.
You feel more engaged in your own life. Not because everything is thrilling, but because you’re present for it. You’re paying attention.
You begin to feel major momentum, not from chasing more, but from choosing to focus on things that actually matter to you. You make decisions more clearly. You spend time in ways that feel satisfying, not just productive.
And you notice the small things that bring you energy, joy, movement, curiosity, and creativity.
When challenges show up, you’re not as shaken, either. You handle them with more steadiness and clarity because you’ve been building your presence, resilience, and ownership.
This is what shifted for me after I finally stopped waiting. I didn’t go off and become a different person, I just stopped waiting for meaning and started creating it—one step at a time. Literally.
Years ago, it all started with just hiking and writing, and trying to figure out what I actually enjoyed again. That was enough to get things moving for me and created more opportunities to explore.
From there, it became about rebuilding my fitness and healing my body. That led to my first race—a Spartan—with a wall I finally got to climb in real life. That was a few years later, but it all started with small, honest choices about how I wanted my life to be.
Living this way doesn’t make life easier. But it makes it yours. You feel more awake in your own life—because you’re the one choosing it. And once you start moving, it’s surprising how much opens up for you.
How to Start Living Adventurously
Living more adventurously doesn’t mean overhauling your life overnight. It just means approaching your day differently.
It means doing things on purpose. Not just the big stuff, but the way you move through the small, quiet parts too.
This isn’t about being more productive and cramming more in. It’s about making sure your energy is mostly spent on things you care about.
Start with simple questions:
What do you say yes to without thinking?
What do you keep putting off, even though it matters to you?
What parts of your day feel like you, and what parts don’t?
You don’t need a detailed plan. You just need to practice showing up for yourself.
Say yes to something that makes you a little nervous—but also a little excited. Say no to something that drains you, even if it’s familiar and easy.
Spend time with people who make you feel present. Or go somewhere alone and see what shows up.
Try the thing you’ve been thinking about. Sign up. Speak up. Step in.
It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be real.
Every time you choose presence over autopilot, you’re living adventurously.
Every time you stop waiting for permission, you build trust with yourself to take on bigger adventures down the road.
That’s how it worked for me. The moment I stopped waiting, everything got more real—and a lot more fun. When I signed up for that first race, it wasn’t about performance. It was about seeing if I could finally do something I’d been thinking about for months—something that just felt really cool to try.
That’s what this mindset is about—not becoming someone else, but just living more like the person you know you already are.
So, where does adventure actually begin?
Not out there. Not someday. And definitely not when someone else tells you you’re ready.
It begins the moment you stop waiting.
When you say yes to something that calls to you. When you decide your life is worth showing up for—today, not later. When you stop scrolling through other people’s highlights and start creating moments that matter to you.
It doesn’t have to be big. But it does have to be yours.
What’s one small adventure you’ll choose today?