Vacations are always a much welcome break from the everyday routine of work and the normal preoccupations of ordinary life. But, even when it comes to taking time off and getting away from it all, there can be a big difference between a vacation spent relaxing by the pool somewhere warm and a vacation that really seems like an “adventure” in the proper sense of the word.
Here are just a few tips for turning your vacation into a real adventure.
Go somewhere that is completely different from your usual environment
The first tip is to go someone that is significantly different from your normal everyday environment – perhaps completely different, in fact. That not to say that you can’t have adventures in familiar settings – or even in your own neighborhood. But, the stage is certainly set for an adventure in a much more focused way, if you are completely removed from your normal context.
Thanks to the Internet and a large number of holiday and travel websites now operating, you can quite easily find Holiday Specials that will take you to places you’ve never been before, and that are very different from where you live and work right now.
Among other things, going to a completely different setting can really help to put you in an “adventurous frame of mind,” because it short-circuits a lot of your ordinary assumptions and unconscious habits, and forces you to engage more intentionally and deliberately with your surroundings.
Immerse yourself, mindfully, in the experience and go low-tech for the trip
It’s probably possible to go almost anywhere in the world and to still miss out on a sense of adventure, if all you do is day dream, ignore what’s right in front of you, and stare at your smartphone the entire time. By contrast, you can often experience all sorts of remarkable things right in your backyard, if you’re only willing to pay attention to them.
Wherever you end up traveling, immerse yourself, mindfully, in the experience and try to actually notice and pay attention to what’s happening in front of you. One of the best things you can do to achieve this is to go low-tech for the trip; having your phone with you only for emergency calls, and nothing else.
Take your time to really drink in the experience, but don’t be too complacent
The way you choose to pace yourself on a trip can have a big impact on how much of an adventure the experience seems to be. As mentioned in the previous point, it’s important to be mindful and engaged with what’s right in front of you, in order to really make the most of things. At the same time, though, you shouldn’t be too complacent. If you just rush from place to place in order to tick things off your itinerary, while barely absorbing any of what you are experiencing, it certainly doesn’t make for a good adventure. At the same time, though, if all you do is sit in one place and stare at the scenery, you are also missing out.
Try to get the pacing right, so that you can experience a good deal of novelty, while simultaneously remaining engaged and aware.
