Find what lights your adventure torch

The proverbial hammer to the head. You don’t need to give up your home, job, life – you just need to unleash our local curiosity. It isn’t about the once in a lifetime extraordinary, it’s about the everyday. And the everyday can be extraordinary.– Sheila Burrough

Turning 50 is certainly momentous, it may be the new 40 but let’s face it, you are 50 darling, and it’s definitely not all newfound confidence and self-awareness. Well, it wasn’t for me anyway. The clock was ticking, and it got me questioning where I wanted to be versus where I was.

Don’t get me wrong, in most areas of my life I am content. I have a wonderful supportive family, a comfortable lifestyle and good health, but I was frustrated with the lack of adventure in my life and the monotony of everyday routine. One dull day seemed to merge into the next equally forgettable one.

woman in black long sleeve shirt using macbook

Recognizing that I was suffocating from a lack of stimulation (okay, that may be tad strong, but you get my drift), I turned to the “dub dub dub” for answers, consuming articles on fearless female adventurers who gave up everything to undertake awe-inspiring journeys. I would be the next Nellie Bly (if you don’t know who that is, do yourself a favor and Google her). I dreamed of the day I would have adventure stories to share and daredevil memories to post on social media. The Grand Canyon, Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China… BRING IT ON!

people near Machu Picchu under blue and white skies

But like shadows into shade, the months slipped by and when I looked up from my computer screen Fifty-Friggin’-One was beating on my door and I had yet to lace up my nubuck leather, calf-enhancing, water-and-skid proof, guaranteed not-to-blister, incredibly bad-ass hiking boots! I created a plethora of excuses as to why it wasn’t my fault. Finances, family and work obligations, the pandemic, the new season of MasterChef! It’s not to say these aren’t valid excuses but what if there was a way to defeat the adventure buzz kill dragon without breaking the bank?

That’s when it hit me. The proverbial hammer to the head. You don’t need to give up your home, job, life – you just need to unleash our local curiosity. It isn’t about the once in a lifetime extraordinary, it’s about the everyday. And the everyday can be extraordinary. So, there and then I decided to look for adventure in my everyday life. Enter Elaine from Sociably – the crazy, free spirit who catapulted me out of my humdrum life and opened my eyes to the concept: Everywhere is somewhere. Pretty profound, right?

Through Sociably I found that opportunities exist right here on our doorstep. You just need to be open to them. Get out there, and support local tourism and business – experiment, explore, and experience. You are too extraordinary to live an ordinarily life and you don’t need to circumnavigate the world in eighty days to prove it.

Light your adventure torch – go on, I dare you.