Let's Talk Adventure.

The way I see it, there are a few different ways to define "adventure". 

1 - A new experience, uncharted territory

2 - Something that's not going as planned

3 - An experience where you're facing your fears, and continuing onward through them.

Then we've got 4 - All of the above.

Adventure is one of my "essence words", sort of traits that my higher self embodies, and I remember a few years ago when I looked it up for the first time. I was really surprised to see that, according to Webster, you can't have an adventure without any risk or danger. Risk and danger are crucial to an adventurous experience. 

Because of the way our brains are wired, you don't have to go jumping off a cliff or taunting an alligator in order to experience this. In our modern times, all you really need is the perception of risk or danger. And that is really easy. 

Roller coasters are less dangerous than cars, but they sure do give you a thrill. So can wearing something outrageous, cheating at cards, and getting a mohawk - none of which are particularly life threatening. 

Luckily for us, our minds excel at cooking up perceived threats. 

All you need is your adorable little comfort-loving brain to be telling you what a crap idea this is, what are people going to think, and shouldn't you really be alphabetizing your pantry right now anyway?

Which is why most of us crave adventure while simultaneously loving our cozy routines. 

You don't need to sell all of your belongings and book a one-way ticket to Abu Dhabi to fulfill that craving. All you've got to add in are experiences that land in 1-4 of the bulleted list I started out with. And it probably won't be comfortable. But it is totally fulfilling. 

So this Adventure League isn't really about who can hike 50 mountains in 30 days (although we might throw something like that in there from time to time as an option for the hard-core thrill-seekers among us). What it's actually about is stepping outside of your predictable daily life and giving yourself adventures of the mind, body, and spirit. Some of them you may not need to leave the house for. And some may seem downright impossible. (Most of the time they're actually not.) But all are designed to give you a thrill, get you outside of your comfort zone, give you some great stories to tell, and you won't have to do it alone, because there will be a whole league of people doing them with you.

You'll meet new friends you never knew you were missing. You'll find new things you love. You'll laugh more. You'll make others laugh more. And you will stare your fears in the face and carry on anyway. Isn't that one of the most useful skills of all?