I came across an idea the other day when browsing a book called The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau (a very interesting guy to look into, he’s travelled to every country in the world before age 35). Chris is a big advocate for finding purpose and throwing yourself into the pursuit of it. He feels that the ability to constantly vary his life and challenge himself in new ways on a regular basis has opened him up to a greater level of authentic experience. One of his ways of creating this, even in mundane life, are regular small adventures. The idea is to mix up your routine, routinely. Seek ways to challenge yourself, even in little ways. Find ways to throw yourself into the unknown simply to keep yourself off balance and thus more in tune with what’s going on around you.

Some of his examples are as simple as choosing a different way home from work to taking on little challenges of courage like talking to 5 random strangers or offering to host a big dinner even if you don’t know how to cook. The challenge doesn’t need to be massive or out of the realm of the possible, simply something that takes you away from where you feel secure.

I think it’s a beautiful idea and it has certainly figured into some of how I want to practice my own growth in the coming year.