When’s the last time you woke up in the morning, packed an overnight bag, and just…went somewhere?

So often, we let days pass us by. We get pulled left and pulled right and all around meeting deadlines, getting things done, and perpetually rotating between what “has to get done” and “things I have to do.”

Look at the calendar and count back the days and find how many it has been since an entire day consisted of only things you WANTED to do.

How many days has it been?

This personal time is critical for growth. Personal time to pursue activities that you enjoy and that excite you makes you feel more complete, more capable.

Combine that with creating a sense of adventure – and now you have a real, life changing, eye-opening experience that will stay with you forever.

What if you had an entire day to work on you?

A self-sustaining adventure means to give yourself a day of adventure – a full day,

all to yourself. 

Self-sustaining means self-sufficient. It means that you have with you and within you all that you need for an entire day of adventure on your own. Whether you pack a bag and head to a new coffee shop, go to the local climbing wall, or find a remote part of a park to spend your day, this day is for you to experience something new, reflect on what you’ve learned, and enjoy an entire day on your own.

What would your adventure be? 

Adventure consists of doing something you’ve never done before and providing moments of learning and new experiences for you to take with you and keep with you forever. Adventure is excitement, seeing things from a new angle, and trying new things.

What would you plan? 

Adventure doesn’t have to be hair-raising or terrifying. In fact, it doesn’t have to be out of this world at all. It just needs to be something new  and something that gets your heart rate going. 

For me, it was a trip to Burlington, VT.

I started planning my self-sustaining day. It took three weeks to find a day on the calendar that I could block out, cordone off, and refuse to schedule anything. I then grabbed my favorite pack and started throwing things I thought I might need into it. It looked something like this:

An entire day by myself?? Not doing anything for anyone else?? Not doing anything that I have to do? What would I need for that? How would I entertain myself? I packed every electronic I could think of plus a journal, a pen, and the Kindle. What if it rained or what if I got cold? I packed sweaters and gloves and hats and scarves…

It’s important to keep this part simple. A self-sustaining day doesn’t mean you can’t reach out and engage with others or buy a new pair of gloves (which I did in Burlington, by the way). Self-sustaining means mentally prepare to be aware of your environment, actively engage in learning new things, and seek out new places you have never been.

Now it’s time for the adventure to begin! Ok, where is it??

I have been living two hours away from Burlington for six months and have been longing to visit. Burlington has a great music scene, is an organic-hippie kind of town with a central market and natural stores, and is pleasantly walkable. Great restaurants and quirky stores line the main promenade. Off the beaten path you’ll find colorful art installments, tattoo shops, community centers, and cozy little coffee shops. I was excited to be in this new and vibrant place.

But where was my adventure??

I had no clue. I hadn’t gotten that far in the planning and the day snuck up on me before I figured the adventure part of the whole self-sustaining day out. I started brainstorming…Get a new tattoo? No. Rummage sales racks at the thrift store? Eh. That’s no adventure. Walk around aimlessly? Too cold. I decided to just play the day by ear and roll with it.

I ended up at Speeder & Earl’s Coffee House to start my day in a caffeinated way. I asked the woman for the strongest coffee they had and sat down with my coffee and some Words with Friends to try and get my head about me on this self-sustaining adventure.

I sat staring at that machine wondering where to go now. I took a walk along the Church Street Marketplace and found all sorts of great shops.

My stomach growled when I passed The Three Tomatoes so I decided for an early lunch and some Kindle reading time. I was finally starting to relax and enjoy some time with my thoughts and being by myself. No adventure yet, or was there? I realized that just being in the moment, being by myself, wandering by myself and meeting new people and seeing new things on my own was an adventure in itself. I had coffee with the sunshine and was about to eat lunch with a fictional character from a story I was reading. I met new people and was able to spend extra time chatting with the barista and learning about Burlington from the eyes of my waitress at The Three Tomatoes.

My adventure became an experience through other peoples’ eyes.

How were people viewing me? Alone and chatty and curious? Where I was to go next depended solely on the conversation I was having with a stranger now. My heart rate had definitely gone up. Going on advice from my young and friendly waitress, I headed over to the City Market. City Market is an organic grocery store that blows Whole Foods out of the water. This place is legit. First, they were serving gluten free mini-cupcakes at the front door followed up with organic milk to wash it down. I almost blew a gasket when I saw that you could grab some peanuts from the bulk bin and make your own peanut butter. Hello, peanut butter adventure! Passing by the boxed stuff isles, I stopped in my tracks when I saw this:

These people obviously know their market. I wanted to buy one of each item just to support hippies being included in their marketing strategy. Arms full of organic soap, gluten free pretzels, and some hippie friendly items, I checked out and threw my things into a re-usable bag and headed out the door. I felt success! I felt excited! I felt that I had found a place that said, “Hey, Christine! This place is for people like YOU!”

I needed that.

Yea, I know. It’s not crazy out of this world adventure. I didn’t try anything crazy scary. But I did do something new. And I learned something new about myself – I like being around people like me. And apparently, Burlington has a whole community of people like me. Enough to open up a grocery store full of opportunity to think and feel and purchase in a healthy, eco-conscious way. Why hadn’t I been doing this kind of exciting connection-making at home?!?

Because I needed to try something new before I understood.

After that, I had the confidence to get off the beaten path. I walked down some side streets, got out of town…and just…wandered while munching on some yogurt covered pretzels.

And that’s when my adventure happened.

There was a man in a tattered jacket all bundled up riding a bicycle shopping cart. Somehow, he had taken a shopping cart and attached it to a bicycle. Thus, making a “bicycle shopping cart.” He wouldn’t tell me his name and wouldn’t let me take a picture of the bike but it was a piece of work. Fully functioning with pink streamers and hubcap lined cart art, This piece of machinery was colorful, creative, and practical. He loads it up with recyclables, instruments, clothing, anything that needs to be moved from one place to another. He told me that it took a long time to collect all of the “artwork” that he had decorated the bike with. Our conversation was short and I felt awkward having stopped him to ask about his bike but he said that most people just stare so he was happy to tell me about the bike. He took the shopping cart from the grocery store and got the bike from a friend and said it made sense to put them together. A shopping cart bicycle. I told him the trend would more than likely catch on. Just look at what they are doing in Copenhagen!

I said goodbye to my new friend and the new adventure and started heading home as the sun started dipping behind the buildings on Church Street.

Self-Sustaining Adventure Day…Complete.

Pushing Past Your Comfort Zone

If you want to feel secure
Do what you already know how to do.
But if you want to grow…
Go to the cutting edge of your competence,
which means a temporary loss of security.
So, whenever you don’t quite know
What you are doing
Know…..
that you are growing…

~ An exert from David Viscott’s book, Risking

Are you a risk-taker? What types of risks do you tend to take? (e.g. emotional, physical, financial, professional).

This first assignment asks you to look at your life from a different perspective, both physically and mentally. What do you see from this perspective? What do you feel? Are you feeling uncomfortable?

Looking at the world around you from a different perspective is the first step to adding a little risk to your life. Taking risks can help you grow, develop, learn, get unstuck and become transformed. Adding adventure type activities, whether it be skiing, bicycling, attending a cultural event, or visiting a new city, can help facilitate growth. Did you know women are usually not encouraged to take risks as men are? We have all heard, “The world isn’t safe for little girls” … It started for a lot of us when we were little girls. It’s called “learned helplessness.” Or, “risky behavior is bad.” Yes! There are “bad” risky behaviors… but, as women, we are very rarely taught that we can take on healthy risks!

Roam Your Soul facilitates you taking more risks and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s amazing how adding a little bit of adventure can be so beneficial to getting people out of their comfort zone.

Below is a model that portrays three zones. The Comfort Zone, the Learning Zone, and the Panic Zone. Understanding this model can help with your goals and become more comfortable with change.

Life can be easy in the Comfort Zone…. But this is also where we tend to feel “stuck.” It is difficult to learn and grow while you sit idle within your comfort zone. When you add adventure and take on new risks, your ability to enter the Learning Zone is much greater. The Learning Zone is characterized by uncertainty and discoveries, vulnerability, and renewed confidence, fear and delight.

Don’t hate change, embrace it!

At first, it can be scary to enter the Learning Zone. This zone allows for personal expansion and deeper reflection. It involves taking small failures and turning them into big accomplishments. When you live your life in the Learning Zone, you’ll actually increase the size of your Comfort Zone, which will help build self-esteem. When you embrace the Learning Zone, it promotes growth and increased levels of creativity, thus developing the skills and knowledge to grow and change (and be happy) throughout your lifetime. Once you have identified ways to live in the learning zone, you’ll feel alive and accomplished. You may feel much more powerful than you ever imagined.

But, be careful… you do not want to go beyond the learning zone and enter too far into the Panic Zone. Once you are in panic mode, learning is almost impossible in this zone. You’re too busy managing anxiety and fear. This level of stress can stunt learning and growth. Although, don’t be scared to enter it! The Panic Zone can create extreme exhilaration that will blast you into growth you never imagined. Just be very careful, because the Panic Zone can easily go out of control. So, venture lightly!

For each individual, this circle model varies. It’s important to identify your Comfort Zone, your Learning Zone, and your Panic Zone. Based on what you have learned here, take a few moments and draw your own diagram. How big do you think your comfort zone is? How often do you venture out into the learning zone? Where does your Panic Zone begin? What are some adventures that you could do that would place you in your Learning Zone more frequently?

Tips for taking on “controlled risks”

As you plan your adventures, keep these tips in mind and take time to answer these questions:

1) Preparation: What is the risk/adventure/trip you want to take? What are your motivators? What are the desired results? What are the best/worst consequences? Is this the right time? (Remember, there’s never a right time… you just need to make time)

What steps do you need to take? Who will support you?

2) Commitment: Jump to action! Plan the trip! Take the risk! Go for it!

3) Completion: What were the results? Did you learn? How would you do it differently next time?

Contact info: [email protected] /+1 (914) 297-8446 to request more information.

Women can be an amazing force.

Over centuries, across cultures, around the world, women have been undermined, under-represented, and underestimated. We have fought for personal freedom. We have struggled to have rights. We have carried the weight of balancing our nurturing sense with our business sense. We talk a lot about “the fight” or “women power” or some other two word phrase that makes us sound like we are fierce warriors on the fight for our independence and  for our voices to be heard – and this has been an important part of women’s history but I beg to ask the question…

Is fighting the best action for a community?

Fighting can be an effective change agent. Fighting can create change quickly. Fighting can also be devastating. Harmful. Life-ending. What if, instead of “fighting the good fight,” we recognized the amazingness of the woman’s spirit and sought to highlight our amazing capabilities, support each other’s amazing endeavors, and advocated for those that are stifled by restrictions? What if our focus was to bring good through goodness and change through love, resilience, and dedication?

Roam Your Soul has begun to create a community of women adventurers using an online social forum. Adventurers come in many forms and go on amazing journeys in many different ways. You are an adventurer. We all are.

Roam Life and our Roam Your Soul project has sought to find amazing people doing amazing things so that we can introduce them to you. Through their stories we hope you find inspiration, insight, and we hope that you connect to one another through life’s stories. That’s what adventure is all about. The experience. The story. The people. We can change the world. Together.

Amazing Women Doing Amazing Things: Interviews and Stories

Abigail Anderson, Founder of Changed by Change – How I Found my Way Back to Adventure as a Stay-at-Home Mother

Eleanor Moseman, Founder of 2Wheels4Girls & Photograher – 13 Questions for Eleanor Moseman