Life, not as advertised

Life is exciting, life is adventurous, life is spontaneous and life is thrilling.

Life can whisk you away to new and interesting places, or push you to do things you never thought were possible. Life is amazing, fantastic and exhilarating — or at least that’s what we’d like our lives to be.

Unfortunately, the reality is that our lives are more often simple and uneventful. We get up, scramble to get ready, go to work, get a few hours of real work done (sometimes), head home, eat dinner, watch TV and go to sleep.

This process eats up probably 70 per cent of our lives and, realistically, without either winning the lottery or stumbling across a hidden treasure, there’s not a lot we can do to change it.

So what can we change? What can we do to make life more of the adventure that it’s supposed to be?

The answer is far simpler and easier than we might imagine. It doesn’t take a lot of work, it doesn’t require you to travel around the world and it’s something you can do every day.

The answer is to do something new as often as we can.

Think about it. If life is truly about excitement and adventure, then isn’t life really just about exploring and trying new things?

How can you have excitement and adventure if you’re stuck doing the same things day in and day out? Obviously, you can't. But if you make your life an experiment, if your push yourself to step outside comfort zone just a little, then, perhaps, life would open up and become something more fulfilling and amazing?

The answer is new

We’ve all experienced this feeling when we’ve gone on vacation. That thrill of being somewhere new, surrounded by people we don’t know, with a whole list of activities that we’ve never tried before.

We feel energized, we feel eager, we feel alive. But why then can’t we recreate this feeling in our daily lives? Why can’t we push ourselves to explore just a little bit more every day so we might enjoy our lives just a little  more.

This is why I’ve decided to challenge myself to experience something new every single day of July.

It’s my hope that if I can complete this goal, then maybe exploration will become a habit and maybe I’ll even start to crave it.

If I can do that, then maybe that 70 per cent of life I live right now can turn into a 100 per cent of a life worth living.

This is not a solo challenge

I'd like to encourage all of you to get involved. My schedule for events is posted up on my website and many events are open to the public. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram to keep updated on what’s happening day to day and if you’re feeling adventurous, come out and join me.

Can’t make it out? Well, why not try some new experiences on your own time? Borrow some of my suggestions or create your own and make sure to share you're awesome, embarrassing or inspiring stories here on Castanet, on my blog or on social media. 

Together, we can make July the month we all discover a little more adventure in daily lives.

You may not be able to do a whole month's worth of new experiences, but I bet if you tried even a handful, you will discover a much more entertaining, fulfilling and exciting life.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.