Show Notes
Microadventures
As my own attempts to live adventurously evolved from jumping on planes to distant continents, I began to develop the idea of microadventures. They have been part of my effort to learn to look for the opportunities amongst the constraints of life.
I never imagined how helpful the principal would be for me, both in the literal sense of squeezing exercise and fresh air around the margins of my days, but also as a metaphor to help with everything I do.
I had become more aware of how many people love the idea of adventure but are not able to have adventures of their own (or think that they cannot). I decided to try to break down some of the barriers getting in the way.
You can’t afford to cross a continent? What is within reach? You don’t have time fora big adventure? What can you do? Still too hard? OK, try this. I kept reducing and simplifying and trying to put a positive spin on every situation.
Think smaller and simpler. Look around you. What can you do in your lunch break? Climb a tree, make coffee in the woods, swim in a river… When you’re driving, you can use your sat-nav as an adventure guide – look for streams to detour to rather than service stations. You can always do something.
A microadventure is no different from an adventure, however you personally define the word ‘adventure’. The only difference is that a microadventure is one that is close to home, cheap, simple, short and therefore more likely to actually happen. Microadventures began as an attempt to capture the spirit, principles and benefits of challenging expeditions. Could I replicate some of this through accessible activities condensed into a weekend away, or even a midweek overnight escape?
I began by walking a 120-mile lap of London alongside the M25 but learned that was still too big for most people. So I explored a lap of my own home, walking a circle with a mere 2-mile radius. I discovered places I had never been to before.
I built a raft that sank in the Lake District and drifted down a river on tractor inner tubes in Wales.
I cycled to the sea to sleep on a beach. I pedalled across the Pennines between the houses where my parents were born.
I cooked on campfires, slept on hilltops overlooking cities and motorways and watched meteor showers from my sleeping bag.
Sometimes it rained, sometimes the sun shone. Some nights were idyllic, others only reminded me to appreciate my own bed again.
I just kept on doing things, learning from my mistakes, building habits, making routine life a little more vivid and memorable.
It is not always easy to do, but I am trying to teach myself to approach every day adventurously by embracing curiosity and encouraging excitement. I prefer this approach to trundling along the conveyor belt like an unloved plate of sushi until the next blip of excitement like a summer holiday or weekend away. I am learning to search for the beauty in every landscape. To develop a deeper appreciation by paying attention to details – the first buds of spring, the first swift, the globe’s still working.
The canvas of my life will be painted by thousands of these small moments, decisions and actions, not by a handful of dramatic splodges or events.
I hope that the essence of microadventures is transferable to you. Microadventures is an idea anyone can use, whether you are a potter, a programmer, or a potholer. It offers a way to convert big ideas into small beginnings. If you dream of climbing Everest but can’t get round to sleeping on top of your local hill, you need to know there’s a glitch in your system.
Dream up a massive, complicated, ambitious adventure. And then go do a tiny, simple one instead. This way, you will actually get on and do it. You will build momentum. And once you have momentum, the big adventure dreams take care of themselves.
Over to You:
- What is your big dream?
- What is a tiny version of this?
Schedule a date in your diary to do it.
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What is The Doorstep Mile?
Would you like a more adventurous life?
Are you being held back by a lack of time or money? By fear, indecision, or a feeling of being selfish or an imposter?
Living adventurously is not about cycling around the world or rowing across an ocean.
Living adventurously is about the attitude you choose each day. It instils an enthusiasm to resurrect the boldness and curiosity that many of us lose as adults.
Whether at work or home, taking the first step to begin a new venture is daunting. If you dream of a big adventure, begin with a microadventure.
This is the Doorstep Mile, the hardest part of every journey.
The Doorstep Mile will reveal why you want to change direction, what’s stopping you, and how to build an adventurous spirit into your busy daily life.
Dream big, but start small.
Don’t yearn for the adventure of a lifetime. Begin a lifetime of living adventurously.
What would your future self advise you to do?
What would you do if you could not fail?
Is your to-do list urgent or important?
You will never simultaneously have enough time, money and mojo.
There are opportunities for adventure in your daily 5-to-9.
The hardest challenge is getting out the front door and beginning: the Doorstep Mile.
Alastair Humphreys, a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, cycled around the world for four years but also schedules a monthly tree climb. He has crossed the Empty Quarter desert, rowed the Atlantic, walked a lap of the M25 and busked through Spain, despite being unable to play the violin.
‘The gospel of short, perspective-shifting bursts of travel closer to home.’ New York Times
‘A life-long adventurer.’ Financial Times
‘Upend your boring routine… it doesn't take much.’ Outside Magazine
Visit www.alastairhumphreys.com to listen to Alastair's podcast, sign up to his newsletter or read his other books.
@al_humphreys