H<\/span>ave you fallen into a routine of drudgery? Do you feel stuck there? You\u2019re not alone. If we\u2019re being honest, many of us will admit that we\u2019re kind of going through the motions\u2014work, home, eat, TV, sleep, repeat\u2014and living by default instead of design.<\/p>\n Life isn\u2019t bad. It\u2019s just dull, uninspired, and actually, and ironically, a bit lifeless. Vella Mbenna, author of Muddy Roads Blue Skies: My Journey to the Foreign Service<\/em>, From the Rural South to Tanzania and Beyond,<\/em> says we shouldn\u2019t just accept our adventure-starved status quo.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is meant to be really lived,\u201d says Mbenna. \u201cI\u2019ve come to believe adventure is a deep human need. We read about it in books, and we watch it in movies because, deep down, we crave it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we owe it to ourselves to pursue things that give us that spark, that jolt of excitement,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how old you are or what your income is. You can and should weave some adventure into your life.\u201d<\/p>\n Mbenna speaks from experience. Growing up in rural Georgia, she dreamed of travel and excitement. But after college, she found herself broke, divorced, and struggling to raise her child alone. All that changed when she joined the foreign service and embarked on a 26-year adventure during which she lived in dangerous parts of the world, performed high-stakes diplomatic work, and defended her country in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks. A self-described adrenaline junkie, Mbenna\u2019s career provided the adventure she\u2019d always craved.<\/p>\n If you, too, feel adventure-starved, don\u2019t worry. There are plenty of small ways to infuse totally ordinary days with life-shifting excitement. And it doesn\u2019t require a globetrotting career or a big budget. Follow these tips to create the adventurous life you\u2019re dreaming of.<\/p>\n Before you can start your adventures, you need to stop doing the stuff that sucks up all your free time and keeps you in a state of lethargy. When turning on the TV or browsing Facebook is no longer an option, you\u2019ll have to fill up your time with something. If nothing else, boredom will push you out the door.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll never reach your full potential by living small. So, take a risk and challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone and do things that intimidate you. Start training for a marathon, sign up to be a foster parent, go for that promotion at work, or even start the business you\u2019ve dreamed of for years. When you challenge yourself, you\u2019ll truly find what you\u2019re made of.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s okay to start by taking small risks,\u201d says Mbenna. \u201cIf you\u2019re normally silent in a meeting, speak up. Or if you\u2019re getting over a painful breakup, join an online dating service. The idea is to practice leaving your comfort zone in small degrees, until you\u2019re ready to make a bigger leap.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLearning shouldn\u2019t end once you\u2019ve left school,\u201d says Mbenna. \u201cExploring our interests is what keeps us alive. You might take a coding class, learn to speak Russian, or learn how to scuba dive. The learning itself is an adventure and so are the activities that naturally flow from that learning\u2014the trips you go on to speak the new language you learn and the events that pop up when you meet new people in the classes you take.\u201d<\/p>\n When you need to shake things up a bit, choose a destination you\u2019ve never visited within 100 miles of where you live and take a daylong road trip with your friends or family. This quenches your wanderlust without breaking the bank.<\/p>\n If you dream of traveling to the exotic locales you\u2019ve seen only in photographs, you can absolutely make it a reality someday. Start an \u201cadventure fund\u201d by putting a small amount of money aside each month. Over time, it will add up. And even if it takes a few years, you\u2019ll one day be able to go visit the places you dream of today.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fine to socialize with a core group of friends most of the time, but don\u2019t close yourself off from meeting new people. You never know how a new friendship or relationship could transform your life. So, go to a Meetup group that interests you or join a sports league or running club as a way to socialize and have fun with new people.<\/p>\n As you meet new people, they\u2019ll invite you to do things. They may ask you to be on a committee or join them in a fundraising effort. Hopefully, the events themselves will be exciting. But they will also lead you to meet new people who, in turn, may invite you to do other things.<\/p>\n Yes, you\u2019re exhausted after the work week. Mbenna gets it. But if you\u2019re not careful, you\u2019ll go into crash mode and squander the weekend by \u201crecuperating.\u201d Don\u2019t. Napping all weekend isn\u2019t rejuvenating, anyway. Ever notice how sluggish it makes you feel?<\/p>\n \u201cPlan ahead so that there\u2019s a mini adventure scheduled into every weekend,\u201d she advises. \u201cBe intentional about how you spend this rare and precious time away from work. Weekends are for trying new things, taking day trips, and attending local festivals. If your spouse or partner doesn\u2019t want to go out, grab the kids or a girlfriend and just go.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason that we associate \u201cadventure\u201d with the great outdoors. That\u2019s where the mountains, oceans, and rivers are. It\u2019s where you get to camp under the stars, navigate whitewater rapids, and hike dark, wooded paths to the top of hills to see the sunrise. It\u2019s also where you might get caught in a thunderstorm or encounter a snake. And that\u2019s part of the adventure equation too, says Mbenna.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing out in nature is a little risky,\u201d she admits. \u201cThat\u2019s good, though. It\u2019s hard to be adventurous inside four climate-controlled walls.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBig achievements\u2014like promotions, anniversaries, graduations, or even birthdays\u2014deserve thoughtful commemorations,\u201d says Mbenna. \u201cCelebrate them by doing something you\u2019ve never done before. You don\u2019t have to go skydiving on your 50th birthday\u2014unless you really want to\u2014but you could go ziplining or save up for a trip to Costa Rica.\u201d<\/p>\n You can teach your kids to enjoy an adventurous life by exposing them to the world from an early age. Take them with you when you travel, introduce them to other cultures and unusual foods, and challenge them to be brave even when it feels uncomfortable to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cYou really get out of life what you put into it,\u201d concludes Mbenna. \u201cSo if you\u2019re stuck in a life that\u2019s underwhelming, it\u2019s up to you to shake things up. It\u2019s never too late to infuse your one and only life with great adventure. And the passion, excitement, and joy that you discover along the way will make any temporary discomfort you feel well worth it in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Tips for getting out of the drudgery routine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-summer-2019","category-spring-summer-2019-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8810"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9149,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8810\/revisions\/9149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}First, Commit to a Self-Imposed TV or Social Media Ban<\/h3>\n
Force Yourself to Do Something That Scares but Excites You<\/h3>\n
Take a Class or Learn a New Skill<\/h3>\n
Plan Frequent Mini Adventures<\/h3>\n
And Budget for a Great Trip<\/h3>\n
Expand Your Circle<\/h3>\n
Say \u201cYes\u201d to Every Invitation That You Possibly Can<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t Waste the Weekends<\/h3>\n
Get Outdoors Every Chance You Get<\/h3>\n
Find Novel Ways to Celebrate Your Milestones<\/h3>\n
Instill Curiosity and Wonder in Your Kids or Grandkids<\/h3>\n
Vella Mbenna is the author of Muddy Roads Blue Skies: My Journey to the Foreign Service, From the Rural South to Tanzania and Beyond.<\/a> She was born in the Holmestown community of Midway, Georgia, where she grew up with eight siblings and parents who instilled in her the important values that would set her on the path to success. Throughout her youth, Vella dreamed of escaping small-town USA and traveling the world. In 1989, that dream came true when she was offered a position with the State Department\u2019s foreign service. During her highly successful 26-year career as a diplomat, Vella served with honor in 13 foreign countries as well as two tours in Washington, DC.<\/h5>\n
For more information, please visit VellaMbenna.com<\/a>.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"