It seems that many people feel trapped in the life they are leading.  The kicker is that nothing too bad is actually happening.  What I mean is that there are no current crises going on.  No one has cancer or has passed away unexpectedly or has even lost their job. 

It’s just that life has become very boring, predictable and irritating.  Can you relate to this? 

I certainly can.  I’ve struggled with feeling trapped in my life from time-to-time over the years.  It kind of sneaks up on you.  You build a nice, comfortable life and then bam!  You wake up one morning bored out of your gourd.

The good news is that you don’t have to live life this way.  There are options.  You may not see them right now, but we can work on that.

Five ways to make that trapped in my life feeling vanish

No matter how trapped you may feel, I guarantee you that it is not as bad as it seems.  You still have a lot of control and freedom.  You just need to open your eyes and see the possibilities.

Here are some things I do to make the feelings of being trapped vanish.

1.  Imagine what you want your life to be like a year from now

Your life is largely determined by the vision you have for it.  I don’t think there is any hocus pocus in this.  It’s just that nothing can happen in our lives until we first imagine it and then act upon making it come true.  Trust me on this.  Take 30 minutes and write out what you’d like your life to look like a year from now if everything went perfectly your way.  You’ll be amazed at how uplifting this exercise is for you!

2.  Start actively practicing gratitude

You have plenty of things to be thankful for if you just take a few minutes to acknowledge them.  Make a list.  Yes, a list.  Come on, just do it.  Write down at least 25 things that you have to be grateful for.  Twenty-five?!?  Yes, twenty-five.  It will stretch you, but you can do it.  Once you have the list read over it.  See.  You do have a lot to be grateful about.  Also, this is your list of assets that can carry you to that vision you created in Step 1.

3.  Talk to someone about your feelings

Get your feelings out in the open with your spouse, a trusted friend or a counselor.  Oftentimes, just saying it all out loud will help you to see that life isn’t as bad as it seems.  Plus, the encouragement you are likely to receive will be like a vitamin to your soul.  Open up and discuss your feelings of being trapped and it could be the key that unlocks a new sense of optimism for you!

4.  Read or engage in something uplifting

Find some inspiration online, in a book or at an event.  You need positive inputs right now.  Fortunately, there are a ton of options for you to swing your mind to the positive and to help you see all the freedom you have available.  If you are religious, attend your church or synagogue.  This is another great way to lift the fog from your life.  Find a source of inspiration that lifts your thinking and gets you out of that pit.

5.  Make a stand

Decide today that you will no longer follow the path of least resistance in your life.  Decide today to make a stand and improve your life for the better.  Decide today that you will start working to be free!  Being happy and living life to the fullest is a choice.  It is available to you.  However, there is a cost.  Are you willing to do the work and make the choices necessary to have a better life?  I challenge you to make a stand.

Spring open the door and grab hold of all that freedom!

Take one small step today to free yourself and you will see a world of opportunities open up to you.  Be consistent with practicing these strategies and you will accomplish things that will amaze you!  Your mind might resist, but it will change its tune rapidly if you just try my suggestions!

Are you feeling trapped?  What are you going to do about it?

Photo by malias

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing" ~Helen Keller

We can use simple adventures to get out of the ruts we so often find ourselves in.  An adventure is an activity that involves some uncertainty.  Often we manage our lives down to the last detail leaving no room for adventure.  We then find ourselves unchallenged, bored, and feeling trapped.  If this is where you are at, then it is time to break free of the routine, open yourself to exploration, and spice it up a bit.  Finding a little adventure doesn’t have to be expensive, complicated or excessively dangerous.  Here I will offer some ideas that anyone can use to find adventure in their own backyard.

1.  Paddle your way to fun.

Getting out on the water is an excellent way to find a little adventure.  Taking a kayak or canoe out for a few hours to explore a local river, lake, or wildlife preserve is super way to get outdoors.  It will also offer a chance for wildlife viewing.  A kayak or canoe puts you in charge.  You can go wherever you decide.  It gives you the opportunity to discover that beautiful spot that is uniquely yours.  With your paddle in hand, it is hard to turn back.  Who knows what lies just around the next bend?

2.  Ride a rollercoaster.

Get your heart racing and adrenaline flowing!  We visit our local amusement park at least once a year to ride the rollercoasters and other thrill rides.  It will bring out the kid in you again!  It is funny to watch how adults react at amusement parks.  You can literally see them come to life again.  It is as if the rides wake up the adventurous part of them that has been lulled to sleep for so long.

3.  Go camping.

Load up the kids and car it is time to spend a weekend at the state park!  There is something about sleeping under the stars and eating out of an ice chest that will reawaken your primitive side.  Camping is an excellent way to break the doldrums of living in the suburbs.  Find a place in the woods and pitch a tent.  At the very least, it will give you a new appreciation for your home and the daily conveniences you enjoy.

4.  Pedal a trail.

Pull the mountain bike out of the garage, dust it off, air up the tires, and hit the trail!  Pedaling your way through the woods is an adventurous way to spend an afternoon.  It will challenge you mentally and physically.  Start on the easy trails and work your way up to something more technical.  If you don’t own a bike, then check into renting or borrowing one.  Just riding a bike and feeling the breeze on your face will make you feel like a kid again.

5.  Take a hot air balloon ride.

Soaring high over your city in a hot air balloon is an adventure everyone should experience at least once.  Ballooning will give you a different perspective in more ways than one.  You won’t find any long security lines, baggage charges, or fasten seatbelt signs on this flight.  Of course, you will see some fantastic views and experience the thrill of floating quietly through the sky.  The landing is what surprised me.  It was certainly an experience!

6.  Learn to wakeboard.

If you desire something a little more challenging, then give wakeboarding a try.  I’d recommend getting an hour or two of instruction on your first time out.  It will give you a jumpstart to ensure you skim right into fun without delay.  If you water-ski, then you’ll find wakeboarding similar, but with just enough differences to make it  a challenge.  I love the feel of gliding over the water and catching a little air as I pass over the wake!

7.  Get your motor running.

Head out on the highway this weekend on a motorcycle and feel the speed as you crank the throttle back.  There is nothing like the power and freedom you experience hitting the road on a high-octane motorcycle.  If this doesn’t wake up a sense of adventure and excitement in you, then nothing will.  Of course, be sure to wear a helmet and drive defensively.  Motorcycles can be lots of fun, but other drivers don’t always give them the respect they deserve on the road.

8.  Go backpacking in a national park.

Walking off into the woods knowing that you have to survive with what you are carrying on your back is fun and exciting.  There is such a feel of freedom and challenge to it.  National parks are excellent settings for a backpacking trip.  It doesn’t matter if this is your first trip or your hundredth.  Backpacking will ignite your senses and raise you up out of the deepest rut.

9.  Climb your way up a rock face.

Rock climbing will get your heart racing.  It is both a physical and mental challenge.  It requires a great deal of concentration so it is a fantastic way to get your mind off of other things for awhile.  If you are like me and the area where you live lacks a lot of natural settings for rock climbing, then look for an indoor climbing gym.  These gyms will rent you everything you need and also offer instruction to get you started.

10.  Speed across the water.

Boating is always an adventure.  There is nothing like pushing off as the captain of your own vessel.  This is true regardless of whether you are in a ski boat, sailboat, WaveRunner, or pontoon boat.  The feeling of cruising across the water with the wind in your face is invigorating!  You are in control and there tons of places to explore and discover out on the water.

11.  Engage friends in a paintball battle.

What is it about challenging a group of friends to a mock war that is so much fun?  I’m not sure, but paintball will certainly enliven an afternoon.  Why lie around on the couch when you can sneak up on your buddy and pop him with a plastic bubble full of your favorite color?  Paintball will put all your senses on full alert and get you moving.  Find a range near you and become a paintball hero!

Take the initiative and be the fun one!

I hope these ideas will help you create a little adventure in your life very soon.  You need to get out and enjoy all that life has to offer!  It isn’t difficult.  It just takes a little initiative and planning, but trust me, you’ll thank yourself for it.  If you do it, your friends might even start thinking you are the fun one to hang around!

What do you do for adventure?

Photo by Davichi

Adventure is what the doctor prescribes.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  It was amazing how much better I felt after taking a week off from the office.  Depending on your situation, you might need more time off to really make a fresh start.  I recently found an article at Brave New Traveler called 12 Personal Travel Websites That Will Make You Quit Your Day Job.  This article includes links to sites of regular people that have gone on some pretty incredible adventures.  It also includes a brief description of every traveler’s journey.  Some of the sites are a little dated now, but their stories are still inspiring and amazing to me.

My excuses for remaining in a rut.

I have all kinds of excuses for staying at home and wallowing in my boredom, but ultimately none of them usually hold water.  However, I now believe what Mark Twain states below and I have committed myself to getting the most out of life by overcoming my excuses.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
~Mark Twain

Are you with me?  Let’s examine a few of the excuses that I have used for remaining in my rut and see if any of them resonate with you.

1. I have young children so I can’t travel.  I have become living proof that this one is false.  I have two young kids and I have worked it out.  Where there is a will, there is a way, you just have to find it.  Cruises are an excellent way to travel and see the world with children.  My wife and I took one of our kids on a cruise a couple of years ago and she had a blast (and so did we)!  We have also been lucky enough to arrange to have family members stay at our house and watch our children while we traveled the last couple of years.  Maybe you have people in your life that could assist you, but if not don’t let this stop you because it is possible to travel with kids if you do it right.
2. I don’t have the money.  I solved this one when I got on a budget and paid off my debt.  I have since made travel a priority by creating a vacation envelope and saving money each month for my annual journeys.  My wife and I have also used the Internet extensively to find the best deals possible which has saved us a ton.  In addition, if your budget is really tight like ours was for awhile, I have also found that camping in a park in my area is a great way to accomplish the same objective without spending a ton of cash.  Nature is a fabulous fix for the blues.
3. I can’t leave my job for that long.  I discovered that this one is a total myth based on an exaggerated opinion of my own worth to the company or business.  I have found that they always get by at work while I’m gone.  It wasn’t my employer or business that was holding me back.  It was me.  Once I took the leap and just took time off, I found that nothing terrible happened.  If you struggle with this one, I highly recommend reading Tim Ferriss’ book called The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.  He totally debunks this myth.
4. Traveling is so much trouble and I would rather stay home.  I used to feel this way, but now that I have gone places, I have found that the hassle is worth it.  Sure, it is a pain lugging all your stuff to the airport, getting through security, and standing in line at customs, but the rewards far outweigh the trouble.  It is hard to explain, but when I travel to other countries, it awakens a new sense of curiosity in me.  It opens my eyes to new possibilities and stirs the passion within me.  I know that this is a lifelong obsession of mine and I won’t let a few inconveniences ruin that for me anymore.

Get off the computer and get going!

What are you waiting for?  Going on an adventure doesn’t have to be complicated.  I try to make it a part of every trip I take.  Even when traveling on business, I try to take the road less traveled just for the excitement of it.  This will sound silly to some, but where I live we do not have trains to get people around town, so on a trip to Atlanta instead of taking a taxi from the airport to my hotel, I took the train.  It was fun doing something different than what I was used to.  I find even these little adventures exhilarating.  They help break the monotony of everyday living.  It is all a part of living a super-charged life!

Photos by Wonderlane and cwgoodroe