I’ve caught myself over the last few years comparing the size of my adventures with the size of other’s adventures. Almost the same way we look at someone with a great body or beautiful face. And at times it has kept me from getting outside. I know this sounds ridiculous but I’ve actually said to myself “this adventure isn’t big enough”, “so and so went on an adventure last week that puts this to shame” and then I didn’t do it. What? This is crazy talk! Our adventures will always pale in comparison to the person to the left or right of us if we allow them to.
STOP! RESET.
The craziest part? I’m no slouch when it comes to getting outside. I do some pretty awesome shit. It’s in these moments that I focus on the voice inside that says “thank you for getting outside today, thank you for pushing your body to its own limits not someone else’s and most importantly good fucking job Sarah!”
There will always be societal pressures to be the biggest and the best, this will never go away. Comparing our adventures to other’s adventures, especially if we allow Instagram and Facebook in the mix, is hopefully something that we can let go of. At the very least we can stop giving it the power to keep us inside.
Adventures don’t need to be huge and epic to be meaningful. If we take all our little accomplishments and add them up they equal one great achievement, LIFE!
Allowing ourselves to be proud of our own adventures, no matter the size, is the secret to happiness.
Post by Sarah White, Founder