When you were young, did you ever daydream about being an explorer — having epic adventures, discovering new places, living wild and free? I mean, didn’t we all?!
When I was little, I would lie on the brown shag carpet in our living room, flipping through the pages of National Geographic, absolutely mesmerized by the photos. I often wondered what it would be like to sit on the other side of the camera, living a life full of new and interesting places, people, and experiences.
The truth is, all of life is an exploration. From the moment you’re born until the last breath leaves your body, every experience is an opportunity to discover something new as you make your way through the grandest adventure of all — being a human in the world.
What I’ve learned over the years is that exploration isn’t about the work you do or the places you go. It’s a mindset, a way of being in the world. It’s about how you show up for and engage with life. And it all starts by simply being curious.
Becoming an Explorer
Being an explorer means getting curious about our own thoughts and preconceived notions, which takes a tremendous amount of courage! It’s about setting aside what we think we know so we can ask questions, dive deeper, and see what else is waiting beyond our snap judgments.
As we embark on this journey together, I ask you to remove “right” and “wrong” from your vocabulary.
When you find yourself judging ideas, opinions, people, situations, etc., pause and get curious. Start by asking, “What other way is there to look at this?” or “What else is possible?” and see what comes up.
Considering a different point of view doesn’t necessarily mean that you agree. It simply means you are open-minded enough to set aside what you think you know and try looking through a different lens.
Consider this an invitation to consider new possibilities and perspectives. Let’s see where curiosity, creativity, and courage can take us, for they will be our constant companions on this journey.
My path to becoming an explorer has been a fifteen-year process of unraveling my own thought processes, beliefs, and societal programming. It’s required me to admit that I don’t know shit and am always going to be a work in progress.
So, how did I come to this way of life?
A Moment of Reflection
At twenty-five years old, I was in my final semester of college, waiting for my divorce to be finalized, and living all alone for the very first time. Sitting alone in my new apartment, I knew it was time to face the music.
Instead of beating myself up for the past, I chose to get curious. I was determined to figure out how it had happened because I refused to find myself in a situation like that ever again.
In that moment, I decided that if I was going to go through the hard shit, I was at least going to learn something from it. Though it was painful to acknowledge that I was the creator of my own mess, it opened the door for me to consider how I could do things differently going forward.
Less than one year later, I had landed my dream job and finally traveled overseas a bit, a dream I’d had since those days of my childhood fascination with National Geographic. Although my first big international travels were for work, those trips sparked a wildfire of curiosity that would fuel the next fifteen years! (Plenty of those stories to come!)
Once I started asking, “What else is possible?”, I couldn’t stop. In 2012, I quit my MBA program, burned down my traditional corporate career, and walked away from everything I’d been told was “success”.
Instead of miserably trudging along a path the world around me said was “right”, I set out to find one that would bring me closer to the life I craved. Though it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done (yes, still to this day), there have been exactly zero times I’ve regretted taking the leap.
So, here we are…
Along the wild and winding road to this place, I’ve gathered stories, observations, and insights that are asking to be shared. They’ve come from far-flung places as well as my own backyard.
My hope is that The Explorer’s Blog is a space where curious minds can find one another. The intention is to share what I’ve learned over the years spent indulging my curiosity and creating a way of life that feels good and true to all the parts of me.
I imagine this publication will be part manifesto, part storytime, and part “how to” for engaging your own curiosity, creativity, and courage. There will be both lighthearted fun and deep thoughts. These two things can coexist. Life is full of paradoxes, after all. I’m certain there will also be plenty of surprises along the way.
Whether you find a new idea to ponder or discover that you’re not alone in the way you see the world, I hope you find something useful for your own journey here.
Wrapping Up
Tell me what you’re excited to explore these days! What are you exploring? What moments have helped you engage your curiosity?
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