ADVENTURE + ALIVENESS Page 7 of 22

Happy L.E.A.P. year! Free mini e-course to kick start your year!

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Happy new year! In case you hadn’t noticed, 2016 isn’t just any year, it’s a Leap Year, so it’s extra special.

These days we all complain about not having enough time to do the things we want, but as this is a leap year we all have a whole extra day to play with, and we can use the concept of ‘leaping’ to inspire us all year long. What will you do with your 2016?

Now the new year is here and things already feel different. Calmer, more relaxed, full of promise. Personally I have a major change to make this year, from business owner to writer (more on that soon I promise, it’s very exciting!) Given the time of year, I am sure you have also been thinking about changes you can make in your life. Well I have some good news for you my friend…

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To help you make the most of it, and commit to at least one important change, we have designed a 10-part mini e-course called L.E.A.P. to help you find the courage, dedication and focus to make a major leap this year. It is FREE – our gift to you as we begin this new year. I hope it will help you get your closer to doing what you love, for life. Sign up here and begin today!

What’s it all about?

In this very simple FREE ten-part mini course, we offer you a fun new way to make any kind of important change in your life. This could be something small but important, like a new way of nourishing yourself, or something major like quitting your job and changing career. Sometimes we can get so caught up with thinking about the thing we want to change, and so hung up on what might happen if we make the change, that we go round and round in circles and never actually get anywhere. (Sound familiar? We’ve all been there!) This mini series offers you a whole new perspective—or set of lenses—through which to view your opportunity and make decisions to help you make that change, whatever it may be. Try it, it might just work for you!

How it works

Once you have registered here, each day for ten days we will send you a short email introducing the next step in the process. Each day will focus on a different ‘career’ to use as your lens through which to view the opportunity and challenges. So for example, day one is all about seeing your challenge through the eyes of a doctor (not suggesting you consider becoming a doctor, but rather considering the qualities and characteristics of a doctor, and how they might approach a given problem).

Each day you will be given details of the step you are on, a new lens through which to view your challenge or the change you want to make, and a simple exercise to do, or question to answer, to help you move forward. By the end of the ten days you should have made a major psychological shift towards making a specific change in your life, and hopefully will have taken action in the right direction.

Sound good? Sign up now and begin today. It’s free, so what are you waiting for?

I am using this very course to make my own big change—from happy blogger to professional writer—and I cannot wait to see what change you decide to commit to with L.E.A.P. Be sure to let me know on Facebook or Twitter!

Happy leaping, and a very happy 2016,

Beth and the DWYL team

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PS Still not spent any time looking back over the past year and designing your ideal 2016? Our free toolkit New Year’s Revolution is fully updated for 2016 and waiting for you to download now. Mr K and I spent several happy hours in a coffee shop working through it together, and it has become the basis for all we plan to focus on in 2016.

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PPS If you feel like you need a real helping hand with making major shifts this year, finding your passion and strategising how to do what you love every day, join us for the next Do What You Love e-course. The course begins on January 18, and won’t run again until the end of the year, so if you want a structured five week programme to help you make major changes this year, don’t miss it. Register here.

 

Happy New Year! Make this the year you do what you love

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What is it you really want? The courage to start a new career? The time to pursue passions and hobbies? The freedom to travel and have big adventures? Or simply to “feel differently” about your life, just as it is? All of those wants — and so many others — stem from one big desire… The desire to do what you love. 

And if that’s what you want, you’ve arrived in the best possible place you can be. This is your launchpad — and this is your community. And the Do What You Love e-course might just change your life.

Do What You Love is about re-opening doors that you thought were locked shut… re-opening possibilities that you thought were long gone… and illuminating possibilities you never knew existed.

If you find yourself thinking things like: “I can’t afford to _______” … or “I’m too old to _______” … or “I’m going to need years of training before I can _______” … or “It’s just not realistic for me to _______”… or “But what if ______”, Do What You Love will show you that all of your options are still open, no matter what your current circumstances and responsibilities may be.

Inside this course possibility is your new reality. 

Make this year the year you start doing what you love. Find out more or register HERE.

Are you up for a Christmas microadventure?

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This is a guest post by adventurer, author and motivational speaker Alastair Humphreys. Find out more about Alastair here.

Alastair Humphreys

Over the past few summers I have been trying to rally people to tackle a summer solstice micro adventure. It has been a pleasant success, with loads of people heading for the hills. This year lots of people have been tackling a microadventure each month as part of the Year of Microadventure Challenge. Setting the idea as a challenge was a great way of galvanising people to action. People who quite liked the idea of sleeping on a hill but would not ordinarily do it were motivated to get outdoors and try something new.

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So here is a challenge for you: a winter solstice microadventure…

The 21st December is the shortest day of the year. The day is short, the night is long. But if the weather is fresh and clear this can be a beautiful season. The sun lies low in the sky, backlighting or silhouetting the world beautifully. And the night is cold and long, filled with stars and the greedy knowledge that you own this night while everyone else is tucked up indoors frittering their lives in front of X-Factor Xmas Specials. You are out there, beneath the glory of the heavens (and – perhaps – freezing your arse off wishing you were back home in front of the telly).

Most people have a chunk of time off somewhere between now and early January. Why not spend one of those nights out on a local microadventure? Head out of town with a friend or two. Climb a hill. Crack open a box of 50%-reduced mince pies and a few beers. Earn your Christmas Dinner. Work off your Christmas Dinner. Do whatever you like. But why not try to squeeze one last night in the wild into these last few nights of the year? Reflect on the year just passed, scheme for the year ahead.

Have a look at this video – it might spark an idea.

A Winter Microadventure: Cycle to the Sea from Alastair Humphreys on Vimeo.

If you decide to do a winter microadventure, pop your pics and stories on Facebook,  Twitter or Instagram. Make sure to use the #microadventure hashtag to share your story with everyone else. Have a look here to see what everyone else has been up to.

I’ve done this for the past few winters, and here’s how I spent one evening: not exactly suffering – there was even bacon!

So, please, do consider a night under the stars this Christmas time. It’s entirely compatible with nights out at the pub or friends’ houses. It’s compatible with getting home for a full day of putting up the Christmas decorations. It’s so easy to do, but so memorable, refreshing and fun! Work out where you need to be to see the sunrise (use this great link). Tell somebody where you are going and when you’ll be back. And then go!

The Challenge Rules

Here’s the stuff you’ll need, complete with links to help you if you need more information:

  • Sleeping bag: Don’t buy anything special. Just go with what you have and add as many jumpers as necessary.
  • Sleeping mat: If you suspect you will not do a lot of camping just buy one of these cheap ones. Really makes a difference to your warmth in winter.
  • Bivvy bag: There are cheap, medium and expensive options. This explains everything you need to know. If you’re worried about rain take a basha too.
  • Woolly hat: Santa hats get bonus points.
  • Waterproof clothes
  • Warm clothes: Christmas jumpers get bonus points.
  • Torch
  • Toothbrush: put the toothpaste on at home and wrap the brush in cling film.
  • Toilet paper
  • Food and water
  • Mince pie & Whisky.

How to make hard choices

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Here’s a talk that could literally change your life. Which career should I pursue? Should I break up — or get married?! Where should I live? Big decisions like these can be agonisingly difficult. But that’s because we think about them the wrong way, says philosopher Ruth Chang. Chang believes that hard choices are a godsend because they give us the power to create reasons for us to live the life we want. To become distinctive. And to become the author of our own destiny.

In this insightful TED Talk on decision-making and the human condition, Chang looks at how we exercise our freedom through the choices we make. She explores the relationship between reason and value, looks at how we navigate ourselves through the sea of pros and cons and offers a powerful new framework for defining who we truly are. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

What hard choices have you faced in the past? What did you do? What tips/techniques worked well? What hard decisions are you facing at the moment? Which choice will you make?

What the tarot reader said… (and this is no word of a lie)

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A lot of things happened during my maternity leave, most notably the arrival of our gorgeous baby girl Maia. But another that really stands out in my mind was a visit to a tarot reader in Brighton, just before we moved house.

If you had said the word ‘tarot reader’ to me a few years ago I would have rolled my eyes as the sceptic that I used to be. But then a couple of years ago, one of our collaborators—the wonderful Lilla Rogers—insisted we have a joint reading done before signing our partnership renewal contract. No pressure then! As it turns out, the reader (who pretty much blew my mind), said we have a very strong karmic connection, hinted at by the fact the same karma cards kept coming up again and again. And then she said we had known each other in several past lives, including one when we were travelling male musicians in Ireland, and another where I was a shaman and Lilla was my assistant. As you might imagine, we signed that contract pretty much as soon as we got out the door, and Lilla continues to be a dream to work with.

With that, my curiosity was officially piqued. I have been back twice since, once getting a valuable insight which helped me make a major business decision, and once a couple of months ago, just before we moved house.

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Replace fear with curiosity

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As anyone who’s done it knows, discovering your life’s purpose and getting on the path to doing what you love is the most incredible feeling in the world. It’s exciting, exhilarating and energising but at the same time there’s an element of fear that comes with jumping into the unknown.

You might know what you should be doing (taking brave steps forward and embracing a whole new world and everything in it) but feel afraid to act because making such bold decisions or big life changes seems risky. What if you lose what you already have by walking this new path?

Before you know it the internal conflict between what you truly want and what you already have is spiralling out of control and you find yourself stuck. Frozen by fear.

Whenever you your mind starts ruling your heart, it can help to remind yourself why you went looking for your true passion in the first place. Why is pursuing a life with meaning important to you? How did you feel when you were lost; wandering aimlessly through life? Would you really be happy doing something that doesn’t matter to you? What do you really have to lose by taking this new path? Then ask yourself:

  1. What is the best that can happen?
  2. What is the worst that can happen?
  3. What will happen if I do nothing and everything stays the same?

As Alan Watts says: “By replacing fear of the unknown with curiosity we open ourselves up to an infinite stream of possibility. We can let fear rule our lives or we can become childlike with curiosity, pushing our boundaries, leaping out of our comfort zones, and accepting what life puts before us.”  

Sometimes the only way to overcome your fear of unknown is to take the first step and do something. Turn your fear into curiosity. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“You’re already naked, so there is no reason why  you don’t follow your heart.” ~ Steve Jobs

Is something stopping you from following your dreams? Do you want to make changes but find the process daunting? Is fear holding you back? Think about it… what are you afraid of that you should be curious about instead?

L.E.A.P.

How to start living a fear-free life

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Today’s post is from our Senior Editor, Rachel Kempton

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” ~ Nelson Mandela

If we could wave a magic wand and remove all your fears – every single one of them – how different would your life be? What would you do?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since my grandpa got ill. At the ripe old age of 88 he might be frail and suffering with a brain tumour, but as he looks back on his life, he’s as positive as ever about the amazing experiences he’s had and the valuable lessons he’s learnt along the way. He talks with so much passion and pride about his adventures, for example: how he rose through the ranks to become Captain in the army and took big risks for high rewards in business; how he travelled the world and bought a 27ft yacht which he sailed around Holland, and how he taught himself to play the piano and he even wrote a book about his experiences so our family have a record of the life and times enjoyed by his generation. “I’ve had the most wonderful life,” he always says, “I’ve no regrets. None whatsoever.”

FullSizeRender-3Self published: my grandpa’s book. He always says ‘life’s not bad’  – it’s his way of saying ‘life is wonderful’

It must feel amazing to be able to look back at your life and know that you have achieved everything you wanted to. You must feel immense satisfaction and inner peace knowing that regardless of how scared you might have felt, or how worried you were about the impact of your choices, you were brave enough to follow your dreams and live the life you imagined.

As John Lennon puts it: “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”

Fear can be a good thing – if we choose to see it that way

It doesn’t matter whether you are a first-time parent, an aspiring traveller or a seasoned athlete, every single one of us is afraid of something. Fear is a tricky emotion. It can paralyze you. It can keep you from your dreams. It can keep you small, safe and comfortable. At yet, in just the right doses, it can also be your friend.

Or fears can be our greatest source of power, our biggest motivation and our best teachers. What they need is love. Fear only grows when you let it consume you and that usually happens when we forget how helpful it is trying to be. Ultimately, fear really does want the best for us, no matter how irrational it may seem.

Embrace the four Cs

  1. Clarity: Of course it’s only natural that we want to deny, run from and ignore the things that scare us, but the first step in dealing with fear is to recognize that it is inevitable. Keep a clear and objective mind and it is possible to move through fear and overcome it. Just stay focused on what you want to achieve, and what you’re doing to get there.
  2. Choice: when you choose to make friends with fear you open yourself up to a whole new world of possibility. Think about all the fantastic opportunities that could come your way if you can find the courage to expand your horizons.
  3. Confidence: it may take a huge amount of strength, but when it comes to facing your fears it helps to be in the know. Preparing in advance – whether it be with information, physical training, psychological help and support, or by improving your skills or level of experience – will help you keep your cool and maintain a sense of control when the going gets tough.
  4. Character building: remember that we can only grow if we have the courage to challenge ourselves. When we face our fears we become better versions of ourselves.

As you face your fears and increase your freedom and happiness by allowing your dreams to become a reality, the good life is inevitable. So ask yourself this: what would I do today, if I were brave?

Need more inspiration? We love these books about bravery…

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A week in Rwanda…

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This is a guest post from Claire Le Hur who is cycling to China with her fiancé Stuart Block. The couple will start their journey in East Africa where they will follow new ‘silk roads’ charting the journey of key natural resources as part of an exciting new education project. Claire will be riding a bamboo bike, built by an African social enterprise and Stuart will ride a tandem, keeping the back seat free for those they meet en route. They will also be raising money and awareness for two great educational charities. Find out more about Claire’s big adventure here.

Claire Le Hur

In my last post I talked about the genocide memorial and this atrocity is still what many people think of when they think of Rwanda. And yet Rwanda is a beautiful and fertile country where 80 per cent of the children go to school and where littering is illegal. In fact people are so conscious of keeping their community clean that they spend the last Saturday of every month cleaning up their streets.

It is amazing how far Rwanda come in the last 20 years, but despite its progress there are still many big issues simmering beneath the surface that lead you to question if, and when, things might start to unravel again. For example:

  • 80 per cent of the population live on less than $2 per day, and 65 per cent on less than $1
  • freedom of speech is non-existent
  • disabled people are often exiled and there are stories of a ‘prison’ on Lake Kivu
  • despite the brilliant work by the Gacaca court to reconcile Tutsi and Hutu, many feel that there are still underlying tensions because most government and high paid jobs are now being taken by Tutsis and because many Tutsis still feel that revenge would be just.
  • Allegedly Rwanda is supporting the rebels over the border in DRC and there are some dubious dealings going on concerning the export of minerals and weapons.
  • President Kagame has worked wonders since the genocide, and while there is something to be said for a ‘benign dictatorship’, in 2017 he will stand for a third term – which is constitutionally illegal – and there is no opposition. Who knows what will happen at election time but hopefully the current climate in Burundi is not a hint of things to come.

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Almost fearless

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This is a guest post by adventurer, author and motivational speaker Alastair Humphreys. Find out more about Alastair here.

Alastair Humphreys

“O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in’t!” ~ William Shakespeare

It’s good to be almost fearless.

Many of the things that used to really frighten me don’t bother me at all anymore.

Most of us have been brought up, very sensibly, to worry a lot. Here are some of the issues that we like to have a good worry about:

  • Career progression
  • Earning as much money as our friends
  • Getting a decent Christmas bonus (a mixture of the two points above)
  • What people think about us
  • Wearing stylish clothes

In recent years I have not worried about any of these. (Those who know me will say I never paid much heed to the last one!). And the funny thing is that the less I care, the more I just concentrate on following my own path, doing what I care about and am passionate about, the more money I earn and the curve of my “career” progression steepens.

I’m aware that my “career” is an odd one, hence the quote marks. But the point is that by consciously choosing not to worry about all the things I was supposed to be worrying about, a lot of them simply slipped away. They didn’t really matter to me.

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