Are You an Adrenaline Junkie?
- Shannon L. Post
- Mar 25, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 11
I love to fly.
Small planes give me a sense of freedom and possibility.
Big jets stuffed with people let me experience humanity up close.
On one flight down to the Lower 48, my seat neighbor struck up a conversation with the usual 'where are you from-ness.'
When I said I was from Alaska, he jumped right to how I managed to make a living in Alaska.
I said, “I help people find careers they love. Usually the creative or adventurous sort that want a job that fits with their lifestyle.”
He piped up, “Well, you can't help me then. I hate my job but I’m not a mountaineer or anything close to that. And I'm too old for adventures.”
"Interesting... I didn't mention mountaineers, and what's with the "too old" thing?
I probed a little and asked him what dreams he had when he was young.
And out came the most intense and awesome conversation.
We talked about how he wanted to live in Mexico, old dreams of taking a motorcycle cross country, how he wanted to write a book in his 20s, and grow his own food, and on and on.
But, "all of it", his words, “was out of reach for a guy my age.”
What?!? I thought to myself.
This guy couldn’t have been more than 35 or 36. I'm not kidding. Not a grey hair on his head.
Who sold him these myths about adventure?!?
Who said they're only for the young?
Who decided that adventure equaled extreme sports?
And worst of all who said they are EVER out of reach?
I really hope this conversation opening this man up to the possibility that he's not to old to reach for his dreams. But this conversation really made me think about the word adventure.
The definition of adventurous is - "adjective: willing to take risks or to try out new methods, ideas, or experiences."
But now I'm curious what it means to you.
Is it moving to Alaska? Learning to play the mandolin? Becoming a professional musician? Just getting your life stable?
What does your next adventure look like?
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