Ever been torn between a safe and an outrageous option?
If you’re anything like me, your immediate reaction would be to imagine the possibilities of the outrageous.
You picture yourself living your wildest dreams and you crave that lifestyle with every bone in your body.
But you also know that this isn’t a given. It’s an unknown. In fact, it’s usually unlikely that you’ll succeed. That’s why it’s such a scary option to take.
Suddenly, the comfort of the safe option becomes so apparent. Your friends, your family, your hobbies, your normal life. It all feels more important now. Being normal suddenly seems so awesome.
But is it awesome? Or is it that your brain is scared of change? Your brain will try to trick you out of doing anything unknown, because it wants to keep you alive.
It happened to me
On December 21, I landed back in the UK after my tour of Europe.
Back in a city I knew how to navigate. Back with friends who had the same interests as me. Back in the arms of a woman who already knew how awesome I was.
After months of confusion, chaos and adventure, I was back in my comfort zone. And it felt so good.
I was spending too much in Europe, plus I was getting frustrated jumping countries just as I was getting to know cool people.
Meanwhile, in London I had a girlfriend, awesome hobbies, a couple of cool side-hustles, a solid group of mates.
I told myself this was all I needed – and maybe it was at the time – but soon enough the call to adventure started crowing again.
‘What if?’
A friend reminded me how cheap it was to live in South East Asia. I was born to do it, she said. She told me about the parties, the paradise, the warm climates.
I tried to ignore her. I thought I’d found my happily ever after here in London. Was there really more adventures that needed completing?
Then, the call came loud and clear
“What if?”
“Huh?”
“What if it’s as brilliant as everyone says? What if this is the best thing you’ll ever do?”
“What if it’s not?”
The truth is it’s almost definitely going to be more eventful than the maybe-slightly-above-average life I set up here in London. If it sucks or I fail somehow, that life won’t be too difficult to build up again.
Meanwhile, if I perservered with the safe option, that voice would keep crowing until the day I died.
“What if? What if? What if? What if?”
Is there actually anything worse in life than regrets?
One shot
We get one shot at life. When you’re super-old, can you imagine looking back and being pleased you played it safe?
“Thank God I did that decision that made my life the same as everyone else’s.”
No.
Life is measured by the moments that scare us. These are the decisions that make us proud once we’re elderly. They allow us to die happy knowing we tried to live the most exciting life we could.
That’s why I ditched the lovely lady, said sayanora to the awesome mates and booked myself a one-way ticket to Malaysia.
I’m writing this blog post on the plane. My prediction is that (like most things) it won’t turn out to be nearly outrageous as I imagined. After all, people have travelled solo in Asia before. Nevertheless, I’ll do my best to find cool, unique, scary stuff to blog about.
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