Five-minute read: Neuroscience shows why adventure is really good for us – and Great Walks couldn't agree more.
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams” – Oprah.
I often feel frantic and frazzled getting ready for a weekend walking adventure. Projects pile up on top of an already busy life and I wonder if I’m weird. But when I stand on that summit overlooking the vast wilderness of rich emerald forest or gaze across snow-capped peaks or feel the sun warm my skin as it pops over the horizon, a weight lifts off my shoulders and the whole world glows.
The call to adventure is in our DNA. It motivates and excites us as we gather skills, fitness and gear to prepare for a quest. Life takes on a whole new dimension of happiness and fulfilment. Then when we’re immersed in the adventure we feel awesome. We share magic moments of wonder and awe.
Doctors call it lifestyle medicine. We call it adventure.
Neuroscience shows why adventure is really good for us. It increases our happy hormones and decreases our stress ones. But when you choose an active adventure, like a great walk, you get even more physical, mental and emotional goodness, plus extra motivation to train. Adventure is a state of mind. Active adventure is a state of mind, body and spirit.
In spite of 35 years of seeking health and fitness, I discovered the healing powers of adventure through adversity. When I was tired, miserable, wrung out and fighting forty, I faced a mid wife crisis. I overcame it by embarking on a challenging trek with friends that changed my life. And now I help others do the same through wild adventure.
Psychiatrists say three things make us happy: someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to: adventure. But I want more than just happiness. I want natural exhilaration. And to get natural exhilaration we need nature as well. Nature brings sustainable happiness and fulfilment. It helps us thrive. In nature we find real health and power. Nature energises mind, body and spirit; it nourishes and activates.
As I soar towards sixty with a fit, healthy, resilient body and mind, leading a business that supports nearly 20,000 trekkers and a family of four, I feel not just happy, but fulfilled. I can still do handstands, climb trees, bounce on beds, out-ski my kidults (not bragging, just saying) and dance about. And so can you.
Adventure is a metaphor for life. There’s the thrill of the planning, the excitement of the challenge, the freedom of the hills, the meditation of movement and the exhilaration of overcoming the odds.
The Adventure Mindset is a formula for exhilaration. It is a thought tool that helps you adapt the lessons of wild adventure to everyday life. It builds mental toughness and confidence helping us kick arse at work, home and in life. When you experience a challenging adventure in the wilderness you develop skills that can help you better handle stress and difficulties in your day-to-day life.
The Adventure Mindset starts with a purpose. When you add people and a plan, you get pleasure and power. And when you add nature, you get natural exhilaration. Life can be tough. Hardships hurt. But when life whacks you in the face, you’ll whack it right back. So get another great walk on your calendar and feel natural exhilaration.
Words_Di Westaway