Why You Must Not Ignore The Call to Adventure
The following is an excerpt from Chris Guillebeau’s new book, The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life. In ancient myths, most quests were ones of discovery or confrontation. A kingdom was under siege, so it required defending. A minotaur in a faraway land guarded a magic chalice, and only the hero could wrest it back. Happily, real-world quests offer more possibilities than storming castles and rescuing princesses, and with some exceptions modern-day quests can be placed into a few broad categories. Travel is an obvious starting point. As I searched for stories and recruited submissions from readers, I learned of many people who set out to circumnavigate the globe in different fashions or be the first to accomplish a challenging goal far from home. Branching out beyond travel, the categories of learning, documenting, and athleticism were also fairly self-explanatory.
The happiness of pursuit
When an independent learner from Canada decided to tackle the four-year M.I.T. Computer Science curriculum in just one year, publishing his test scores along the way, this was clearly a quest oriented around learning and achievement. When a young woman who competed in international competitions decided to adopt and train an especially difficult horse — eventually placing near the top in an important European championship — this was clearly an athletic pursuit. Perhaps more interesting than topical categories is the broader question of whypeople pursue quests and adventures. The answers can fit into categories too, albeit ones that are not as tightly boxed.
A taxonomy of adventure
As I traveled the world and traversed my inbox, a few themes kept coming up:
Self-Discovery
Just as heroes of old set off on a horse to chase their dreams into an enchanted forest, many people still follow a path to “find” themselves. Nate Damm, who walked across America, and Tom Allen, who set out to cycle the planet from his town in England, originally left home merely because they could. They wanted to challenge themselves by learning more about the world. Some of their friends and family understood their desire to set out on a big journey — both gave up jobs to do so — but others didn’t get it. “This is just something I need to do,” Nate said. “It’s about letting a little risk into your life,” Tom explained.
Reclaiming
In days of old, reclaiming was about taking back the land. Recall Mel Gibson in his classic Braveheart performance standing on a hill and shouting “Freeeee-dooom!” in defense of Scotland against the tyrant Englishmen from the south. Many people still pursue quests of reclaiming, though not usually with swords and shields. Sasha Martin, a woman raising a family in Oklahoma, had grown up living abroad and wanted to introduce her household to an awareness of different cultures. She couldn’t travel to foreign lands, at least not at the time, so she decided to make a meal from every country, complete with an entire menu and mini-celebration. From the frontiers of Alaska, Howard Weaver led a scrappy team that took on an establishment newspaper. In an epic battle that stretched for years, Howard and his staff fought to present a “voice of the people” against a better-funded, big-business paper.
Response to external events
Sandi Wheaton, a career employee for General Motors, was laid off at the height of the auto industry’s downturn in 2009. Instead of choosing the usual strategy (panic, then do everything you can to get another job), she took off for an extended trip, taking photos and documenting the journey as she went along. My own quest to visit every country initially came from a post 9/11 experience, after which I wanted to find a way to meaningfully contribute. My soul-searching led to four years on a hospital ship in West Africa, which sparked everything that would come later. Read full article by CHRIS GUILLEBEAU on CopyBlogger.com
