‘Close your eyes.
Think of an adventure.
What do you see?’
From Constellations-Reflections from Life by Sinead Gleeson
It’s a provocative word, isn’t it? It can make you feel inadequate when you see others taking life on, full throttle. It can make you feel that you do not have what it takes to be brave, risky, a dare devil, a ‘what the hell,’ let’s do it anyway kind of attitude. My brother has often said that he wants to ‘go skidding into his grave.’ Slightly dramatic and not literally; I reassure my mom.
I, on the other hand, have never considered myself an adventurer. I have never navigated a rockface, flown a plane, entered a marathon, (a half marathon, I have achieved) or ridden a motorbike. I have never consciously risked my life, given up all that I have, to seek something more meaningful, taken a year out to travel the world (yet) or learned a new language. I have never learned to play an instrument. So, what does that make me? Reader do not answer just yet!
I think back to the child I was and the social and cultural opportunities I encountered. The confines of the estate on which I lived were not intentionally constraining me, but insecurity on all planes did have a part to play in shielding me from new horizons, limiting choice. I rarely looked beyond the current possibility. Here, my route was determined by my heritage. Or so I thought. But then I look back and know that my roots were my grounding for what was to come.
There have been so many times where I broke the mould, worked incredibly hard, followed a dream, despite discomfort and fear of failure. Where I was intrepid, where I did travel and leave the familiar, where I tried new things. At almost 60 I celebrate the women that came before me, the pathways they forged so that I could spread my wings. I refuse to accept that defining our own idea of adventure should is still not the right of so many. In my work I help others to uncover their adventurous life to date so that planning the next begins in a resourceful place.
My definition of adventure? To get up each day and dare to think differently. No matter what my current circumstance be prepared to evolve from that point, make that 1% change towards an improved version of myself. And most definitely identify who I want on my team to help me achieve that.
And back to our beginning- ‘Close your eyes. Think of an adventure. What do you see?’
If you would like to learn more about Sinead Gleeson Amazon has some excellent reading.
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