Have you ever felt like your life goes a little stale– you know, things just feel routine or stagnant, and you’re craving an adventure? Same. Maybe it’s the idealistic dreamer inside me, or maybe my subtly rebellious attitude towards life’s restrictions, but I don’t believe life is meant to be ordinary. I don’t think we’re here to go through the motions of mundane routine. Call me an idealist, but when things start to feel stale, I get eager for a change.

Sometimes inspiration for that change comes from the silliest of places- like my Pinterest board. 2019 things, I know. A good, cliche quote or trite life metaphor is sometimes just what you need in life, though. I’m the biggest sucker for quotes. Even cliches open up a world of introspection, brain-storming and reflection if you’re optimistic and willing. I’m an admittedly cheesy gal, but every once in a while, I find a nugget of wisdom that strikes me beyond just “pinning” it to a board, or reading it with a smile. Sometimes I genuinely feel captivated, even momentarily transformed by a few words. Today, I had one of these experiences– and it wasn’t even from Pinterest!

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I am currently reading a book called Love Does by Bob Goff. It’s one of those books that’s been recommended to me numerous times over the years and then managed to get lost on the recommendations list that I file away in my head for a later date. Today was the first time I’ve even had time to read in a couple months, and it is exactly what I self-prescribed on the first free afternoon to show up on my agenda in weeks. The simple act of reading and regaining mental presence is liberating. The book is spiritual at its core, leading me into a trajectory of wanderlust: Who do I want to be? Where do I want to go? What impact do I want to make in this world? It made me hungry for inspiration, and for reigniting dreams- the best and rarest of dreams that create that magical, tingly feeling that seeps in when life suddenly doesn’t feel so ordinary.

Life has started to feel a bit ordinary recently. When I first admitted that to myself I felt a little ridiculous. I have it so lucky and I’m so blessed. How dare I say my life feels stagnant? The thought felt bratty. I stewed over this one for a while and came up with this. Craving more in life isn’t a lack of gratitude. Whimsy and wanderlust are not mutually exclusive from being grateful for the life you have. I have immense gratitude for everyday that I get to take another step on this earth alongside the people I love. I really do. I think gratitude for our present moment is so important, but it’s never wrong to want to expand our horizons. That’s why we’re here.

Rewinding a bit to how I landed upon these realizations.

I’ve been working my first adult job for about 8 months. I love my job, and couldn’t have asked for a better first stab at the “big girl world.” My coworkers are incredible, the company culture is amazing, and I am learning a ton. There is something motivational about the structure and responsibility of adult life, but there are equal parts stagnation. Structure can all too easily propel robotic “responsibility mode” causing the imaginative, whimsical dreamer to fall by the wayside of the day-to-day.

With constant routine, life defers to auto-pilot. Routine cocoons a new comfort zone of boundaries that make everyday life seem pretty ordinary. And auto-pilot will continue to carry us through until we make the conscious choice to disrupt it. Goff made a heavy point that stuck with me. He described how most people live their everyday lives as boats tied to a dock. We float and wait and remain stagnant. We dream but we don’t act. We wait for a “better time” a “different time.” We make excuses. We let the rope that’s hoisting us be the dictator instead of sawing the damn thing off. Umm hello, I feel personally seen and sort of attacked? But simultaneously, I went looking for a saw.

I’m the kind of person who craves life. But like everyone else, I get busy with my routine and forget to crave what’s beyond my 9-5 and the societally imposed expectations of how life should be lived. I fall into the trap and the limiting mindset that we have to suck it up and go through the motions. Well that can be a real soul-suck sometimes.

Something that I’ve realized is that whimsy doesn’t just happen, especially not in auto-pilot. We need to make room for it in our lives. My whimsy is thinking about new people and new places. That isn’t the whimsy for everyone. But no matter your dreams or aspirations or source of tingly joy, you have to turn off auto-pilot to get there.

Life is a heck of a lot better when we’re not victims, we’re not stuck, and we’re not confined to the generic day-to-day no matter how much we (or our bank accounts), make us feel as though we are. What an unfortunate and limiting mindset. Life is hard, but it’s equal parts joyful. Joy doesn’t always come to us in the same way that hardship does. We have to seek joy, even work for it at times. I don’t think a joyful, extraordinary life is reserved for a lucky few, I think it’s for anyone who chooses it.

Reflecting on all of this, and feeling a bit stuck and sad with some recent life circumstances, I naturally called my best friend, Shaina, and said “Hey, let’s go to Bali.” I’ve wanted to travel there for quite a while, but the spontaneity wasn’t exactly casual. Luckily, my friends don’t think I’m totally crazy when I bring these things up out of the blue. Shaina’s response? “Yeah, I’m so down, let’s do it.” This wouldn’t be the first time I came up with some whimsical, out-of-the-blue idea that had momentum for all of 20 minutes before it completely fell through.

But this time, instead of dreaming, fantasizing, hoping, wishing…. looking to everyone else fulfilling their dreams with envy and excuses… thinking of reasons why I couldn’t or shouldn’t take time off work, why I should be saving money for a downpayment on a home some day, or waiting until I got promoted, or moved out or completed some checklist of “somedays” or “if onlys”… we just did it. We booked flights, planned an itinerary. And in less than 4 months from now, I’m officially traveling to Bali with my best friend. And it feels darn good. Darn good to untie myself from the dock.