0013: IMAGINATION IS A SUPERPOWER FOR ADVENTURE
Imagination Is A Superpower For Adventure
303 words, < 1.5 minutes
Imagination is a superpower that helps us predict the future. Imagination is active dreaming that starts with a whisper of an idea that we roll around in our mind until it is molded into something that could be – a possibility.
Combine imagination with optimism, the belief that our prediction will be true, and ideas transform into action.
An adventure, a new trick, a recipe from random leftovers, or anything we create begins with imagining a new possibility and doing it.
The biggest challenge with doing something new is that we are lousy at predicting what will happen next. Our results rarely match our imagination. We don’t have enough experience to be aware of alternative possibilities.
Experts use imagination to see the future and predict what might happen next. Through experience, experts develop confidence that the future will unfold as they imagine, and acting on accurate predictions is a pretty good recipe for success.
I recently learned a tip for getting better at drawing. Instead of looking at the point where we are drawing, where the pen meets the paper, it helps to look slightly ahead to where we want to go.
I think I’ve heard similar advice a million times – look where you want to go. However, it is more complicated than simply looking towards the future. If we look too far ahead and only where we are going, we’ll miss all of the possibilities around us. The best artists, athletes, adventurers, and experts stretch their awareness and imagination to find more possibilities and the best future to believe in.
It’s easy to get lost or overwhelmed by only focusing on where we are and where we want to be. The gap is intimidating. But with imagination, we can start somewhere and follow possibilities anywhere – and that is one heck of a superpower.
We started Adventure Nerds to stoke people’s imagination and provide awareness and ideas for planning adventures. We want people to take Guide Notes and create new possibilities for their own adventures.
Does that mean that Adventure Nerds can give you superpowers? We hope so.
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LINKS FOR ADVENTURE NERDS
BALANCING ADVENTURE AND FAMILY
Alastair Humpherys’ post, How does an ‘Adventurer’ get so much Time away from their family to go on Adventures? A confession…, was very relatable. He described “the struggle between family time and adventure time to be the single greatest challenge of [his] last decade!” He’s one of the best writers about adventure and has written about everything from epic journeys to his pioneering movement for micro-adventures. His solution for finding balance has been to live adventurously instead of living for the next big adventure. As always, he does a great job of providing real-world examples. I appreciate how his experiences on adventures translate to everyday life, just sub any “time-consuming-priority” for adventures and it’s a similar challenge.
Read More (Alastair Humphreys) 10+ minutes
HOW TO DATE AN ATHLETE
This was another sneaky story about learning life from adventures. The show title could have easily been, How to be a Great Partner, but that’s not nearly as catchy. The podcast was part editorial and part interview. Paddy O, Carly, and her family talking about balancing their adventures made me chuckle.
Listen (Outside Podcast) 33+minutes
RIDING THE RAILS
I love the idea and the execution of building a tandem bike to ride on old railroad tracks. It’s a great example of imagination, optimism, and action.
Watch (Smartwool YouTube) 10 minutes
KEN JARVELA – A SOLO MOUNTAIN ARTIST
I enjoyed listening to Ken tell his story about choosing his path as an artist. He packs all of his art supplies and camping supplies and hikes into the mountains of Northern California for weeks at a time. His descriptions of his adventures are almost as much an escape as his paintings.
Listen (Dirtbag Diaries – Backcountry Brushes) 43+minutes (start at 1:28)
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