As an adventurer with many good times as well as good stories of misadventures under my belt, I wanted to share with you five tried and true secrets to happiness for adventurers. The happy campers get all the notoriety, but not any longer. Move on over; it’s time for the Happy Adventurers.
1. Do a dress rehearsal with gear.
I cannot stress enough the dress rehearsal. No theatre group or musician would take the stage without one. Don’t head out on an adventure with new hiking boots, shoes or clothes you haven’t worn, nor a backpack without a dry run. Start to break the gear in on the dress rehearsal or fix glitches before the adventure. This goes for technology as well. Test out the selfie sticks, waterproof cameras, and other gadgets before the trip. It is all about the dress rehearsal.
2. Be OK with Plan B or C.
In a perfect world, albeit boring world, Plan A would go off without a hitch. However, if you are striving for happiness on your adventures, be prepared to be flexible. Get creative. Be OK with change and adapt to a Plan B or even Plan C. Quite honestly, some of my best adventures were from a Plan A that morphed into Plan D, E, and then F. Part of an adventure is just that, facing challenges and evolving to adapt and overcome them.
3. Never pass up a bathroom nor a shower.
Be wise upon your adventure. If you see a bathroom, use it. Many a wrench have been put into adventures because of traveler’s diarrhea or a ferry boat with no head (marine toilet). Regardless if you are adventuring alone or with a companion, the same goes for showers. Take the opportunity to shower. Hot or cold do it. A clean adventurer is a happy adventurer. No one wants to be the stinky kid. Don’t have a towel. Heck, that’s why you should travel with a sarong. With a sarong, you can never be wrong. It’s a towel, picnic blanket, and a dress or kilt if someone has an accident.
4. Make sleep a priority.
I’ve heard from big talkers on the road, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Well, I think that is just crazy. When you are adventuring you must be alert. Little sleep or poor sleep lead to insanity and higher probability of misadventures. Bring earplugs, an eye-mask, sleeping pads, extra pillow, or take your sleeping aid of choice to get your beauty rest.
5. When the shit hits the fan, remain calm, and go find a good therapy session.
I would suggest a local bar, but it you don’t drink sub a bar for a chocolate or coffee shop. Many solutions have been found at the bottom of a bottle of beer, cup of cappuccino, or after a dark chocolate truffle. If it’s a bigger problem, I would prescribe all three. No I didn’t say three of each, but to each their own.
Happy trails happy adventurers!
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Here’s to looking up!
