Do One Thing

Do one thing.  

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with saying, "Do one thing each day that scares you."

These days just getting out in traffic seems to be the scariest thing I do. Why would Eleanor challenge us to do scary things?

Perhaps because she knew that if we wanted to lead a life of adventure, we would have to face being scared.  Chris Guillebeau states in his book, The Happiness of Pursuit, "If you want to make every day an adventure, all you have to do is prioritize adventure."

In prioritizing adventure we make it important. We make time for it, save for it, and long for it. As a child each new day was a new adventure for me. Even a simple walk home from school might end up with me going a different way just to make it interesting. In my constant quest for knowledge you might find me reading a book about King Arthur, collecting toads in a terrarium for the summer, or bringing home a chemistry book to create a new invention in a Dixie cup. I can remember rock hunting, creating puppets for a puppet show or choreographing a ballet for my neighborhood girlfriends, even though I'd never taken a lesson in my life. 

Childhood for me was one adventure after another. I was either exploring the forests of Germany, ice skating in New York or swimming in Florida. I really didn't think twice about trying something new. Predictably, though, once I entered adolescence that spirit of adventure began to fade as I worried too much about what other people thought of me, whether I'd ever be popular or if some boy might like me?  More and more I lost that sense of self and conformed to those around me. 

Fast forward about forty-five years, and I find myself longing for that adventurous little girl again. The one who woke each morning ready to take on the day. The one who didn't let not knowing hold her back. The one who saw possibilities and fun around every corner. 

Maybe setting Eleanor Roosevelt's goal of doing one thing each day that you are uncertain of, frightened by, or uncomfortable with might open up the door to adventure?