Have an Adventure Right Now: A Step by Step Guide to an Epic Day

Often people tell me that they can’t go on an adventure right now in their life. They don’t have time, they don’t have the money, and they don’t have the opportunity — all mistakes that I made early on, so I can’t blame them. I also hear, “but it’s boring where I live!” quite frequently as well. That may very well be true, but it’s also a reasonable excuse. So let’s smash through the excuses — I’m going to tell you a few ways that you can go on an adventure right now.

Right now — as in finish reading this and go. Of course, if you can’t go right this moment, this advice won’t lose efficacy by the weekend. But the sooner you get up and do something, the better. The longer we wait, the less likely we are to start, and the more opportunities our brains have to come up with excuses.

Before we get started…

First things first — are you drunk or otherwise impaired? If so, this advice isn’t for you unless you have a trustworthy designated driver/caretaker. Spontaneity is cool and all, but DUIs (or worse) are not.

Have an adventure right now with just a little bit of planning

Step 1. Figure out how much money you have readily available. If you plan to drive, doing this as a group will save on gas money.

Step 2. Go to Google. Type in “Roadside attractions near me.”

Step 3. Scroll through the results until you find a suitable destination within a reasonable distance. One or two hours of driving is usually far enough away to change your perspective a bit.

Step 4. Figure out transportation. Will you be driving or taking public transportation of some kind? Does the cost of gas or fare fit within the budget you figured out in step one? If so , carry on.

Step 5. Get in the car or other form of conveyance and go.

Step 6. Once at the attraction, enjoy yourself. Take some pictures. If you post it to social media, tag me just to say hi.

Step 7. If at all possible, stop at a nearby restaurant, diner, cafe, etc. Not a chain. Grab a snack. Try to make conversation with a local. Be nice about it.

Step 8. Still have time to kill? Pull out your smartphone and pull up Google again. Don’t use Siri in the restaurant, you’ll look like a jerk (because you’ll be acting like one). Search for other interesting/cool/weird stuff in the locale. Go check it out.

Step 9. Repeat until you need to head back. Also, save a little bit more gas or money than you think you will need to get home — just in case.

Step 10. Go home. Smile. You just had an adventure. Tell me about it in the comments below.

Have an adventure right now with no planning

Are you more the spontaneous type? Would you like to be? It’s easier than you think.

Step 1. Start driving.

Step 2. Continue until you find something interesting. This is easier if you avoid the interstate and stick to the highway or county roads.

Step 3. When you come upon that something interesting, spend your time exploring it.

Step 4. Have you driven past a local restaurant or eatery? Grab a snack. Try to make conversation with a local. Be nice about it.

Step 5. Continue driving, or head home. If you continue driving, repeat steps 2-4 until you’re ready to head home.

Step 6. Go home. Smile. You just had an adventure. Tell me about it in the comments below.

Have an adventure now with no money, no car, and no plan

Step 1. Put on your shoes. If it’s cold where you live, put on warm clothes too. Step outside.

Step 2. Start walking.

Step 3. DO NOT head somewhere that you know you love to go. Walk somewhere that you’ve never been before. Is it a cafe? A railroad track? A cornfield? I don’t know, I’m not there.

Step 4. Have you found something interesting yet? If you haven’t left your house yet, and insist there’s nothing interesting in your town then go revisit Rule #45 and start cultivating an explorer’s mind. Don’t be boring.

Step 5. Have you found something interesting? An old cemetery? An abandoned building? A creek that runs through a cornfield? All three would be awesome. Maybe you just found some cool graffiti in an alley. That’s awesome too.

Step 6. Keep stepping until you’re ready to head home.

Step 7. Go home. Smile. You just had an adventure. Tell me about it in the comments below.

Seriously, it’s that easy to have an adventure right now.

I can already sense some people out there saying, “Yeah, but…” Don’t be one of those people. Those people seldom get around to having adventures of any size. Just get up and go do something. It really is just that simple. If you want have adventures, don’t get caught up about what you can’t do — focus on what you can do. Everything in this post is incredibly accessible so that you have an example of how you can go out and have an adventure with only limited resources at your disposal.

Lots of people won’t get up and go. They’ll sit and stay. They won’t go have a microadventure, instead opting to wait until the perfect opportunity for the adventure of their dreams comes along. A lot of those people never have an adventure. Don’t wait.

Have an adventure as soon as you can.