This blog introduces you to my special brand of BIKE. I show you how to find your Best self, access your Inner strength, tune in to your Killer instincts, and use your Expressive voice. It's inspiring, spiritual, quirky, and it's all in your head. It's about ATTITUDE, not exercise, though that might be a side benefit.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Take the road less traveled

You've heard the phrase, "Think outside the box. Well, try living outside the box, too, and take the road less traveled.

Be brave enough to do the unexpected, the unplanned, the unknown. The first time teaches you trust. The second time, maybe you'll learn or develop a little more patience than you had before. And the times after that lead to pure joy. Why? Because doing the unknown and trusting in your ability to lead yourself somewhere new and exciting builds confidence.

If you can get through a project without a plan, no matter what it is or whether it's been thrust upon you without real choice, that says something about your tenacity and inner strength. Of course, I'm not saying you shouldn't plan. Of course, you should have an overall plan or goal and know what steps you need to take to get there. Or figure them out soon enough! But leave room for spontaneity. Leave room to explore other paths you may not have thought about, because as you move forward on the roads less traveled, opportunities will appear before you. Be willing to embrace them, at least those that attract you in some way.

When you take the road less traveled, you stretch your boundaries and comfort zone. You give yourself extra room to grow. You experience "beyond the norm." That's exactly why I wrote my Arizona backroads book this year (You'll see it soon eough; it'll be in bookstores this fall.). I wanted to give myself permission to see what I hadn't taken the time to see before, what I was slightly afraid of doing in my earlier life. Many of the roads I literally traveled (Photo above leads to Aravaipa Canyon, southeast of Phoenix.) took me to wilderness areas, completely unfamiliar to me at the time, and inhabited only by wild living things that knew how to navigate the land I was invading. I learned to appreciate my smallness on this big earth...and my vulnerabilities.

When you reach the end and turn back, you'll emerge a different person, someone you'll admire even more.

If you've come to that point in your life where you're willing to stretch yourself, tell us how you got there? Did you experience an a-ha! moment, or some kind of awakening? If so, share your thoughts here by posting a comment.

Until then, Happy Cinco de Mayo!

4 comments:

Jordan said...

This has become a life theme. I've come to the fork in the road often, and stand, as I am today in a moment of descion. My heart knows the answer, it always does, the rest of me, resistent to follow. In the end, I listen to what I know to be true, to the message of my life and follow that road. Courage. That's what it take for me to follow the road less traveled, the road that lines up with the message of my life.

Unknown said...

Jordan,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Is there a specific choice you've made recently that illustrates your new life theme? Was there a decision or action you took that exemplified this leap of faith? What was it? How did it feel to come out on the other side--or are you still "on the road"?

Jackie

Debbie Petras said...

I love this Jackie! So many times we get so accustomed to our comfort zones. Life becomes routine and we never seem to stretch ourselves. I'm a pretty peaceful person so I like the familiar. And yet, there's a part of me that knows inside that I can do more and be more than the norm. I don't mean that I have an inflated image of myself at all. But I believe there are untapped gifts that God has given so many of us and we may not be using them all.

I want to be all I can be and if that means feeling uncomfortable for a while, so be it! I'd rather risk and fail than to never even try.

Thanks for getting me thinking Jackie. I really need this reminder.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Debbie. I loved a recent post of yours and posted a link on Twitter. Got an RT on it, too. So we must be doing something right in the blogging world. :-)

By the way, talk about stretching. I just signed up for a blogging class, a bit of a stretch on my bank account--not to mention what my brain can handle, in terms of th technology I know I'm missing here--but the opportunity presented it self. And I took it. I signed up late due to a little bit of resistance. But I did it.

Taking the road less traveled once again...