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!