Folium: How to Approach Every Day Like an Explorer via National Geographic
Folium: How to Approach Every Day Like an Explorer via National Geographic
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While reading this article by Matt Marquez, I got the sinking feeling that I’m living my life very wrong. A handful of people I know say that they have an on-going list of activities they want to do or places they want to visit in their life before they die. Personally, Australia sounds like a place I want to go before I die. But the question is, how do I change the approach to my day-to-day life in order to live like an explorer? Matt Marquez expounds upon a few different ways we can live like an explorer every day.
“For the everyday person, setting a clear long-term goal can make it easier to remember where you want to go and what you’d like to prioritize when countless small decisions clutter your days and weeks.” – Matt Marquez
Exploring the world was more of my thing when I was little because I didn’t have responsibilities and I felt like every day I could conquer the world. As time went on I became more mature and those feelings of wanting so badly to be outside dissipated. There is a metaphor that says “curiosity killed the cat, you know” and I find that applies to a lot of the adventures I took as a roaming eight year old. Matt’s first point was expressed as he explained a situation of a photographer wanting to expand in his photo taking skills. He says: “ A simple step to work your own curiosity muscle is to ask questions about subjects that interest you, and better yet, subjects that don’t.” In the same way the photographer used his curiosity to allow himself to grow, so can we.
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“Imagination is the essence of discovery!”
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While speaking with one of my professors today, I came to the conclusion that his experiences influenced me so much that I decided to construct a plan in order to travel the world. I know it sounds like an ambitious goal, but Matt suggests that you need to start somewhere! He expresses the need for concentration of pursuing opportunities that have the biggest impact on your life. Making a plan for every step may be necessary for you, but something is better than nothing. Relating planning back to my younger days, I wrote down all of the places I wanted to “explore” in my neighborhood and fulfilled those plans. Anyone can do it!
“When it comes down to it, all creative people who push boundaries are explorers; you can’t create something new without a willingness to defy convention.” – Matt Marquez
Nothing in this life would be worth the pain and effort if there weren’t risks taken. I consider myself to be a very creative child. As you can probably tell I was very artistic in my execution of plan while exploring my little world. But I obviously grew up, and I and many others can testify that it was when they took big risks in their life is when they grew the most and moved towards their goal faster. Matt suggests that we shouldn’t be afraid of taking risks. He says “there are only two outcomes to risk-taking: you either succeed at what you were trying to accomplish, or you learn a lesson. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up with a combination of the two.”
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We are all human, so naturally we have certain fears that restrain us from working towards what really matters to us. Sometimes all we need is to get our ideas out on paper, or even better out to a friend or family member. I get epiphanies sometimes, and when I do I have to tell someone in hopes that it will stick with me and influence them for the better! Sharing your knowledge and writing is down is best done when you have someone that wants to know what you’re saying.You will find that the most ingenious of ideas could come from those conversations. So let go of your fears or whatever is holding you back and approach every day as an adventure!
Julie Martin
LEAF Editor & Contributor
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