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If you’re not sure what Conscious Mindsets are about, visit Conscious Mindsets, Part One.

Conscious Mindsets Part One, Intro and The World Temple

Conscious Mindsets Part Two, The Tourist

Conscious Mindsets Part Three, The Magician’s Apprentice

Conscious Mindset #4 — The Adventurer

In the final mindset offered in this four-part series, it’s time for some fun. As adventurers, it doesn’t really matter whether we’re rich or poor. Security is thrown out the door in exchange for passion and excitement. As adventurers, we’re looking for experiences that take us a bit beyond our comfort zone. This might mean going rock climbing when we’re afraid of heights, going for a day-long hike and picnic, or trying something that you’ve always wanted to do even though you know it’s a little risky. This is one of my favorite mindsets, since it contrasts so beautifully with our usual attempts to keep everything as secure as possible. Security tends to lead to a sensation of clenching and fear, which creates more need for security, which creates more clenching and fear . . . you see how it goes. Being an adventurer, however, asks us to ‘live in the moment’ in the sense that we value unique experiences over security.

— Affirm each morning that you want to intentionally hold this mindset using the following thoughts —

Today I’m not going to live in fear. If something feels uncomfortable, I’m going to plunge right in. Today, life is about Experience, and if I ever feel even a bit of fear or trepidation, I’m going to stop, observe my fear, and see if I can’t challenge it.

This doesn’t mean we should do stupid things, but it does ask us to observe how often fear can limit our experience, even when it comes to such ‘mundane’ things as talking to a certain person, trying a new food, or learning a new skill.

Developing This Mindset

This mindset breaks us free of many of our ingrained patterns. The more you explore it, the more you’ll begin to lead an extraordinary life, and the more you’ll get in touch with the areas of your life where fear holds you back. The drive for security is seen for what it is — a fear-based response that holds us back from our passions and our dreams — and we find ourselves free to explore areas of life that before seemed too ‘outrageous’.

The four mindsets presented in this series are simply tools to play with — tools that break us out of our usual modes of thinking and being and show us, first hand, the powerful role that our attitudes play in how our days unfold. Whenever we feel like life is boring or ordinary, it’s not because life is boring or ordinary. It’s because we’ve become habituated to certain modes of behavior. We have the power, at any moment, to break free of those modes and to experience life in all its extraordinary splendor.