It’s never too early for a good idea and never too late for dreaming! As the new year begins and life settles back into a routine, the time is now to take that seed of an idea and plant it in fertile ground. There’s a full year of adventure in front of you, and right now, the options are limitless!
Maybe it looks something like catching a glimpse of Havasupai Falls, shuffling along the JMT wilderness, floating down the Yellowstone River, or hiking through the Fall foliage in the Great Smoky Mountains? Or, is it simply committing to more sunny afternoons at the local park?
Whatever the adventure goal, we are here to help!
Here are five tips for keeping the dream alive and planning the most adventurous year yet!
1. Write it down & share it with others.
This one is a simple but often overlooked element of goal setting. Once you’ve memorialized this goal, you’ll now hold yourself personally accountable, and studies actually show that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals when they are written down.
Want to take it a step further? Share your dream with others! Often we are bashful in sharing our dreams in life, simply because we are scared they won’t come true. This limits our potential and isolates us from those that could help. And who knows, your friend might be dreaming of the same adventure trip as you are!
2. Visualize your goal or dream trip.
This is the “dreamin'” part of “dreamin’ & schemin'” and everyone knows you can’t have a good scheme without a good dream! In all seriousness, visualization exercises have a statistically profound impact on goal setting and can help keep this dream of yours top-of-mind. This helps to prioritize the things that truly need to happen to bring it to life. So, next time you’re in line at the grocery store imagine yourself (in the most vivid detail as possible) doing that thing you want to do or in that place you want to be!
Can you hear the rustle of the pine trees in Maine as you reach the Northern Terminus of the AT? Can you feel the warm desert winds on your face as you paddle down the Grand Canyon? Can you feel your heart pounding as you scramble up the final 20 feet of the Grand Teton?
What does it all look like? Who else is there? And, most importantly, how great does it feel!?
3. Take baby steps.
Now’s the time to get serious and build some strategy! For large endeavors in the outdoors, sometimes the best foot forward is a good old-fashioned spreadsheet or planning on a whiteboard. Researching routes, reserving permits, and scheduling time off can all seem daunting in their own right, but add-in work, the kids, and walking the dog into the mix, and these simple tasks can often seem out of reach. The key here is to break down the larger hurdles into smaller tasks and, if need be, break those smaller tasks down into the tiniest little tasks that you can complete during a lunch break or in the early morning before the day starts.
4. Remind yourself of the “why”.
In the hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy to lose sight of why we prioritize getting outside. This is why we continually remind ourselves of why we dedicate our time, effort, and often, PTO to reconnecting with the great outdoors and, ultimately, ourselves! Looking at journals or photos from past adventures or calling up your old backpacking partner can really help to keep the stoke alive and orient our compass back to the right direction. Simply ask yourself the question “I’m doing this because____” and you’ll find that the answer is right where you left it!
5. Gear up!
Our favorite method, of course! Nothing says “We are doing this thing!” quite like gearing up and stocking up the camp pantry! We’ve got you covered with all the Trail Snacks, Camp Meals, Grocery Items and Chef’s Tools you could imagine.
Need more inspo? Follow us on Instagram @packitgourmet or dig into the blog archives here!