5 simple ways to be more adventurous

It’s easy to fall into a rut. Maybe every morning you wake up at 7:15, take a shower, scramble up a couple of eggs, pop two slices of whole-wheat toast into the toaster, and drink a cup of coffee while reading the morning news. You take the same route to work, the same route home, and you’ve repeated this process for the past decade or so.

It's not that you’re unhappy with your routine, but sometimes doing the same thing over and over can start to feel a little stale. Days start to blend together, and you have a little trouble saying, with any confidence, whether something happened last month or last year. You might have this realization and decide that it’s time to add a little more variety, excitement, and adventure to your life. 

So what do you do when you start to feel adventurous? Well, the answer is to mix things up, try something new, and just be more adventurous. It’s exactly as easy as it sounds. There's a whole wide spectrum of adventure, ranging from making the switch to cinnamon raisin toast, to taking an alternate route to work, to summiting Mount Kilimanjaro. The specifics and magnitude of your adventure aren't what’s important. What's important is that you try something new.

Here are 5 simple ways to be more adventurous.

• Be open-minded. The easiest way to fall into a monotonous routine is to be close-minded. Being open to new ideas and experiences lends itself to more excitement.
• Do something out of character. Old habits die hard. Making a conscious effort to try and do something out of character can help shake things up.
• Take a trip by yourself. Solo trips can be exciting and can give you a different appreciation for your travels. Traveling with a partner or a group is more comfortable, but there's value in experiencing things on your own.
•  Try a new food that you've never tasted before. People will sometimes say they don't like something, even though they've never tried it. Trying new things can surprise you, and this is not specific to food.
• Set goals to help you be more adventurous. Spontaneity is intertwined with adventure, but it’s definitely not a requirement. If you have a career or a family, being spontaneous isn't always the most responsible approach. Set some goals like, "Visit 12 new places this year" or "Hike 50 miles this month" and stick to them.

Believe it or not, driving a Subaru can help add a little adventure to your life. It's not that driving a Subaru will instantly turn you into Mr., Ms., or Mrs. Adventure. That’s entirely up to you. But owning a Subaru can lend itself to more active and adventurous pursuits. There's plenty of cargo room for any outdoor activity, plus the off-road capabilities to get you to plenty of exciting places.