Don't be afraid to trade comfort when you´re 70 for your dreams when you´re 20
When people find out I haven´t had a steady income for the past year, their reaction always goes from disapproval to cluelesness.
I mean, i get it. We are hardwired to put safety, comfort and security among our top life priorities and with good reason. Who wants to be 45 years old, 2 kids, a mortgage and responsibilities and no steady income? Im guessing no one.
But there comes a moment when you have to chose between two paths: The comfortable trail or the dream seeking path.
For me that moment it came when I was 26 years old. Since 2012 I was unhappy with my life but the constant advice from my father and people I admire, the opinions of my peers at work, my friend´s success kept me going through a road I didn´t like, at all. I was unhappy and my Twitter feed knew it, every once in a while I would just tweet "I am feed up with being unhappy" but I couldn´t pinpoint the reasons, I just knew I was unhappy. My comfort zone was so uncomfortable for me to the point I I neglected my 2,000k a month job, my human relations, my family bonds but most importantly, my self-love.
All of this unhappiness just to be able to say "I have no money problems" was too much to bare under my shoulders, it was making me miserable and making me intolerable to the people around me.
I wanted to travel. I needed to see the world. I craved adventures in any form and shape. But I was scared, no, I was terrified of the future. I was tempted to try and find another job and to find happiness in other things. I kept telling me "This is the way to go, you just have to get used to it, this is normal life".
Being on my late 20´s with no foreseeable future and no plans at all, I decided to fulfill my dream. That dream that got stuck in my mind since 2011 when I went traveling for a few months through México and met some of the most amazing people I will ever have the pleasure to meet. That time when I understood there is so much more in life than what I was getting. That set of moments where I was the happiest version of myself I ever was.
I left home with no more than 1,000k dollars and no real plan but to go wherever my feet took me, without knowing wht would lie ahead.
Today, it´s been exactly one year and one month since I took the riskiest decision I have ever made. I´ve been to more than 15 countries and I have never been happier, or poorer.
But one thing I am certain. A few hours ago I was checking my twitter feed to take trip down memory lane and I noticed one thing: I didn´t have the urge, or even the thought, of tweeting...
I am fed up of being unhappy.
I know, I can say this because I don´t have a family or responsibilities and you might nt find yourself in the same position as I was when I took the chance of leaving everything behind. I am also aware that most people are happy with their lives and do not need to change anything, so this is not an advice for everyone. I might regret this decision in the future, I surely hope I won´t. But one thing I can tell you, having no comfort or security, made me the happiest man alive. I will continue to travel for as long as I can, or until I meet that woman, or I find that job that makes me say "Yes, I am happy and satisfied with this". But for now, the only advice I can give you is, "If you are unhappy with your current situation, do not trade that comfort when you are 70 for your dreams when you are 20" and, always...
Take risks, go for it even if the odds are against you, create your own path, get involved in that long overdue project, believe in yourself and most importantly... Remember, be Here Now
Doing what you love gives birth to finding what you love to do! May steemit bless you with some traveling funds! Upvoted and happily following!
Thanks for the follow and the vote! I´m doing a contest, check out my latest post maybe you want to join. True that, it is a small step between doing what you love and then, doing that for the rest of your life :)
I can affirm that you are right in taking this important step.
I am 74 years old, I survive on a tiny pension. I've had stolen from me, at various times, the few possessions I treasured, had my business destroyed by greedy people, and yet, I tell my family that if I have a split second to see the past when I'm dying, I know that I will be pleased with the life I have lived.
I did not set out to travel, as you have done, but I've been to all the continents, apart from N+S Poles.
I have not spent more than 3 years out of my life working for others. I've always preferred to work for myself, though I am a terrible boss.
I've brough up two lovely children, despite not having any of my own, so I do not have a heart ache.
I loved a woman for 25 years, but only spent less than 5 with her at my side - and those are treasured years, worth the emptiness of those I've spent on my own (maybe my one regret is that I did not have the courage to love again).
When I lost all my money, was totally broke, a friend took me in and even saw to it that I have cigs and chocolates. I had no money, so I sat at home and finally started writing. I have now spent over 18 years writing ONE story, it is the equivalent of 25 softcover books of 1,000 pages each. I have lived with my characters, shared adventures or even just sat talking in lucid dreams and my heart has remained alive and able to deeply love because of them.
At the end, I found Steemit and I now have the happiness of sharing my stories, while also finding new talents and helping them, even if only by encouraging them.
So, I don't have many possessions; little money. So what!
I have lived my life on my terms! I travelled this short journey with eyes open, never shying from seeing the odd and beautiful.
If that is what you are experiencing, you are a very lucky person.
Beautiful photo. I love climbing mountains. I invite you to follow me and see my blog where I show photos of the places I've been to. I follow you, I hope you follow me and tell me. Successes
I'm so happy for you Eric that you have such happiness in your life traveling making fantastic memories with your awesome adventures like I always tell you, to are living life right brother there is plenty of time for when you meet the right woman or find the right job, hardly no one I've known in all my life took a risk like you did and it came out so awesome!!! I'm so happy we met!! Abrazo de oso🌺🌺
Hello Ceci! Thank you so much for dropping by, Im sorry I haven´t been answering anywhere but I was crazy tih everything back home, I´ll got reply for an hour to everything ^^
I do hope there is enought time later in life to do all those things because now I want to focus in fulfilling my dreams! Abrazo de oso polar! El más fuerte!
Mi favorito oso es el polar!!! Abrazo de oso polar mi hermano que tengas bello día🌷🌷
I did it for 2 years :) Best memories I ever had! Go for it man, the only regrets in life are all the shots you didn't take.
Exactly my friend. the biggest regret are those about things we don´t do. Two years travelling? Man you must have some amazing stories about that, I see you are blogging about them. Make sure to use the @steemitworldmap, you will definitely get more visibility and more people will engage with your posts!
This is a very cool story. F*ck security and those things, let's live life like an adventure game :D
We are not getting out of it alive, right? Might as well get the best out of it. Glad to have met you over at SF man, say hello to my favorite anarchist for me will ya? ^^
life is like what we desire. just keep on doing what you think is right foe you. sometimes, we need willingnes to motivate and inpire what are we doing in a specific field.
Without motivation and love for what you do is so hard to keep doing what you are doing right? So if you don´t love it, change it or change yourself, but dont settle for less than what makes you happy!
that is really true sir.
@anomadsoul, it's great you're dreaming! So many people don't. Memories are priceless. I can't think of anything worse than not having a dream or goal to pursue. Having a big dream makes everything brighter. It can even make working for a paycheck feel like it's infused with purpose. I love that my husband is on the same page with me on this topic. Another fantastic post!
I always find myself in the middle of "Oh my, I soo want to write about this on steemit but I don´t want to lose focus on the experience by taking pictures or videos" so yeah, I totally understand what you are saying about *memories are priceless... So lucky of you to find a partner who shares the same ideals and way of viewing life, so jealous (of the good one, if there is such thing). Thanks for dropping by!
I totally get it. And, I have no doubt you'll end up with The One who has the same spirit of adventure and purpose because like attracts like! Either way, it's so worth the wait! 😍😍😍
It's funny how much our stories line up. I was 26 when my project was canceled, which was 1 year and 2 months ago. I get into the "how can you live without a real job?" talk so often that I had it in one of my dreams last night. Schwee!
Oh my God!! You remembered the Schwee! :D :D You just made my day!
I know, from the moment we met I knew we were so similar, I can´t believe how many "of us" we can find in the steemstreets right now, seems like we came to the right place huh?
Lol actually dreaming about it... are you me? I get an undescribable anxiety when I can´t explain people what made me take this path, or maybe they just don´t understand... either way, I´m so glad I don´t owe anyone an explanation!
Schweee!
Just found your wonderful blog the other day through my2017. Some wise decisions you made :) For me, what I see going missing on this whole digital-nomad-thing is the learning of craftsmanship or "physical skills". I really want to put these 10.000h into something and be able to build something like a master. Finding my Zen :) but I think there is plenty of space to do that parallel to blogging. Anyway, great post, keep it up Eric!
The concept of the 10,000 hours to become an expert is something i really like. We see experts around and we don´t see all the time and effort put into the task they are good at. I hope you find the time and the hobby or craft you want to become a pro! Thanks for dropping by my friend and I wish you good luck in the contest!