Finding Balance in Your Need for Adventure and Ordinary
I read a quote in my early 20’s and it’s been with me ever since.
“ I can stand almost anything except a succession of ordinary days.”
I loved it because my adventurous soul is always anxiously bugging me as I try to rest on the couch or “do nothing”... what does that even mean, do nothing? That’s never been something I’ve understood… even when I'm physically doing nothing, my brain is running sprints in my mind, ping ponging ideas back and forth on subjects that have no business being so busy in my mind.
I’ve chased this ideal way of living while battling the very real need for ordinary days. It’s a constant tension within myself. The world is full of adventure and opportunity, but your physical need for everyday essentials asks you to find reliable housing, make meals every day and invest time and money into things that will sustain you and benefit you long term.
Individuals who chose to live differently are often labelled as different, in a negative way. The hippie commune that’s just a little out of touch with reality to a single girl who doesn’t want to get married or have kids has been seen as different. I find it perplexing how powerful a societal culture is over one’s life. Different expectations, roles, and opportunities are given to you simply because you were born in a specific location.
As you’re raised, you’re carefully and intentionally instructed into “how the world works” or “this is just the way it is” or “it is what it is”. Sometimes we find ourselves in daily rituals that serve no purpose beyond it’s just what we were told and now find ourselves doing. There’s nothing wrong with that, but as I write it out now, it feels a bit robotic, doesn’t it? Wake up.. Coffee (why not chai like they do in India?)... go to work 9-5 dressed in appropriate attire… come home and enjoy some culturally popular activity (like pickle ball) lol.
Finding Your Own Rhythm
When I first started my psychotherapy business, I expected myself to do 6-8 clients a day, 5 days a week. I quickly realized this wasn’t going to work, and with the luxury of being able to make my own schedule, I slowly began my appointments later. “My first appointment isn’t until 10 am"…eventually 11:00 am… 12:00 pm, and then 1:00 pm. I’ve NEVER been a morning person, and I’m most focused in the afternoon, but it was a slow process to allow myself to lean into that natural rhythm as I judged myself as lazy and harshly compared myself to others who could be chipper before 8:00 am (how is that possible!!??).
Our need to be connected to the people, culture, and world around us is a very real and essential need. We know that isolation (thanks to COVID) drives people mad (my psychotherapy business doubled during COVID). We need to be around others and not just in a supermarket, but be with people who you laugh with and enjoy spending time with. But if the majority of people seem to flow to a rhythm that drains you and feels painfully ordinary, how do you live life in a way that feels exciting, connected, and sustainable, but not ordinary?
Balancing Adventure and Ordinary Days
It’s been an answer I've been looking for since I graduated high school. Flying around the world intermittently while taking jobs to afford the flights to inspired adventures; going to school while spending summers in different provinces, and exploring all different types of hobbies from fitness to learning the ukulele… My desire for adventure and new things gets interrupted with the everyday things and I fear I'll never be truly satisfied because I want to go away and stay all at the same time.
As I write this in La Paz, Mexico, in the Baja Peninsula, I've made the decision that I’m going to move to Mexico City. With my laptop, a suitcase, and my dog Archie, my restless heart feels hopeful while my ordinary needs shake at the knees. This move is fueled by the hope and dream of living abroad in a way that expands my opportunities for adventure while also building a place to call home.
I have wanted to permanently live in Mexico City since my first move from Toronto from Mexico City in March 2024. I returned from this trip in June 2024 and ended up taking a job in Toronto. I tried the “ordinary days” for approximately a year and struggled through them. It wasn’t all bad and a lot of good came from that year - I worked through some harmful dynamics with my family, joined a competitive dance team and made good friends while perfecting my bachata technique, and I also worked with a coach to help me realize the vision of ContemplatingKatie. But if I’m being honest, it didn't light me up - it wasn’t what I truly wanted in my heart.
So now I get to take the benefits of this past ordinary year and bring abroad the lessons with me to a place I sincerely hope is the perfect cocktail of adventurous meets ordinary… Mexico City.
If you relate to a calling for something more than ordinary, what's one way you can allow yourself to chase adventure while still maintaining the benefit of ordinary days? Allow yourself to have hope that both needs can be met when you also allow yourself to live your life creating it in a way that works right for you.
These are my honest and raw thoughts.
I hope they help,
Katie
*UPDATE: The pictures below are from Katie’s 2024 trip to Mexico City (doesn’t she look happy??? lol)… sorry got off track… Oct 2025 is when this is being published and Katie’s not 100% sure Mexico City is her next stop… She realized that allowing herself to make that decision freed up a lot of mental energy and she’s now contemplating doing a nomad year beginning in Portugal. The important thing (always) is that you can change your mind and live life connected to the wants needs and ideas that make you feel the most connected to your purpose. Stay tuned as you know she’ll be blogging about it the whole way through :)
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