Adaptability

As I write this article we have been on the road for almost six months.  We have learned a lot about the full-time RV lifestyle but even more importantly I think we have learned a little about ourselves.  But before I get too deeply into that, let’s step back to the beginning of our journey for some context.

When we decided to undertake this adventure there were lot of big question marks.  One of the biggest for us was “can we even do it?”.  By this we meant adapt to a lifestyle on the road.  We were (are) both fairly routine kind of people.  We got up each day and pretty much did the same steps.  There is a sort of comfort in this but we both desperately needed to get out of it and “do something different”.  Even with this mindset of needed change we wondered how well we would adapt.  With any unknown there is a certain level of fear associated with it.  I think that is one of the biggest reasons most don’t even attempt new things this big and scary.  But if you head out into it that unknown quickly becomes “known” and you suddenly realize that it wasn’t a big deal.  Obviously this can relate to any of life’s issues, not just life on the road.

So, after six months into this “unknown”, what have we learned?

Well, first, it’s not scary but quite the opposite I’m happy to report.  Stepping so far away from our past “normal” into a less traditional lifestyle has made for some good adjustments in our lives.  We are much less afraid to try new things.  We are much less afraid to venture into new “unknowns”.  I think we’ve learned that we can pretty much overcome any obstacles thrown our way and with that new found confidence comes a great peace of mind.  When your mind is at peace, it frees it up to truly focus on the important things in life.  We allow ourselves to fully contemplate and take in our experiences now.  Yes, issues do and will continue to pop up.  Life is a constant roller coaster of ups and downs but if you enjoy the ride (and view it as such) then you suddenly take it all in stride.  This has been an important lesson for us.

Second, things change.  Constantly.  Adaptability, we have learned, is the key to just about everything.  We quickly adapted from a former life of “sticks and bricks” to our new nomadic lifestyle.  We had to or this would not be enjoyable at all and if it’s not enjoyable, why do it?  We know things will break in the RV.  Tires will blow out, control boards will cease to function and weather will hinder our plans.  So what?  You take each challenge separately and deal with it.  It took us 4.5 months into our journey to break free of the security of staying in RV parks and finally start boondocking.  Boondocking was a big unknown and had all new challenges associated with it.  But as it turns out, once we broke free and tried it, we are LOVING our new style of camping.  We have adapted to it and now find it to be our preferred method of taking in this great nation of ours!  Had we not pushed ourselves and then adapted, we wouldn’t be having these all new experiences.

So, adapting and rolling with the punches seems to be the key to enjoying life, not just life on the road.  Humans have always been great at it or we wouldn’t have survived this long.  But somewhere along the way it seems we have forgotten how important it is and how good we can be at it.  It’s in all of us to adapt and learn – what can you do today to remind yourself?