This post was originally published in 2014 · Jacob M Hansen

Whenever my young siblings get together to play a make-believe game or watch a favorite movie, there is always a very predictable dispute that occurs: while playing games, the contest is over who gets to “be” which character in their epic quests across the backyard, and while a movie is playing they clamor over who gets to be Luke, and who has to be Darth Vader for the duration of the film.

Perhaps you’ve experienced these types of situations with your own siblings, children, or you remember doing it yourself.  But whatever the case, isn’t it fascinating that children have such a desire to be associated with heroes? To, in a way, see themselves doing the same great deeds?  I certainly did my share of dreaming as a child, and I’m sure you did too.

You see, when we were very young there was no doubt in our minds but that we were destined for greatness.  And now, today, although we are more mature in our desires, I firmly believe that there is still a part of each of us that deep down, longs to live an adventure.

Just think of the movies we watch, the books we read, the stories we constantly tell ourselves, and even the ways in which we justify our own actions: they all involve putting ourselves in the center of the story.  Creative writing 101 states that for a story to succeed, the audience needs to identify with the main character; see a part of themselves in the hero.

I have yet to meet a person who truly wants to live an ordinary, boring, mostly insignificant, and monotonous life, filled only with day-in day-out schedules, constant pressure and demands, destructive habits, and little free time.  However, the sad truth is that the more people I meet, the more people I see who are doing just that.

As a consequence, we have a world that is simply plodding along, filled with people living the lives someone else wants them to live.  Are we happy with this? Mostly, yes. But I think there is something more for us. Something we’re missing. Now, I’m not here to tell you to go out and live your dreams: that has been done plenty before.  Rather, my purpose today is to show you how to begin that grand adventure you’ve always wanted.

The reason that despite our desires, few of us find success in this area, is that there two gates that bar progress along the road of adventure.  The first, is perceived lack of opportunity. The second, conflict.

So first, let’s talk about this perceived lack of opportunity.  Recently, my seven-year-old brother approached my mom and politely inquired if there were any castles in our day.  He summed up, I think, what many of us wonder. In our shrink-wrapped, microwavable, highly systematized and busy society, it’s only natural to assume that epic quests are at an all-time low.  In fact, you’ve probably seen the comment thread circulating social media that begins with the phrase “I went outside once. The graphics were great, but the story was horrible.” Humorously pointing out that our realities can seem quite dull.

But before we assign adventure to the bygone days of ages past, let’s examine what an adventure consists of: think of your favorite story, the most epic quest you’re ever heard of, and see if it doesn’t include such elements as conflict, uncertainty, risk, and a people with imperfect character striving to accomplish a goal.

How is your life any different? 

Just think about it: who doesn’t experience difficulty or challenges on a daily basis?  Who can perfectly predict what tomorrow will bring? And are any of us more than flawed human beings, with bounteous opportunities to improve and accomplish?

Far from being devoid of adventure, the culmination of these elements make life full of it!  The real key to finding what you desire is to simply change your perspective: to realize that life is already knocking at your door, ready to hand you an adventure.  You just have to accept it.

What your personal adventure looks like, is up to you.  Maybe your quest is simply to become your best self, and you need to enjoy each challenge in the day as a step in that direction.  Or maybe there is something you’ve always thought you needed to do in life, like start an organization, serve in another country, or write a book.  Personally, I find adventure when I set high–no, nigh unreasonably high–goals for myself, where there is a real possibility of failure. And it is in the working towards these goals that I feel the real thrill of life.

My most recent adventure began just last week, when I accepted an opportunity to travel to Japan as a representative of my church at the World Scout Jamboree.  With my already overloaded schedule and lack of financial resources, I really don’t know how I’m going to pull this off. But thats exactly the point: I wouldn’t do it if it was a walk in the park.  

Whatever your personal quests look like, remember: life has already given you the adventure you desire; you just have to realize it.

Now I’m sure this epiphany is mind-blowing, but it alone will not give us the adventure we desire.  There is still another very real gate that bars out path to living an adventurous life. Namely, conflict.

You see, when it comes to adventures, we seem to fantasize them as always being easy for us, without any real pain.  We remember only the victory, or the riding off into the sunset. And while we wish for glory, we don’t ever wish for our lives to be harder, or more filled with pain.  Case in point is the Lord of the Rings: we all want to be the hero who saves the middle earth, but we don’t all want to trudge across the world to die a slow, fiery, painful death on the slopes of mount doom.  

Consequently, this second gate to adventure–conflict–is too often the one that bars our progress.  But the fact is, without conflict, there can be no heroism. No adventure. No greatness. The path to victory lies through the midst of the battle, and nowhere else.  And it is in the naturally occurring conflicts in our own day to day lives that our road to adventure will begin.

So you got fired?  Failed your test? Were diagnosed with cancer?  Learned of the death of a friend? It isn’t the end.  Actually, these are exactly the hard obstacles that allow you to achieve greatness; that make your life worth living.

Conflict is truly the door to greatness.   And so we ask ourselves, “is it worth it?” Is what I will accomplish worth the sacrifice? 

Well, if I may take liberty with the words of Shakespeare: “none are born great, some achieve greatness, and all have the opportunity for greatness thrust upon them.”  And it is only those who grasp what has been thrust upon them, and achieve greatness, that are remembered. 

We exalt the stories of people like Corrie ten Boom, who served others with all her heart while living in Nazi concentration camps; Thomas Edison, who invented the lightbulb only after failing 1000 times; or George Frideric Handel, who wrote The Messiah after going deaf, because deep down, we know that for them, it was worth it.  That what they achieved was worth their sacrifice.

In the Two Towers, Tolkien’s character Sam put it this way: “Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think…I do understand.  I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going.”

So what shall it be?  Are you going to live the life you desire, and become your best self in the process?  Are you going to touch the lives of those around you? Are you going to make your corner of the world a better place?  

Is your story going to be one that means something; one that truly matters?

If something inside of you calls out “yes!”, then I cheer you to open your eyes; to see the adventure already thrust upon you, and then to face your conflict head on.  And when your journey gets rough, remember that as Churchill so adequately said, “these are not dark days; these are great days.”

So go forth, and live the adventure you’ve always wanted.