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The Gift of Reflection and Adventure

To share adventures with your family, with your kids, with your spouse, is quite a gift. Adventures allow you to grow. They allow you to peel back new insights about yourself, some good and some bad. Adventures are the training grounds to help you overcome the unknowns in daily life.

Amplify It

Here is the kicker.

These adventure experiences are amplified and made truly functional when you actually reflect on them. Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured, gets improved.”

Freak Storm

I remember one adventure in which I took the kids camping. We hiked from our house to the campsite which is about 2 miles away. The weather called for clear skies. So we set up with no real concerns. I started a fire and began cooking when a freak storm blew through the campsite. We hadn’t set up the rain fly over the tents so everything was getting wet. The wind blew and the rain pelted down. The kids ran into the tent as I quickly installed the rain fly. Then I rushed to keep the fire burning as that was my only way of cooking our dinner.

After the storm passed I remember thinking that the kids would want to return home. I asked them. They eagerly responded with a resounding NO!

The Reflection

As the night progressed and the next day on the hike home we reflected on our adventure. I asked what they learned? What did they most enjoy? What we could do to better prepare for future adventures? And many more questions. They laughed and giggled recounting their experience and sharing their feedback.

The Challenge

This reflection served to relive the adventure, anchor the experience, and draw key moments from it. Even when I go on solo adventures I also take time to reflect. I want to encourage you to do the same for the next 10 adventures. I say 10 because it will give you some time to see what works for you and it will give you an opportunity to see how the first 5 adventures influence your experience and preparedness for the next 5 adventures.

Below are some great questions you can use to reflect on your adventure:

  • What did you like most about the adventure?
  • What did you learn?
  • How would you have made this adventure better?
  • How could you prepare better for the next adventure?
  • What made you laugh?
  • What was the hardest part of this adventure?
  • What’s one thing you’d add and one thing you’d take away and why?
  • Is there a skill you wished you knew that would make this adventure experience better?

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