How to Embrace the Unknown (everything is an adventure)
A sense of security or predictability feels good. Templates and guarantees are like safety nets. But (as you know) life isn’t a template and there will always be more question marks than answers (unless you stay in a bubble).
Life and growth exist on the other side of discomfort, which is why I think it’s so important to learn how to embrace the unknown.
So this is my guide.
And you don’t need to be perfect — I’m certainly not. But the scale has tilted in my life where I accept the unknown more often than I avoid it. And things continue to get better the more I embrace this shift.
So I’m here to share what’s working for me. Now let’s do this!
Table of Contents Show
What Does It Mean to ‘Embrace the Unknown’?
To embrace the unknown means to fully welcome new or different experiences, information and/or ideas.
Since what we know is often made up of past knowledge, experiences and beliefs, the unknown simply exists outside of this place.
It’s in the name, I guess.
Embracing the unknown can be done in small ways (like trying a new food) or in epic ways (like sailing around the world — case in point, Luke Hartley, aka Sailing Songbird).
So why bother with any of this anyways? What’s the payoff?
Let’s keep moving.
The Benefits of Loving the Unknown
Discover more of your purpose(s)
Become more confident
Meet more people and have new experiences
Improve your decision-making
Get better at taking strategic risks
Expand your perspectives
Open new doors and discover new opportunities
Some Examples of Embracing the Unknown
Doing things that scare you
Spontaneous travel
Starting a new business or pursuing your passions
Road-tripping without a destination or map
Trying new things
Changing careers
How to Embrace the Unknown (7 tips)
Great things exist in the unknown. It’s where change, unexpected awesomeness and magic collectively live.
So let’s go there.
1. Why Do You Fear the Unknown?
To embrace the unknown — to get to the unknown — you need to first identify the obstacles standing in your way.
So, why do you fear the unknown? Or at least, why do you avoid it?
The reasons may be super obvious or not clear at all. For example, maybe you’re fully aware that you value security in life, so the unknown makes you nervous. On the other hand, maybe you’ve never thought about it before.
So start by doing some self reflection and dig into your past, personality, lifestyle, social circles, goals, etcetera.
The unknown means something different for everyone and it’s full of individual context. So don’t skip this step. Because to do anything most effectively, it helps to first know thyself.
2. Cultivate Your Adventure Mindset
You may have heard, but your mindset matters. So to best embrace the unknown, you need to first have the right mindset.
For me, this means cultivating an adventure mindset, which is when you think, see and experience the world like a confident explorer or traveler. Obstacles and discomfort are adventures and opportunities to grow.
You don’t try to control a situation, you let it unfold as it will — because it’s all an adventure.
It’s similar to a growth mindset and it’s super effective for boosting your confidence, dealing with failure and loving the ride.
Here’s a quick hack (albeit, a slightly trite one — my apologies): imagine your life is a movie.
I mean like, really embody this.
Emotionally feel it.
Believe it.
You’re the main character, the director, the writing team, the producers, the marketing department and the audience watching it…you’re all of it! So what’s your story?
Remember, stories without friction, discomfort and mystery (the unknown) are pretty boring. So I borrow this simple movie framework to fully embrace life. You’re a traveler, an explorer, a rogue anthropologist with epic curiosity for what it all means.
You’re an adventurer.
Explore more:
➤ Unlock Your Adventure Mindset
3. Practice the Unknown in Baby Steps
To embrace the unknown, you need to get good at the unknown. And to get good at anything, you need to build new skills.
This is done slowly over time, not all at once.
Put another way, don’t jump into the deep end of the unknown when you have no experience with it. Instead, practice the unknown in smaller ways, little by little.
It’s like learning a new skill. You wouldn’t play a live show two weeks after starting to play guitar for the first time, right? (well idk, maybe some of you would lol).
So here are some simple ways to practice the unknown in small ways (to get comfortable with it little by little):
Change up your routine
Try or do something you usually avoid
Practice getting out of your comfort zones in small new ways everyday
Explore more:
➤ Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
4. Challenge Your Beliefs
The unknown is full of new information that may or may not align with your experiences and beliefs. This can be jarring.
But by challenging your perspectives and belief systems, you’ll be more willing and agile in accepting new, unknown information and experiences.
Our beliefs are how we frame life. Our experiences in life are filtered through this lens, so when we open that lens to be wider and more flexible, unknown experiences and information can enter with less friction.
You’ll be more open to different ideas and paths forward. The unknown lives outside of the known (i.e., outside of your belief systems).
So challenge what you think you know to be true.
5. Fall In Love With Change
The unknown is outside of what’s expected and ‘normal’. Usually, it’s a change in the status quo.
So, as logic follows, embrace change to better embrace the unknown. Nay, fall in love with change. Get to a place where you emotionally and mentally look forward to pattern interrupts and changing, dynamic situations.
This is the natural state of life anyways. Everything is dynamic and in a state of flux, from the cells in your body to the cosmos. The unknown is a change in what you expect to happen.
Whenever I embrace changing situations and context, I embrace the unknown aspects of it with open arms.
Try it out — it works.
Explore more:
➤ Falling In Love With Change
6. Travel More
Travel is the ultimate way to embrace the unknown — especially solo travel.
New cultures, new language, new foods, new experiences…it’s like you’re suddenly a child again, awkwardly trying to figure out life (from crossing the street to ordering food at a restaurant).
Of course, if you’re new to traveling, you don’t need to hop across the world for your first trip. You can just explore the next town (or state) over that you’ve never been to. Slowly push yourself outside of your comfort zone.
Eventually, you can go abroad. And if you’re scared to travel alone, you can try to recruit some of your friends — just don’t wait to live your life either if no one tags along.
The greatest comforts in life come after the greatest periods of discomfort.
Explore more:
➤ How to Travel More
7. Do It for the Plot
A life without friction, conflict, ups and down would be boring. There’d be no resolution and it wouldn’t be a memorable story.
The unknown is an opportunity to further your story and plot in interesting ways. Like an audience eagerly watching on the edges of their seat, you story is unfolding in ways you can’t predict. But you can’t take your eyes off the screen.
This is the perspective that’s needed to embrace the unknown.
Just dive in and if for nothing else, just do it for the plot.
Later ✌️
The unknown is what’s beyond everything you know. And it’s where life, expansion and magic live.
Embracing the unknown is a more adventurous life full of opportunities and growth. Plus, it’s a serious boost in confidence.
To embrace the unknown, it helps to first know why you fear it. Then, you can cultivate an adventurous mindset and practice it little by little in new ways. From new routines to travel, the unknown can be experienced in tons of ways. So choose what resonates (or scares you most).
And remember, we’re never done exploring — there will always be new unknowns to discover.
Want More? Nice. Here’s More.
