Posted August 5, 2011 / Katja

Guest Blogger: Katja of Skimbaco Lifestyle

As I watched Jen and Barb in their newest video episode “Have You Lost Your Sense of Adventure?” I applauded to these amazing women full of energy, and I just couldn’t stop smiling watching them on a race car track and living life to the fullest. Jen and Barb’s energy is contagious, and I started thinking some of my adventures this past year, like skiing a black diamond in Park City, Utah, for the first time in my life.

Or taking a luxury 4WD on an off-road track in the mountains of Montana and living my dream of being a rally driver for a moment, just like Barb had always wanted to drive on a race track.

I was just nodding my head in agreement as I was listening what Jen and Barb discussed with Heather Schuck, founder of Glamalife.com in the video.

Yes, moms need to, and can have, adventures.
Yes, it’s not about winning the race, it’s about showing up.
Yes, it’s never too late to get out of your comfort zone.

But then it hit me. I may nod in the agreement, but what about YOU? When is the last time you have lived adventurously and taken a risk? How did the video make you feel? I hope it made you think of you backpacking through a rainforest with your girlfriends, or better yet, with your kids. If there is a slight chance that you thought “I could never do anything like that” or (gasp!) “these women are nuts, moms don’t do things like that”, I have some advice for you my friend. Real advice how you can start living adventurously and re-discovering the woman who you are beyond being a mom. And how you can start it today.

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Even if you don’t have a zip-line in your neighborhood, get out of comfort zone today and start living adventurously by taking baby steps. Swing at the playground with your kids. Have a couch-jumping contest with them. Have a bed-jumping contest with your husband, naked. Get your nails done in neon colors, or turquoise, or green. Get the high heels you love but never use out of your closet and wear them at least three times next week. Buy the sexy dress you want but think you couldn’t pull off wearing. Go and sing karaoke with your friends. Try foods you’ve never eaten before, even if it’s just a new flavored olive oil. You get the picture. Start getting into the mindset of trying new things, and giving it a chance.

BE AN EXAMPLE TO YOUR KIDS
Not just that you will start having more fun, but that’s what you ask your kids to do all the time anyways (“honey, just try asparagus, you don’t know you don’t like it unless you try it”), it’s about time you starting to take a chance on new things too.

One of the biggest compliments my daughter just said to me yesterday was “mom, I love how unpredictable you are, we never know what you’re going to do, and what fun we will do”. And yes, thanks for asking, my kids eat asparagus, goat cheese and sushi, and I had to ski the black diamond because I want to try to keep up with my kids on the slopes. You don’t owe being adventurous just to yourself, you owe it to your kids.

MAKE IT A HABIT, NOT (JUST) ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY
Once you start taking baby steps of living out of your comfort zone you will realize what kind of rewards it gives you. I have been scared of heights my entire life, I still am. But when I’m in the ski lift going up and part of me is so scared to even look down, the other part is “heck yeah, if I can beat the scare of heights, I can beat anything”.

Starting by taking baby steps and getting out of my comfort zone have not just helped me in my personal life, but professional as well. I used to be scared of public speaking, now I am a keynote speaker in social media conferences and empower hundreds of women (occasionally men too) to take a leap of faith and be adventurous in their professional careers. Making being adventurous a habit is a very rewarding lifestyle. And did you notice – I just shared two things I was scared of, and what I now love doing?

WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, TAKE IT
Then there will be these once in a lifetime opportunities that require you to be adventurous right on the spot. Like how Jen’s daughter put her in the spot and asked if she wanted to try surfing. In most cases, you will not regret the things that you did in life, but the things you didn’t do. When you are living the adventurous, daring lifestyle and make it a habit of saying yes to new things, you will be more likely to say “heck yeah!” next time you will get offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to zip-line, paddle board, horseback ride or dance on the stage. Or maybe you will even plan your next family vacation in a way that you can do it all during your trip.

Start living adventurously today and share in the comments what kind of things you have done lately to get out of your comfort zone!

Guest post by lifestyle expert Katja Presnal. Katja owns Skimbaco lifestyle brand and blog network, and she inspires women to live life to the fullest. “Skimbaco” is like modern day carpe diem of enjoying life in the moment. Katja is an Addy award winning social media strategist and she has been featured in NY Times, Forbes, Glamour, Redbook and several other publications. Katja is married to a helicopter test pilot, and they have three children, all born in different countries (within three years!). They currently live in New York. You can connect with her on Twitter @katjapresnal.