Why You Should Go On That Spontaneous Adventure

It’s 3 o’clock on a Thursday when that dreaded afternoon slump kicks in. The high of our lunch break has worn off and we’re still too far from the freedom of 5 p.m. We sit at our desks and daydream about what it would be like to pack up our car and just adventure until Monday. We wonder how far we would get. Oregon? Washington? Heck, we can take the party abroad and haul all the way to Canada.

We imagine the views we would enjoy and the dive bars we would visit. For just a minute we plan on ditching all of our responsibilities (including work tomorrow) to have the time of our lives on our self-prescribed three day weekend. All too quickly, the minute passes and we’re snapped back to reality by the new email that popped up in our inbox. Our imaginary plan gets lost in the spam folder of our brain and we concede to a weekend of house chores and grocery shopping.

This happens every week. If we had a dollar for every time we watched our spontaneous adventure pass us by, we wouldn’t have to keep our dang day job. We set out with wild intention, but by the time Friday rolls around we’ve had enough of the week. We accept that Saturday will consist of laundry and vacuuming, and Sunday will be used to binge-watch the Great British Baking Show. We tell ourselves that there is always next weekend to chase the sunset and the weekend after that. Come to think of it, the sun does the setting thing pretty much every day.

But it’s time to change that. No longer will we procrastinate on having fun. Too much of our lives are spent tethered to inboxes and calendars, and not enough time is spent actually living. So here’s to a concerted effort to thinking less and saying yes more. We’re going to start to take advantage of every impromptu opportunity and save the laundry for Wine Wednesday.

The benefits of choosing to have more fun are endless. For starters, you’ll have more fun (duh). Often times, having fun gets placed at the very end of our to-do list. If it makes the list at all. This is a real tragedy since the health benefits of a good time are undeniable! Fun experiences have been tied to an improved ability to cope with stress, increased energy levels, and improved memory and concentration. So the next time your vegan-yogi-marathon-running friend boasts about their healthy lifestyle you can inform them that you had a fun weekend and they can eat your meat-based dust.

Taking advantage of every impulsive opportunity is the #1 way to live a life free of regret (within reason of course). If you jump into every adventure you will never have to worry about the “what if.” We’re all for being a potato on the weekends; everyone needs a timeout from life once in a while. Just keep in mind that nobody ever remembers the Saturday that they spent responsibly. So pull the ole carpe the diem and seize the crap out of every day.

The way we see it, you’ve got two options for every weekend. You can either live through the weekend or live FOR the weekend. The difference between these two options is similar to the difference between seeing a concert and going to a concert. One involves sitting passively and the other entails performing on your feet until you lose your voice. The Luno team firmly believes that you should treat every weekend like a headline performance.

We recognize that by thinking this much about said spontaneous adventure it’s not actually spontaneous. But that’s totally fine because it’s the spirit of spontaneity that matters. We’re not saying you need to traipse across Europe or impulsively purchase a cattle farm in the Midwest (although we totally support that, too). If an unplanned visit to a local beach satisfies your uninhibited wanderlust, then so be it! Hit the road for a car camping trip! Get down with your bad self. You don’t need to lead a wild life of reckless abandon to have an unexpected adventure. All you need to do is have more fun when fun can be had.

YesSo when your coworkers ask you how your weekend was on Monday, you can tell them that you spent it sleeping in your car under Redwoods and Sequoias. Or at the top of the Space Needle. Or catching the last of the summer sun. Whatever floats your boat.

So, what are you doing this weekend?