20 Seconds of insane courage

Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery... And I promise you something great will come of it!! - Unknown.

"Wow! You're so lucky! Soon you will be working on an exotic island with lots of hunky Baywatch boys around, sipping sun downers in a hammock whilst the sun caresses the ocean with the last of its warmth of the day." Or some other fairly closely related daydream I hear from people who find out about my pending adventure.

Why yes, I am lucky because the passion that I have for what I will be doing runs through my entire being. Am I lucky that my adventure is filled with white beaches, crystal clear oceans, bronzed bodies and lots of time in the water? Not so much. See, it had nothing to do with luck. It is the culmination of a number of small steps, each in itself being born in 20 seconds of insane courage. Embarrassing braveness if you will.

I studied for four years to get an honours degree in Psychology which qualified me to work as a call centre agent (an experience that taught me to have a large amount of patience when I get a call from an unknown number). From there I got into corporate and slowly realised that was not where I was meant to be.

One sunny, late winters day I went to the race track with the dive centre where I had done most of my training and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to re-do my Dive Master course to brush up on my skills and knowledge. 20 Seconds of courage. On that course (like the first time around) I met some friends who have touched my life deeply. Little did I know that this choice was going to change my life completely. But then again seeing as I was in the 'changing my life' space  it was very appropriate.

During that course I had gotten to know, love and lost a very dear friend. Like a kid I excitedly waited for the train to pass so that I can get the flattened coins that I had placed on the tracks. I dived with sharks and wrestled with some demons.

It took 20 seconds of insane courage to enrol onto my scuba dive instructors course... And a month of insanely hard work, stress and craziness to get through to the other end as a qualified instructor.

There were 20 seconds of insane courage involved when I finally admitted that I do not belong in a corporate environment and handed my resignation to my boss.

And then there was very little of anything that happened. For a couple of months I just coasted, wondering why the universe wasn't showing me my next step. In reality I was so frozen with fear that I was unwilling to take the next step. I was always waiting for something to get done first. Eventually I put my car up for sale. It took 20 seconds (O.K., perhaps one minute) to type up and send out a message, telling everyone to spread the word. Within a week my car was sold. The universe was waiting for me to take the next step. Since then I have been thrown into a whirlwind of activity, booking flights, getting vaccines, buying luggage and finishing off a project on which I'm consulting (O.K I haven't completely given up corporate. Soon, though. Soon).

I guess my point is this: I didn't get here, to the eve of my big adventure, by sitting on the couch or complaining about my life over a glass of wine (although there was a lot of that going on too!). Every step in my adventure thus far is rooted in 20 seconds of insane, heart thumping, breath racing, what-the-heck-am-I-doing?, courage.

When last did you do something that made your heart race? Go on... try it... who knows what might happen?

Tossing a coin...

The most difficult part of an adventure is taking the first step... Indeed the hardest part is making the decision. For me that decision has three parts: where to go, when to leave, and what to do before I go.
 

Where to go

I am young with only myself to be responsible for, I have a degree, some work experience, a dive instructor qualification and a whole smorgasbord (how fun is that word to say, go ahead try saying it out loud a few times) of other random skills that will get me by in a world that is called my oyster.
 
So where does one begin? When there are so many beautiful, exotic, interesting and perhaps even scary places to see and experience how do you pick just one? With all this confusion I find myself listening to a mentor's wise words: the first place you go to is the most difficult, you will find it easier to move on to the next place... and the next... His words made me realise that whichever place I chose, I can always change my mind if I don't like it or if I feel like it's time to move on.
 
So then it's settled, after much debating and research and endless conversations with good friends over ice cream and tea and those awesome little mini caramel Swiss rolls, I have decided that Thailand will be the first stop in my great adventure.
 

When to leave and what to do before I go

My soul is yearning to get on a plane and if it had it's way I would do so tomorrow. Unfortunately I need to be practical and there are a few things I need to complete before I leave. I am consulting on a project which needs to be settled, along with this there are countless Adventure related errands to run.

I have to think which bag (or combination thereof) is best to travel with - I settled for having a dive bag custom made out of old ship sails as well as a hiking backpack- what vaccines to get, where to stay for the first few days in Thailand, book my ticket and a million other small little things that I haven't even thought about. I should really make a to-do-list... "Make a to-do-list" will be the first item on my to-do-list for tomorrow, I think.
 
And then there's also my little detour... I'm pushing my departure date out by a month to go have a little mini adventure. Well, here is my current coin tossing situation. I have an opportunity to go to the coast to do a day skippers course, yacht sailing course, sailing career development course, whatever you want to call it. It will be 28 days spent on the sea learning all about sailing and yachts, and engines and knot tying and... Well let's just say for the water baby and fish (Pisces) that I am is sounds like bliss. Sure I will probably be complaining about sunburn and crazy, untame-able hair soon, soon... But I think the coin has already been tossed and it does not matter whether it's heads or tails, my mind has already been made up...