“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”—J. A. Shedd.
This article as much as we love jumping off of things is not strictly about jumping off of cliffs, It is about what it takes to make the jump. It could be a literal cliff or it could be a metaphor for something you are afraid of and would love to overcome or experience. The mindset of no turning back is something that has been on my mind two years after our jump.
It must be a rare quality to find in our modern age with so many safeguards in place and a million options distracting people from their passion. When the world was unknown and unexplored some chose to sit at home, grow food and live a simple existence. Others chose to set the rutter straight and never look back. What made their mindset different from everyone else? What gave them that final push to say “screw it, I will see you on the other side if I fail”?
**Disclaimer: we are not advising you to jump off a cliff, or ditch your responsibilities. We are merely looking at aspects of life that hold people back from reaching their full potential and how to move beyond that. If you are interested in literal cliff jumping we will have a couple of tips at the end of the article 🙂
A lot of people are still advised to play it safe, get a job for the next 40+ years, buy a big car, a house mortgage you cannot afford and have babies. Basically, you were told – tie your feet to the ground so your life will be safe in 40 plus years when you are ready for retirement. THAT is supposed to be the time to live out your dreams, travel, see the world, etc. Statistically, it turns out that a large percentage of people die close to the retirement age. Was it all worth it?
So What Exactly Is the Mindset of No Turning Back?
It’s not to say that you can’t change your mind down the road. If you get into that kind of mindset then you are never allowed to make any mistakes or fail. The truth of it is that you get out there and really TRY. You give it your 100% best shot. Instead of talking yourself down with your head low, you stand tall and push ahead. When your gut and your heart feel deep inside it is the best thing to do, you go and you do it. You try it.
That is how successful people make things happen! They don’t wait for success to come and knock on their doors, they go out and see what straw can be spun into gold, what lemons can be made into lemonade. It is this mindset where you have everything you need within yourself and within your own soul, mind and capacity. You don’t need to know HOW it is all going to play out exactly. You just need to know the direction you are going in, and have one really good reason you believe in for why you want to go in that direction. Add to that a lot of passion and most importantly: indestructible determination.
There will be distractions. There will be obstacles. There will be naysayers. There will be things on the way, that will try to stop and make you turn back with your tail tucked between your legs. But once you make your decision you just keep going in that direction. Especially when you’re gut is telling you to do it, that’s what it’s all about. Trusting your gut decision, once you make it.
But How?
How do you get into this vein of thinking, this flow of being? Start small. If you make a decision to run every day, because you want to get into shape, then start by running 1 mile every day. Then build up from there. You will have off days, days where you feel not the slightest amount of motivation, and where you want to give up and feel no inspiration. That’s when you keep going. It’s the same with almost anything in life – writing, learning a language, pursuing an art, starting a business, traveling long term, and becoming successful.
To have the mindset of not turning back, your mind is bold but it isn’t stiff and inflexible. If something isn’t working – you are flexible and adaptable enough to tweak it or adjust course to make it work. Or you know when to throw the towel in and start up fresh again after really trying. Think of it as a game called life where you are continuously testing this idea or that idea. Having the determination to keep going and find success is what you never give up on.
Failing is not a big deal. Every successful person has failed many, many times before finding their first success, and if they were deterred by the first failing or falling, then they would never find an ounce of success. Don’t let “failure” get to you. Throw up your hands, cheer yourself on and give yourself a pat on the back every time you “fail or fall” because you are that much closer (and stronger) toward reaching your goal, whatever that is!
The Scarcity Mindset
This is the mindset where you are always focused on the LACK of any given circumstance. What you aren’t getting compared to that person over there, or what you are afraid of losing if you do this or that. It is a fear-based mentality rooted in contraction and holding back and playing it safe. At it’s very deepest root, it is very much tied to the conditioning we learned typically as we were growing up, subconsciously learned throughout childhood and adolescence going into young adulthood.
The conditioning is based on a belief that there is not enough “abundance” in the world to go around. So not everyone can possibly be happy. So you must compete and trample on others to get what you want, or else you must keep your head down low and never expect too much from life, because what’s the use? It will disappoint you and hurt you in the end.
So you don’t reach for your dreams, you don’t dare to dream BIG. You keep your dreams small and close to the chest and play small in all you do. At the bottom of it you feel you don’t “deserve” any real success, and real success is seen as a threat, because it challenges your playing safe. The scarcity mindset is afraid of true growth, change, expression, authenticity, expansion and inner transformation.
OK, So What is the Opposite of the Scarcity Mindset?
As Marianne Williamson said,
“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
So shine brightly, dear. It begins with the first affirmation of simply believing that you are ENOUGH. You are worthy of investing your beliefs and faith in so that you can begin to dare to dream and believe that the desires of your heart are indeed possible. It’s not the same thing as being “selfish.” It just simply means you know your own sense of self-worth.
You are open to receiving abundance flowing into your life in the form of dreams (small and big), joy, good relationships, support, self love, money, gifts, talents, opportunities, success, health and pleasure. You aren’t blocking yourself from receiving it. You are open and trusting. All things happen in divine timing. Life is fun and playful again, like how a child can play and not worry about anything. Work, and life and everything in-between becomes more like play than drudgery. That is the opposite of the scarcity mindset, which so many of us have subconsciously been programmed to believe and act out in society.
Release the Inner Explorer
This starts with dreaming or meditation. Look at your life in one, five or ten years. Where do you want to be? Is it in a different country, a different job position? Or is it possibly not a physical place, but a mental journey of where you want to go? Listen to a podcast, or read an inspiring book (we recommend “4 Hour Work Week,” “Deep Work,” “War of Art,” and “Crush It” to name a few). Let yourself dream big about all that life has to offer for YOU. Make sure any potent thoughts that come to the front of your mind are written down and are easily visible in a place that you can access them easily and regularly. If there are any reminders that you need on a daily basis print them out or write them on a big card and stick it by your bed or another popular choice is the bathroom mirror.
These reminders could be a simple affirmation such as: “I am enough, I am worthy” or “My creativity heals myself and others” (from the Artist’s Way Workbook we use) or “Abundance flows into my life in surprising and miraculous ways every day.”
Why Buy a One Way Ticket?
If you were born in the 80’s like us, you will most likely remember the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. There is a quote from it with his character saying –
“If I’d learnt one thing from traveling, it was that the way to get things done was to go ahead and do them. Don’t talk about going to Borneo. Book a ticket, get a visa, pack a bag, and it just happens.”
This couldn’t be any closer to how we felt when we booked our tickets to Cancun a couple of years back, right after we had returned from the most magical, two-week time of our lives in Tulum, Quintana Roo. We didn’t tell a soul. We just decided while talking and hiking around the grassy, oak-lined trails of Oregon – with Mount Hood’s snowy peak showing off in the distance. It felt like one of those magical decisions you make in life when you press a button and you know everything is going to change, although at that moment it seems small and inconsequential to the undiscerning eye.
But for us, it meant everything. It meant we were about to embark on a life-changing journey, not just a physical journey into the world unknown, but also a journey of the soul. We took a leap of faith. When you’re soul whispers to you to take a huge step in an unknown distant land, and something deep, deep inside shouts back YES, with everything you have… well that was how it felt for us.
That is really where the faith came from. It was just a deep knowing inside. And the fact that we had made the decision just the two of us without telling a soul for several weeks – it made it even more special, looking back. It was a giddy moment of excitement for what was to come. The world turned into color and suddenly it felt like all possibilities and dreams were at our fingertips. One of the greatest decisions of our life. Our guts told us!
Ways to Save Money on the Road:
If you plan to travel in the next chapter, there are also many hacks to traveling on a budget, like saving money on transportation and accommodations. Some of our favorite methods to do this are:
- Earn credit card rewards/points for airline miles (to get free or cheap flights)
- we love the Chase Sapphire credit card
- Trusted House Sitters (pet/house sit around the world in exchange for free accommodations)
- Airbnb (can be very cheap. You can even write the host and ask them if they will give a discount to you if you stay for longer than a week or a month, etc.)
- Visit or live in countries with a lower cost of living. We love or have heard great things about the following:
- Mexico
- Georgia
- Bulgaria
- Eastern Europe
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- The Philippines
- Guatemala
- Portugal
- Colombia
- Peru
Get Addicted to Selling or Giving Away Your Stuff!
Idol Belongings Are The Devil’s Playthings
If you feel weighed down by the amount of stuff you have collected, just collecting dust, and you feel like it is holding you back from reaching for your goals, start to consider how much stuff do you really need? Or even want for that matter? Do an inventory of all the things you have not used in months or even years. And inventory of items that no longer bring you joy or satisfaction. You would be surprised about what people might want from your give away pile, especially if it is what they perceive as a steal of a deal. Get your camera or smartphone and take a couple of pictures to put them up on Facebook Marketplace or the tried-and-true Craigslist.
Give to Charity
If you can not bear to sell your stuff, check out local charities that help the homeless, women’s homes, children’s homes and give them old toys for Christmas, blankets for warmth, or old electronics that are no longer needed. (Remember to reset everything and wipe your computer to its factory settings.)
A great tip I was made aware of is children in orphanages are responsible for their own luggage when they move to a foster home. Give them some dignity and freedom from a plastic bag for their belongings and drop some old luggage that is seldom used that they will be overjoyed to have.
Minimalism:
Jill and Chris @ Artistic Voyages
Instead of telling you about what minimalism is we wanted to share a story of two traveler friends we met after we made our leap. Jill and Chris are amazing artists who gave away most of their belongings and travel the world sharing their art and are an inspiration to us. Read the story of how they got started below!
In nine short months, in 2017, my partner and I sold or gave away all of our possessions, wrapped up and closed 3 home-based businesses, finished renovating our house, sold our house, sold our vehicles and said goodbye to our garden and tight-knit community of friends that we had spent years building. All this happened after a lightning bolt of inspiration hit me in the back of the head one night while watching the Netflix documentary “Minimalism.”
In that split instant, I suddenly saw all of our stuff as just that, stuff. I suddenly realized that it was the exact stuff that was getting in the way of me traveling. I surmised that if I could just get rid of it all, then I could travel wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I wouldn’t have a house to worry about, excess bills to pay, a huge debt looming over my head making me miserable, or a bunch of different insurance policies to pay and manage. I felt like if I just got rid of it all, I could finally be free.
From that day forward, our life has been just that, free. Of course, there are other things that we have to worry about with this lifestyle choice, but the crushing feeling is gone. The feeling that no matter how hard we worked, and how hard we tried, we were never going to get to where we wanted to be in life, is gone. The feeling that felt like we were drowning in debt and drowning in other people’s expectations of us, is gone. That feeling of “there must be more to life than this” is gone.
Three years after making that fateful choice, we have lived in 4 different countries, worked on many projects that make us happy and feed our souls and are now putting all of our energy into a future that makes us excited to be alive. Every day is a new and exciting adventure! We have NO regrets and we couldn’t be happier.
Think of all of your things as a weight that you need to bring around with you 24 hours a day. Then imagine leaving some of those things on your path as literally lightening your load so you can move faster toward what you really want.
Start the Process and Begin Exploring
Be Honest With Your Boss
So many people that we have talked to in the past feel stuck wherever they typically have jobs that they do not like. They go in, do their time, just to go home exhausted, uninspired and stuck in the same position for years and years with no movement forward. It feels like forever being on a treadmill or hamster wheel. This will lead to contempt and unhappiness in every area of life. Affecting relationships with family, partners, friends, etc.
Be honest with yourself and your boss. Schedule a meeting before or after work and prepare to be as honest as you can without burning any bridges. Just be prepared to tell your boss exactly what your intention is and what you expect and want in your future. Be clear and speak kindly yet firmly. This can feel exactly like jumping from a cliff because once you put your intentions out into the world, there is no going back. The boss, supervisor or owner of wherever you work will never look at you the same and will remember that point in which you came in and told them who you are.
Depending on how that meeting goes, and what your intentions are, you might be able to negotiate a new working situation in which you are able to continue working remotely, bringing in a regular paycheck as you travel the world. This may not be what you want, but if it is, we have found that many travelers have this set up (now more than ever), as CEOS and companies around the world become more open to the idea as technology progresses.
Magic of The Side Hustle
If you have a job you don’t like, start to bootstrap whatever passion you have into a side hustle and over time into a business that can replace the income you need to survive. You will probably also want to start stowing away cash from your current (undesirable) job for the future as you begin to transition to the job and/or lifestyle of your dreams.
Build Your New Life Into Your Daily Habit and Make It Part of Your Life
The habits or activities that you resist the most are sometimes the areas that you need to explore and incorporate the most. Start creating the life that you want and the habits or systems that go along with it. Think about all of the stuff that you have wanted to do in your life that you have not done because you felt stuck.
Make a list, take the challenge and keep the chain going day in and day out. Get a calendar, begin today and start building habits that will push you over the edge. Want to dance? Set up dancing 30 minutes into your daily routine and do not break the chain. We have found doing it every day works for us (without a gap day) in order to cement habits into our life, especially at the beginning. After day 30, 60, 300 or whatever it will feel weird if you don’t accomplish that task one day.
Good luck in your journey and thanks for reading, everyone! If you found this article helpful be sure to like, comment and share on your social platforms. And if you have any questions or suggested tips around this topic we would love to hear in the comments below!
How to Jump Off A Cliff
Ok, you made it to the end of the article and as promised here are some tips on how to jump off a cliff.
*We are not professional cliff jumpers please take caution before you jump and if you think it is too dangerous don’t do it for god’s sake.
Step 1: Find a nice ledge or overhang making sure your eventual jump will be able to clear whatever is below.
Step 2: Make sure there is a soft landing or water underneath you. Rocks are not the best thing to land on.
Step 3: Make sure you have a good friend with a camera near by and that he or she knows how to use the camera. Jumping a second time just for the shot is not ideal.
Step 4: Turn off the fear part of your brain. If you think about it for too long your chances of making the leap get less and less.
Step 5: Let out a war cry or at the very least make a I am out of my mind look at the camera on the way down.
Step 5: Plug your nose before you hit the water. This is specific to us, getting a nose and sinus flush at terminal velocity is not a fun way to end your amazing feat.
Step 6: Now that you survived and are full of courage go back and try a backflip.
Liked it? Pin it!!!!
