Have you ever dreamed of booking a one-way ticket somewhere? Sounds so thrilling, right?
I think it's the empowering combination of uncertainty, adventure, and spontaneity as one-way tickets are often purchased on a whim.
This was the case for me a couple of weeks ago when I decided to return to Bali after officiating my best friend’s wedding in Boston.
I was sitting by the pool at a Villa my friends and I were renting in Canggu (a beach town here in Bali), we were lounging on the beanbags, getting some work done, when I realized I still didn’t know what I was going to do after my trip to Boston.
The wedding was a week away and I had no idea what my plans were afterward.
Would I go back to Austin? Go visit friends in Toronto? Go back to Virginia to scoop my dog from my mom’s house?
None of this felt right.
What I did know, was that Mama Bali kept calling.
Just come back, she whispered in the ocean breeze. We’re not finished, I heard in the trees.
Aside from her intoxicating beauty and affordable cost of living I had just learned to drive a scooter. This new-found freedom felt like a game changer, and this freshly independent Kim knew that back-to-Bali was the only answer.
My friends thought I was nuts.
“You’re going to fly all the way to the states--for 3 days--and then fly all the way back??”
“Yep!”
“That’s 60-something hours of travel in under a week..??”
“Yep!”
It sounded like an adventure to me.
I embraced the exhaustion, the swollen legs, the carb-heavy airplane food, and the extended period of time without a shower or bed. If the end-result was that I got to be in two of my favorite places in the world in the same week, then I was all in.
I think that we often miss out on the things we really want in life, because we’re not willing to endure the “struggle” required to get there.
Want a six-pack, but unwilling to give up pizza for pilates? Good luck!
Want to launch a side hustle and quit your job, but unwilling to trade Netflix for late nights working on the new biz? Enjoy that office Christmas party!
Want a deeper, more passionate relationship, but unwilling to give up “being right”? It'll never work!
I'll admit, I’ve experienced this confronting truth time and time again in my own business. I want to be an author, but for years I was unwilling to give up feeling “safe” for the sake of being seen. (Yes, even the Bold Life girl needs these reminders.)
Can you think of an area in your life that you’ve been playing small, playing it safe, or avoiding the “struggle” necessary to reach your real goal?
We all have them. Whether it’s in your work, your health, your relationships, your creativity, your sexuality, or even your spirituality, there is usually pain (or at least compromise) and growth that is required to get us to where we want to be.
If you want to be in Bali, then Boston, and then Bali again in one week, you take 6 flights, fly for 60+ hours, and sleep sitting up for a few days. Period.
If you want to become a better musician, you practice. Even when you suck, even when it feels boring, even when you’re not in the mood.
To improve your health, you turn your “eating out” budget into your “personal trainer” budget, and you endure the withdrawals from sugar, and the pain (and pleasure) of feeling your muscles get stronger.
Bali is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, but like most South East Asian countries, I’m earning that beauty every day. If you don’t learn to endure the chaotic scooter traffic, or the humidity, or the pace of life, it will drive you mad. And in turn, chew you up and spit you out.
Mama Bali gives me exactly what I need to grow, whether I want it or not. And just as Bali called me back into her arms, my hunch is that each dream you feel called to is using that siren call to bring you through the journey required to get there.
It’s actually more about what you learn while you earn the dream, than the actualization of the dream itself.
Just as the flights counted down from six, to five, to four and eventually my feet touched the ground here in Bali, the same can be said for every challenge we face, or journey we embark upon.
Eventually, it ends.
So, don’t be afraid to commit to things that call your name.
Book the ticket, pick up the instrument, launch the website, sign up for the course. Let the hustle excite you, embrace the adventure that will greet you as you set out on your quest for a better life.
You deserve all the joy and fulfillment that sits on the other side of fear; on the other side of the "struggle."
Want a behind-the-scenes look at what led me to move to Bali for a month & some of the life-changing activities I've been getting into? Then check out the all-new episodes of The Bold Life Movement Podcast:
(Click the Episode to watch now)
