13 Comments

Excellent essay about a very important topic Jesse! 👏 I'm a big fan of the PDCA (plan, do, check, act) approach to uncertainty. Just do an experiment, analyze the results, and move on to the next step.

Expand full comment

Baird- Thank you! And so happy you mentioned the PDCA framework- I will now apply it to many facets of my life!

Expand full comment

Oops. My preferred version of PDCA is plan-do-check-ADJUST. I wrote about that here in case you're interested:

https://bairdbrightman.substack.com/p/success-101

Expand full comment

Thanks- reading that now and excited to see, and apply it.

Expand full comment

Glad it's a useful addition to your toolkit!

Expand full comment

Thank you for reaching into the complexity of technology. How, in an effort to simplify, which we can arguably might have never been the intention, actually complicates things. The trouble additionally elevated by an inability to discern for self the goal, the intention of our own outdoor experience. How we might compare and contrast our adventure with those before or after. Where is our comfort into dipping a toe into the unknown and following a path of steps that increases confidence. Where does the sanitized experience begin or end.

Expand full comment

Wow, Stacy...These questions are awesome. All issues I think about and thanks for articulating them. I think my favorite is, "Where does the sanitized experience begin or end". I struggle with this one in my own adventuring and find myself trying to find those spaces that limit technology (e.g., no cell service, off-grid). Otherwise, I spend time figuring out how to lock/hide/relocate my phone, with some success if I'm solo. Its increasingly hard to get these adventures if with other who aren't on the same wavelength.

Expand full comment

Jesse, this is such a refreshing take on modern exploration! The idea of finding adventures that can’t be Googled is something I think a lot of us crave, even if we don’t realize it. We’re so used to quick answers that we sometimes forget the thrill that uncertainty brings. It's that feeling of knowing things might go sideways that keeps us alive in the moment.

And honestly, ‘abundance of choice’ hits home—I've had entire plans stalled by too many options! Love these strategies to defeat the ‘enemies’ of adventure and make room for genuine experiences. Thanks for the inspiration to unplug and dive into the unknown!

Expand full comment

I'm so glad this resonated with you. Yeah, the abundance of choice is really overwhelming at times and the best thing I can do is put my phone out of reach!

Expand full comment

Perceive, Believe , Act.

Excellent piece!

Expand full comment

Thanks, Steve.

Expand full comment

This reminds me of "Learning to make jam" by David E Perry: https://davideperry.substack.com/p/on-learning-to-make-jam

What if we drove without maps, hiked without guidebooks, stumbled into the most unexpected of adventures? The question is already dated. Now, it's what if we XYZ without TikTok, Youtube, Insta ...

Expand full comment

Thanks for sharing this reference, Amanda. It looks like there's a lot of pertinent material to check out on David's newsletter, and I look forward to reading "Learning to make jam.".

Expand full comment