“You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”   ~André Gide

We often discuss the idea of adventure, travel, and living the best we can. We want to live a life we are proud of and not be disappointed when looking back with self-examination. Saying, “I am proud of the life I lived last year, the last six months, the last month, week, I am proud of the life I lived yesterday.” And if I’m not, I will change and start over.

André Gide, a French author, said, “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” You can’t remain static. You must always look for new ways to expand your life and break out of your comfort zone. There is a risk in pushing up against your comfort zone and stepping beyond it. There is a risk that you step out and fall flat on your face. 

Our general safety has turned our homes, jobs, routines, habits, and hobbies into prisons. These parts of our lives have become so comfortable, and we’re so seemingly happy in them that we don’t want to risk something new. With that, we risk losing something that could be far better than we currently have because we might lose this acceptable thing we have. The boring, monotonous life of our rut and comfort zone is more pleasant than the risk of going out there and finding something wonderful and amazing.

You can’t find something wonderful, amazing, and fantastic without letting go of the mediocre, average, and barely acceptable. The barely acceptable becomes a horrible prison when we’re finally ready to let it go for something fantastic. We stay in it because we never know if letting go will be worse or better than it is now.

I hope you’ll see that and decide you can’t live your best life without letting go of this mediocre one. You must determine, “I’m going to find my best life.” I can’t discover a new ocean unless I lose sight of the shore and the prison my life has become. You have to do that. You have to be willing to take that risk and make that determination. Determined that you will find an amazing life. Knowing there is a risk of stepping out and falling. I hope you’ll set out for that new ocean. The comfort of a mediocre, monotonous life should not hold you back from a life of adventure and travel. I hope you’ll discover that. You must make that decision for yourself; until you do, you can’t set out with your whole heart.