On Adventure

Published on August 5, 2017 (↻ February 5, 2024), filed under Adventure (RSS feed for all categories).

If there’s one not so obvious feature of my online writings then it’s that I regularly review, edit, and improve them. The Little Book of Website Quality Control (updated) talks about it, the meta page explains it, other people pray it, web design is a process, and so is web content. And so I review and edit almost everything on meiert.com, and I also do this for my ebooks.

Lately I’ve been working through 100 Things I Learned as an Everyday Adventurer. Now 100 Things, like all my self-published books, still benefits from post-editing; I’m glad I don’t need to judge what quality my writing is of. But some of my books grow on me, and 100 Things is, like Journey of J., a book that I’m increasingly content with. (If only I wasn’t so terribly twisted when it comes to my confidence—up and down and up and down—, and rather poor at marketing.)

When I began this last review, I enjoyed the section on what actually makes adventure, for me. Namely this:

Adventure is normally related to something uncharted, uncertain, or unusual. Something that has never been tried before. Or something that’s dangerous. Thrill, excitement, adrenaline. But there’s also another side of adventure. It’s trying something uncharted, uncertain, or unusual for oneself. With or without thrill. Challenging oneself. Like being afraid of heights and then doing bungee jumping from a tower. Hating the idea of going to a polo match but joining regardless. Or just being uncertain about knitting but giving it a shot at a class in the neighborhood.

Adventure is about being open. It means being open to new impressions, influences, and the unexpected. It means being open to the possibility that there are things out there that, no matter how trivial and unexciting they may seem, may be very worthwhile, useful, or even fun. And it means being open to the fact that there are indeed things that are not as interesting and enjoyable, and recognizing that it’s good to know they aren’t, rather than guess they aren’t.

What all this means is that adventure can be found everywhere. It’s all around us. Life is an adventure if we opt to make it one. And that’s why I call myself an “everyday adventurer,” and why this piece of literature says “Everyday Adventurer.”

And that is, says this far less adventurous Jens than he was in other years, what I still deem a amiable, kind, even romantic take on adventure. I’m twisted in my views and poor at marketing, but just having reviewed and edited the book again, I believe it’s a good read and that you might like it, too. 100 Things I Learned as an Everyday Adventurer.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a frontend engineering leader and tech author/publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead for companies like Google and as an engineering manager for companies like Miro, I’m a contributor to several web standards, and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development (and engineering management), but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (Please be critical, interpret charitably, and give feedback.)