Time, Self, and Environment. Uhventure. How your relationship with these is critical to your next adventure.
Photo by Omer Salom on Unsplash
re·la·tion·ship /rəˈlāSH(ə)nˌSHip/ noun 1. the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the
state of being connected.
Being human is being connected through relationships. Our world is full of them, whether they’re with people (including ourselves), our environment, or even with intangibles, such as time and energy. And each one takes maintenance. The role we choose to play dictates the quality of those relationships: we can have a positive or negative effect, depending on our actions. Uhventure was created to help you navigate a few of these fundamental relationships. Don’t worry, we’re not talking about romance. We’re talking about a few key connections that are foundational to each of us here in our existence on Planet Earth: our relationships with time, ourselves, and the world around us. At the heart of our mission, we hope to empower and equip our community to forge better relationships with themselves, the limited time they have, and the environment they’ve been blessed with.
Analysis Paralysis. 
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
We’ve all heard the joke about people in relationships that surrounds the question ‘Where do you want to eat, honey?” or some variation thereof. Usually this question is followed by a filler, not an answer, and the answer that follows is certainly not the CORRECT answer. “Uhhh how about Thai food? No? Ok, burgers? No? Ummmmm...” and so it goes, until the decision is made and usually is something that one side of the conversation had in mind from the beginning. The punchline is that there’s a debate and much deliberation before any action is taken. Over-analysis turns a simple question into a time-consuming ordeal. That’s time you’ll never get back.
What’s crazy is this same debate happens to us inside our own heads every single day and we often don’t realize it. Our inner commentary goes back and forth. What to wear, what to do, who to see. Our life is filled with choices and each choice has real consequences. It’s good to think before acting. It’s good to take small steps. But it’s not good to JUST think. It’s not good to vacillate and be indecisive. This excess of unnecessary deliberation is where the “Uh” comes from in our name, calling out this very human tendency to pause, to overthink, and to hesitate for a moment or two longer than we need to. In the moment it’s not a big deal, but those moments begin to
add up and become the story of our lives. This half-way attitude becomes a habit, our default way of interacting with the world. And it costs us. Go. Do. Don’t wait.
Time
Photo by Photo by Wilhelm Gunkel on Unsplash
We all have a unique relationship with time, the unseen force that through its passing shapes so much of our world and us. As the old saying goes “time is money”. But actually, it’s not. You can earn more money, but you can never get more time no matter how hard you try. You can calculate how much money you have and decide whether or not you have enough to make a purchase. If you don’t, you can even borrow money to acquire what you want. With time, however, you cannot know how much you have left to spend. It’s impossible to borrow more. In fact the only thing that’s certain with time is that it goes by, no matter what.
To put it a little more powerfully, you spend it whether you want to or not. Money you can save, pile up, burn, spend faster or slower, or give away. Your time is yours and yours alone, and you choose how you invest it. Time WILL be invested at a steady rate. Each tick of the clock and swing of the pendulum puts its assigned moment into a bucket. There are many worthy vessels into which you can direct this flow of time: your family bucket, your self-improvement bucket, your work bucket, etc. But the time flows whether or not you want it to. You cannot turn it off, you can only direct it. When you
hesitate, you add your most precious gift to the waiting bucket, never again to get it back. Action changes the direction of the flow. It allows you to invest your time in experiences, in yourself, and in the people around you. Starve the hesitation bucket and instead feed your sense of adventure. Or your work. Or your family and relationships. Don’t waste the precious sand that flows from your hourglass. Put it into a venture that matters; a vessel that has meaning. Some day it will stop.
Environment
Photo by Sébastien Goldberg on Unsplash
As we interact with the things around us, they impact our lives. Stunning views can take our breath away and lofty peaks can remind us how small we are. We can be challenged, inspired, and even healed by being in and around nature. Our external environment changes us. We learn much about the laws of nature, ourselves, and our relationship with the world by being in nature. But we often neglect to think about OUR impact on our environment, whether it’s a city park or an unexplored wilderness in South America. That’s why it’s important to take care of it. To preserve it, protect it, and be mindful of it.
How?
The first step is recognizing that each individual has an impact. The second is making that impact either neutral or positive. What that looks like is donating money to good causes (good news, you’re already doing this by buying Uhventure products) and cleaning up after yourself when you’re on an adventure. Take it a step further and leave the area you explore even better than how you found it.
We believe that by experiencing what the world has to offer, you will become compelled to preserve and share what you find. We have, and that’s why we orchestrate trash clean-ups periodically and invest our time in keeping our natural playgrounds pristine. Next time you’re out on an adventure, soak it in and enjoy the beauty. Do your part to keep it that way. Pick up that beer can. Throw away the wrapper you noticed on your hike out. Bring your hydro instead of a plastic bottle. DO the little things. They matter.
The best part of all of these ideas is that they empower YOU, the Uhventure community. You matter. You can make a difference. Cut out the hesitation. Transform your relationship with yourself, with time, and with the environment. You are powerful and you’re half the equation. Next time you say uh, make a choice. Take the action. Go for it. Do something worthwhile. All you have is now.
Cheers.