Amusement park roller coasters, extreme sports, and haunted houses were all created for the enjoyment of thrill-seekers. A certain sect of the population enjoys the controlled feeling of fear, stress, and anxiety. The jitters, butterflies, heart pounding, and blood rushing are all symptoms caused by an increase of adrenaline (or epinephrine). These symptoms make thrill-seekers feel alive. They walk away from their action adventures feeling invigorated and understandably look forward to their next chance to chase that same sensation. Adventurists often take risks that their opposites would find dangerous, but there are plenty of smaller, everyday events that can get the blood pumping too. If you want to introduce a bit of adrenaline chasing into your life, but want to start out slow, check out the following 3 ways you can do a little thrill-seeking of your own.
- Expose Yourself to Your Phobia
While most of us deliberately aim to avoid our phobias, thrill-seekers may thrive on the excitement of facing those fears head-on. The first step is to identify your greatest fear. Common phobias include arachnophobia (the fear of spiders), acrophobia (the fear of heights), and mysophobia (the fear of germs). These three are only a few of the many. Next, locate a place or situation that directly houses or addresses your fear. For example, if you are afraid of snakes, a pet store is a great place to visit. After that, decide how scared you want to be. Should you just visit snakes that are locked safely inside of cage or should you go all-in and find someone who will let you hold a snake? Whichever you decide, the act of conquering your fear should provide a healthy dose of adrenaline.
- Perform
Speaking of phobias, glossophobia – the fear of public speaking, is another. Although the term glossophobia is commonly used to refer to speaking only, public performances happen to fall under the same umbrella. If you are a stranger to the stage, get your adrenaline pumping by participating in an audition, or performing karaoke or amateur stand-up comedy. Some people have had theater and dance dreams their entire lives but have never auditioned for an official spot or role. Karaoke can be intimidating for those who have never taken their singing endeavors further than the shower. Many people think of themselves as funny, yet haven’t written a comedy routine for a crowd. Yes, the thought of rejection or failure is scary, and the journey may be more rewarding than the end result – but that’s ok. As thrill seekers, our focus is on finding those moments that cause a rush of excitement. The risk is a challenge. Conquering the challenges is thrilling. And who knows? You may even find a new passion in performing. No matter the outcome, you win.
- Plan a Big Surprise
On the surface, planning a surprise doesn’t sound traditionally thrilling. However, anyone who has done it can confirm that it definitely cause adrenaline surges throughout the process. Attempting to plan a major event, without ruining the surprise, comes with close calls (anxiety), using quiet methods of problem-solving (challenge), and obsessively worrying about hiding evidence of the upcoming surprise (fear). All the markers of a controlled stress event are found within the process of surprise planning, even down to the feeling of excitement in the moments leading up to the reveal. While this is likely one of the most conservative methods of achieving an adrenaline rush, it’ll still get the job done.
Adventure is all around you. Don’t miss your chance to add some excitement to life by relying only on the traditional approaches of getting your adrenaline fix. Be purposeful about creating enjoyable challenge and risk in your day-to-day and start living the life of a thrill-seeker.
