My family -my husband Raz, my baby Felix, and myself- is doing something pretty wild... wild for us at least.

Two weeks ago we packed up all of our belongings in NYC, put them into storage and packed our car to the gills to embark on a 2 week roadtrip to Austin, TX, where we are staying for the next 6 weeks to find out if this could potentially be our new hometown.

You can follow our whole roadtrip on instagram here.

The reason this was a wild decision for us is because both of our families are in Europe and neither of us had ever been to Austin until literally last Monday. We both work for ourselves and neither of us has a job or opportunity waiting here that we can blame things on if we don't like it.

We also have an 8-month old, which, as any new parent will tell you, makes just picking up and going a bit more complicated.

So, what in the world, drove us to make this decision?

When we got married, Raz and I made a promise to each other to create a fun and adventurous life together. We never want to stop living to the fullest. We want to be led by a sense of curiosity and continuously work on aligning our life with what we desire in each stage of our life.

Since we became three last June, it was pretty clear to both, Raz and myself, that our time in NYC was coming to an end. Although we love where we lived in Williamsburg, both of us grew up surrounded by fields and nature which made it hard for us to picture raising kiddos in the concrete jungle.

As new parents, our energy had quickly transformed from an extraverted out-and-about kind of lifestyle into a calmer one, longing for a feeling of groundedness and space in a home and garden that we could call our own.

So here we are in a new city that mostly meets our checklist of "would love to haves" in a new hometown and we are giving ourselves ample time to explore and truly FEEL out the city.

Over the years as a lifecoach, I have talked to hundreds of women about building beautiful, authentic, and joyful lives and so I know that many of you seek more adventure, fun, surprise, and novelty in your life.

And I get it, adventure fuels the romance in our lives. Surprise keeps us alert and feeling alive. Novelty makes us appreciate and recognize the beauty in this world, in others and in ourselves.

Doing unexpected, scary things that are outside of your comfort zone but in your desire zone, is what makes life special.

At least that is what I have found to be true.

During the last few days I've been thinking about what the biggest culprits are when it comes to saying YES! to adventure, surprise, and ideas.

Here are 4 key things to consider if you want to be the leader of a life that is deeply aligned with YOU:

1. You have to accept the unknown and just do it.

Many people struggle with holding space for the unknown and accepting it as a natural part of life! Especially when it comes to inviting adventure, we have to let go of our own inner control freak. If everything is predictable, you are making adventure -not to mention surprise!- completely impossible.

In our case, we just had to book what was necessary (movers, our first hotel stop etc.) and get on the road. We had to stop overthinking everything and quit wrestling with the potential things that could go wrong or throw a curveball. Instead, we simply had to jump into action.

2. Feel the fear and then do it anyway.

Feeling scared or having second thoughts is completely normal and we all experience it to varying degrees. Know that just because you are scared of something doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it.

Trust me there were many moments -especially after long nights with Felix- when I felt like I was completely and utterly crazy for leaving the new-mom-safety-nest I had built for myself in NYC. Which brings me to #3 below.

3. Stay connected to your WHY.

You have to be clear about why you are doing something. You 100% have to stay connected to your bigger mission. Your WHY needs to be a passionate one that will bring positivity and joy to your life. It has to be rooted in your values and driven by an authentic inner pulsating desire for what doing something will bring into your life.

For instance, our why for this road trip into the unknown is our desire to actively build a home in a place that will inspire us and make our family life a super happy and fun one.

4. Learn to roll with imperfection.

Not everything will go as planned -it never does! Rather than expecting everything on your adventure to run in one perfectly laid out fashion, learn to make the best out of every scenario.

During our road trip Felix's well-being stayed our priority. That meant that we never drove more than 4 hours per day (mostly during his nap times) and that for the majority of nights, we opted to eat super early so Felix could stay in his routine and get his much loved bath time. When we were in New Orleans we decided that instead of going out to eat and seeing this city by night, we would get dinner and wine to go and play cards in a -might I say- very dark room. The funny thing is that it's these imperfect elements that make this adventure memorable and funny.

Here is the truth: your life is yours to shape. Nobody will force adventure, surprise, romance, fun, or novelty on you. You've got to create it, embrace it, and make it happen. And that means, jumping over your own shadow and going for it.

XX,

Caroline