The Third Choice: Where Security Meets Adventure

Security or Adventure? Why I Stopped Choosing

I used to think life gave you a menu. Two bold choices, printed at the top:
Security or Adventure.
Pick one.

Security came with a corner office, predictable hours, health insurance, and a routine that never asked too much of you. Adventure came with no map, just wind in your hair, a passport full of stamps, broken rules, and even more broken hearts.

For the longest time, I chose security. Or maybe it chose me. It’s what you do when you’ve been raised on a diet of “play it safe” and “don’t waste that degree.” I followed the blueprint—stable job, solid resume, relationships that looked good on paper but felt empty in the gut. I collected milestones like frequent flyer miles, never stopping long enough to ask: Is this even my destination?

But something shifted. Or maybe I did.

I hit a point in life where all the things that were supposed to feel safe started to feel like shackles. The 9-to-5 felt more like 9-to-die-a-little-inside. The mortgage, the meetings, the muted joy—I was secure, yes. But I was also stuck. And a stuck soul is a loud one.

So I listened. I quit the job. I let go of the people who didn’t get the new version of me. I moved cities. I broke my own rules. I started writing again. Really writing. Not just in journals but on pages that turned into books—books like Diary of Clichés, Adventures Of Sauli The Rescue Pup, and my newest memoir About Life Choices and Potholes. Each book was a breadcrumb, leading me deeper into the adventure I had once feared.

And here’s what I learned:
It’s not either/or.
It never was.

Adventure isn’t the absence of security. And security isn’t the absence of risk. The real thrill is in building a life that feels like you. One that steadies you and sets you free. A life where your calendar has space for silence, spontaneity, and soul.

So now, when someone asks me what I’m seeking—I say:
Depth. Wholeness. Alignment.
Because that’s where security meets adventure.

And in my case, it made a damn good story.