Lose Your Balance, Find Your Life
These aren’t just travel tips. They’re little life nudges.
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I’ve often listened to people talk about traveling the world, only to end up having the same experiences everywhere they go. No matter the city, they stick to what they already know they’ll enjoy: familiar foods, predictable places, or the top 10 touristy things.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. But it’s certainly worth noticing how comfortable and easy it is to stay where it feels safe. Sometimes, we need to push ourselves just a little. That’s what these DSED lists are really about: small ways to lose your balance in the best possible way.
So many people I work with in my coaching practice are chasing the ever-elusive feeling of balance. They want life humming on all cylinders, and you can imagine the shock and awe on their faces when I suggest the complete opposite: to lose their balance on purpose.
One of my clients signed up for an impromptu salsa class on a Wednesday night that they’d randomly found on Eventbrite. What people usually find once they’re knee-deep into the experience is that it’s not just a class. It’s the beginning of loosening the grip on what we think life should look like. The client actually emailed recently to share that they landed a job at one of the most recognized names in entertainment (something they wouldn’t have considered before). Taking the job also meant moving to a place of endless coastlines and sun-kissed days. Talk about a rough life! Ha!
That’s what losing your balance can do. It shakes something loose and disrupts the illusion that everything has to be planned, known, and safe to be good. It opens a window. And sometimes, that slight wobble is exactly what we need to let the light in.
That salsa class wasn’t about dancing. It was about permission. Permission to play, to try, and to imagine a different life.
Here are a few ways to lose your balance:
Some of my best city experiences didn’t come from Google. Nope! They came from a hotel concierge. These folks know the city beyond the influencer highlight reels.
You don’t even have to be staying at the hotel to ask for help (though it’s always polite if you are). I have found out the best times to catch a sunset on a rooftop bar, what to say, and who to ask for when I get there. This is your low-lift shortcut to stepping off the beaten path.
I got this hack from Daniel. We were doing something totally unexpected once, and I asked, “How did you find this?” He casually said, “I just Googled weird things to do in Vegas.”
Now, it’s something I do regularly, especially on work trips. This is how you find haunted museums, secret menus, desert art installations, or a midnight pancake speakeasy.
Not everything has to be curated or expensive to be unforgettable.
This is probably my all-time favorite way to meet a city. Even if you’re not drinking, bartenders know what’s new, what’s overhyped, and what’s actually worth your time.
I’ve changed dinner plans in an instant based on a quiet head shake from someone behind the bar. That “don’t like the TikTok raves fool you, girl” head shake. You cannot beat this kind of local insight. I’ll never forget Daniel and I being schooled by the bartenders in New Orleans about where to go all over town for the “best” this and that. They gave us the map on how they learned to make drinks over the last two decades of their careers. They’ve texted friends that work in the back of house in some of the best restaurants and got us tables. Sit at the BAR!
Sit solo, say hello, and let the night unfold because sitting at the bar is the best way to leave a city with a story you didn’t plan for.
These aren’t just travel tips. They’re little life nudges.
And if you’re realizing your own version of balance might be keeping you stuck, I help people get unstuck every day. My coaching is built around helping you loosen the grip on what’s safe, so you can build a life that actually feels like yours. You can learn more about it here.