How to Make a Big Change For Your Family

"We are way out of our comfort zone this time."

I can see it on someone's face when they've decided to make a big change - the feeling of fear mixed with excitement, hope all mashed up with a side of trepidation.

I saw it in a friend's recent announcement about becoming a foster parent.

I saw it when my parents bought their dream home and when my sister made the big leap into homeschooling for as long as it took to get her kiddo back in her groove.

I saw it in a colleague's new baby memo and in the eyes of a family I met recently who just started their full-time travel journey.

I see it every time I look in the mirror right now and every time I look into my hubby's eyes.

Because we just made the biggest change of our lives so far - we bought a catamaran for our next season of family adventure!

Are we experienced sailors? Not yet.

Do we realize how much money a boat will eat up? We're starting to.

Are we aware of all the hurricanes? Unfortunately, yes, there's one right now.

Are we afraid we've gone just a little too far this time? Always.

But are we confident this is the next best step for our family's new season? You bet.

We've dreamed about sailing and living on the water for as long as we can remember, so as of a few months ago, "We have to at least try" has become our new family motto, and we've immersed ourselves in all the YouTube videos, books, and friends who sail we could find.

If you've ever thought about making a big change - adopting a child, changing your family's diet, moving across the country, having a baby, living in a different culture, selling everything you have to travel with your family, or something else - you know that so many times making a big change feels insurmountable at first - even if you really want to do it for yourself or your family.

If you've ever started taking those first steps in making that big change, you know about all the feels we're having right now.

We're a little worried about what people might think, a little anxious that something bad might happen and our financial plans won't work as we'd hoped, but extremely excited about the new projects, new adventures, and new season we now find ourselves in, extremely hopeful that we can share this new life with family and friends a bit more than we've been able to in the past, over the moon thankful that we live in a world where this is possible, and so hopeful that by going after our big family dreams we're somehow opening up possibilities for everyone else out there who has big family dreams of their own.

I won't lie though - it hasn't been easy, and we know there are challenges ahead.

Making this big change has felt downright hard for the past 3 months. At times, I would look over at my husband and realize we were both at our wits' end, feeling like we might never get what we were hoping for because the process of going through the change was threatening to knock us on our bums.

But I know from experience that all that fear fades away eventually and what emerges next is the good stuff - something new and fresh to experience together, something really big to share as a family, something we can learn together that we've never learned before.

Recently I wrote to you guys about how we found our family's thing and about how much that makes us come alive. I also wrote about how sometimes going after our own dreams can seem a bit selfish if others don't know the details, and this can be hard to manage. And now I’m working with other adventure-loving families on a little something called "21 Mindset Shifts for Making a Big Change". (I’d love to have you!)

I hope that sharing these thoughts are opening things up for you and help you make the big changes you want to make.

 I hope you're filled with a sense of possibility and excitement about your own family and your own wild and wonderful life every time you read the words in these emails.

But for now, I'll be over here digging into all the things that have been piling up lately, playing catch-up and starting on all the chores that need to be done before we actually move into our new floating home next month. (If you've got extra tupperware tubs, send them our way!)

UPDATE 1 year later:

The big change we tried by hopping into boat life didn't work for us. (Read the full story here. And check out where we ended up a year later - pretty much the opposite of boat life.)

But we're still big fans of making a big change that's good for your family. (And the 21 Mindset Shifts for Making a Big Change program is now open as a way to make that happen for your family if you’re into that sort of thing.)

If you want to do something big for your family, I say go for it. Don't let anything stand in your way.

Let’s go after those family adventures you’ve been dreaming of together.

Have you ever made a big change? How did it turn out for your family? Join the email group and shoot over your story - I'd love to know!