The Way of the Wolf: What’s your Mission?

December 23, 2023

As we approach the new year, it’s time to take the initiative and step outside of your comfort zone.

Watching a rerun of the Mission: Impossible series recently, I was struck by the iconic quote, “This is your mission, should you choose to accept it.” It made me reflect on the seminal moments of my life as a series of missions interspersed by quiet, creative time in which I debrief my previous mission and prepare for the next.

By “mission,” I don’t mean thwarting an international espionage plan but rather, a distinct purpose for travelling somewhere or doing something. Missions are different for everyone—the key is to have something to hone into, a purpose that gives shape and meaning to your task.^{Frank Wolf}

For myself, these missions are often in the form of a journey, where I travel thousands of kilometres through the wilderness from one point to another. The mission in this scenario is to figure out how to get from point A to point B in one piece, and to produce images and writing from an often magical and unique venture. Putting yourself into a challenging situation where you’re reliant only on yourself or a small team using your wits, strength and creativity is truly life-giving.

A mission doesn’t have to require weeks or months in the wild—that just happens to be what impassions me. It simply has to be a purposeful activity that knocks you out of your regular routine and makes you look at the world in a new light. For example, you could go to a Caribbean island to learn free diving, delve deeply into yourself through the inner venture of a psilocybin retreat or do something as straightforward as taking up a pottery course at your local community centre.^{Frank Wolf}

Though these seem like vastly different experiences, they have in common the thread of learning and discovery, of energizing your life with crackling excitement. It doesn’t matter if the mission is big or small, the primary goal is to break the inertia of thinking about something and actually going ahead and doing it. I have never ever regretted taking on a mission. Regret only comes when you don’t try something, when you say, “I always wanted to…”, but then never carry through on that statement.^{Frank Wolf}

As the New Year approaches, it’s a great time to plan that mission and execute it. Don’t talk yourself out of it or push it two or three years down the road—do it in 2024. No one gets out of this life alive, so you might as well make the most of the time you have on this little blue planet. When that little voice in your head asks, “This is your mission, do you choose to accept it?” You should emphatically answer “Yes!”

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