We all have a “what-if” we ask ourselves when we’re feeling stuck.  What if we said yes to that opportunity? What if we left our home for warmer climates? What if we gave up the safe thing to do the thing we’re most passionate about?

These what-ifs are simultaneously terrifying and exciting – they are meant to jolt us out of complacency, to force us to embrace the unknown. We hold onto these outrageous possibilities during times of difficulty and laugh about how crazy they sound when spoken out loud.  And usually, because of how daunting they seem, we never really consider actually doing them.

Sydney, Australia

During my twenties, I inhabited a world of what-ifs.  I grew up in Boston, MA and spent my entire life living, studying, or working within a few hours of there. I questioned moving across the country for years. I contemplated going to business school. I considered signing up to do yoga teacher training after every daunting work trip. And during these thousands of hours I spent daydreaming about or half-planning them, I never followed through on a single one. My what-ifs just seemed too trivial to shake my entire life up for. This is why it was such a shock to friends and family and everyone else (including myself) when, at 28, I quit my job and bought a one-way ticket to travel around the world by myself.

Sintra, Portugal

This blog follows my life as I chose to stop saying “what-if” and decided to take concrete actions to fulfill my dreams, no matter how illogical they may have seemed. It’s about opting-in to fate and getting swept up (and tossed about) by whatever it brings.  It’s about realizing that we aren’t in control of everything that happens, but that if we follow our gut instincts, we’ll never live in a world of regret.

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you’d followed your heart, maybe it’s time to give it a try.  My stories depict my own experience following a different path – with all the vibrant opportunities and challenging obstacles that inevitably come along with taking such risks.

Welcome to my life without what-ifs.

-Charlotte Messervy

Mekong River, Vietnam

charlottemesservy

charlottemesservy.com

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