I have a confession.
I don’t really fall down rabbit holes.
I saddle up my rabbit.
I accidentally coined that phrase a few months ago while talking with a group of women. We were laughing about how one innocent Google search somehow turns into three hours of research and seventeen open tabs.
Someone said, “I always end up down a rabbit hole.”
Without thinking, I said, “Oh no. I saddle up my rabbit.”
Because that’s exactly what happens.
This isn’t an accidental tumble into curiosity.
It’s a deliberate expedition. With snacks.
If I wonder how hummingbirds migrate, I’m not looking for a quick answer. Suddenly I’m learning about flower nectar, wing beats, magnetic fields, and whether they remember the same feeders year after year.
And then, of course, I buy the feeder.
If I decide I might want a cold plunge, I somehow end up understanding water filtration systems, barrel materials, vagus nerve stimulation, heat shock proteins, and why Finnish saunas have been around for centuries.
And then, of course, I buy the sauna and make a cow tank cold plunge.
If I’m redesigning a website, I don’t stop after finding a font I like. I’m researching user behavior, SEO architecture, color psychology, page speed, storytelling, and somehow watching a woman in Australia explain spacing between sections.
And then doing a complete overhaul on my website design.
I have no idea how I got there.
I just know me and my rabbit are happily enjoying the ride.
My family has learned not to ask casual questions unless they’re prepared for a twenty-minute TED Talk.
“What kind of grasses should we plant?”
Funny you should ask…
Did you know there are warm-season grasses, cool-season grasses, ornamental grasses, grasses that spread by rhizomes, grasses that clump, grasses that hide propane tanks beautifully, and approximately forty-seven opinions on which one is best?
I do now.
Because I saddled up my rabbit.
For years I wondered if this was a flaw.
Maybe I was unfocused.
Maybe I couldn’t stay on task.
Maybe I needed to stop getting distracted.
Now I think it’s one of my favorite things about scanner self.
Curiosity has taken me places discipline never could.
It’s how I’ve learned to build businesses.
It’s how I quit drinking.
It’s how I write.
It’s how I decorate my home.
It’s how I garden.
It’s how I make decisions.
I don’t skim the surface of life.
I wander through it.
Sometimes that means I spend an embarrassing amount of time researching something I may never actually do.
Sometimes it leads to a decision that changes my entire life.
The funny thing is, from the outside, those two adventures look exactly the same.
The rabbit doesn’t know whether we’re heading toward a life-changing realization or simply learning the complete history of cast iron cookware.
He just keeps hopping.
And honestly…
So do I.
Maybe that’s the point.
Not every rabbit hole has to produce something.
Sometimes curiosity is enough.
Sometimes learning is enough.
Sometimes it’s okay to spend an afternoon delightfully fascinated by something that serves no purpose other than reminding you the world is endlessly interesting.
So if you’re looking for me, don’t worry.
I haven’t fallen anywhere.
I’m just over here…
…saddling up my rabbit.
