Create an Exciting Bucket List
How many things (that you consider to be meaningful) have you done in the past five years? Do you think that you’ll have even more than that over the next five years if you were to create a bucket checklist full of exciting experiences?
You may think bucket lists are for older people or might even think they’re a bit foolish, however it’s never premature to start prioritizing your time and examining your life. Having a plan in place is always better than winging it, because you get to see what’s coming next, and you have options to choose from when being spontaneous.
Create a bucket list that is packed with exciting adventures.
1. Remember childhood dreams. You had a whole lot of fantastic concepts when you were a child. Your imagination ran wild with all of the things you wanted to be or accomplish. You may have written them off as an adult, but now it’s time to reconsider them. What did you want to do or experience as a child?
2. Do an internet search. If nothing comes to mind, or your list isn’t exciting enough for you, search the internet for some trailblazing, innovative, and nontraditional ideas. Get inspired from what other people have come up with. You’ll be impressed at some of things you’ve never thought about and may want to add them to your list.
3. Brainstorm. Take an evening to make your list. Silence your phone, the TV, and laptop so you can tap into your creative juices. Write down whatever comes to mind without evaluating it. You can assess it at a later date, but for now, just get your ideas on paper. It may be easier to come up with ideas if you think of categories one by one.
- Where have you always wanted to go? Consider places close and across the map. Perhaps there’s a popular restaurant a few hours from you or a famous landmark in a different country you’ve seen in movies that you’d like to visit. The world is largely accessible, and you can find yourself anywhere you want to be.
- Have you ever thought about snowboarding, or deep-sea diving? Would you like to climb Mount Everest or play beach volleyball? Learning a new sport can be challenging, but it’ll keep you active and fit.
- Swim with dolphins. Learn to fly a plane. Attempt to complete a zip lining tour. Take a road trip to every State. Go sky diving with a team of jumpers? Dance at Radio City Music Hall. Be in a parade on a float.
- Perhaps you’ve always wanted to go to a Super Bowl or see Kevin Hart in a live show. Do you have a favorite singer you’ve been wanting to see in concert? Maybe you want to see the northern lights in person? View a well-known ballet or opera in New York City?
- Take line dancing lessons. Learn to plan the drums or guitar? Write music, paint a picture on canvas, or take a pottery class.
- These are just a couple of suggestions. What other categories can you come up with that fills your heart with excitement?
4. Give yourself a week to compose your list of ideas, adding to it as you come up with new things to do. You don’t want to devote so much time on it that you never finish it, so a week is the deadline. Don’t worry about how long it gets, you’ll have time to go back and clean it up later.
5. Ask your friends and family what they would put on their bucket list. This way, you can get some new ideas and more suggestions as you add to your list. You also get to see who is willing to come with you when it’s time to complete the task. Most experiences are better when done with a friend. They can encourage you to push through and make you brave in times that you question your sanity.
6. Prioritize your list. Now it’s time to clean up your list of ideas. Rank the ideas on your list, from most to lease desirable. Once you’ve done that, see which ones you want to eliminate and which you want to keep. Make sure you keep the adventures you’re capable of completing. You don’t want to add things that you can’t come back from because of previous injuries or surgeries. Now create your final bucket list of the ideas that made the cut.
7. Make plans. Starting at the top of your list, which items could you do this year? You are most likely to achieve them when you block off the time to get them done. You have to take into consideration your financial resources, free time, or both.
- Regardless, start making plans anyway. Determine what you can do to overcome your limitations and start putting your plan into action. Once you’ve set a goal, it’s important that you take the first step as soon as possible.
Now that you’ve created an exciting bucket list, get busy checking off things from your list! Making a bucket list can be valuable because it requires you to focus, prioritize, and goal set. You’ll want to rank your listed items, so you’ll have enough time to accomplish the things you want before you run out of time.
Then frame it and use it as a conversation piece when you share your adventures with friends and family. Make sure to take plenty of pictures, so you can show them while you’re telling the story about the time you jumped out of a plane. Photos also are also a great way to jolt the memory when the grandkids want full details of what happened.
Making a bucket list can ensure that your life stays interesting, fulfilling, and satisfying. Remember, the list is just that, you have to actually do the things on the list for it have meaning.
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