I recently watched the Netflix series ‘The Good Place’ and it got me thinking.
Life has been feeling even shorter than usual. Covid has been beyond scary and our day-to-day lives are beginning to get monotonous again with social distancing, quarantining and travel restrictions. I started to wonder; if all the restrictions were lifted, money was no object, and my life was completely flexible; what would I actually want to do?
It’s fun to think about all the things we want out of life, but when it comes to it, they’re just thoughts and dreams. The real question, why do they have to be dreams, why can’t we do everything we want and make the most out of our lives?
I have always wanted to create a bucket list, and every time I tried, they never seemed genuine enough. It was always a general list of places to go with no meaning to me, things I couldn’t really care to do but they were adventurous and therefore, I guess I never took it too seriously.
This time, I think we can do it right with the help of Travis Bell (also known as The Bucket List Guy) and his magical blueprint for building the perfect bucket list for you! (Find the link to his TedX Talk in the reference list below).
His method is simple, personal and works by using an acronym of MY BUCKET LIST.
M – Who do you want to MEET? Your personal hero, a mentor, favorite band, author, celebrity. This is very personal to you and can be realistic or not (but maybe keep it to someone alive though).
Y – YOUR proudest achievement. What do you want to accomplish? This could be a degree, a house, a step-up the corporate ladder or becoming your own boss, maybe starting a family?
B – BUY that special something! Think big! We can work out a payment plan later. What is it? What is that one thing you want so badly? Perhaps a wedding dress or expensive handbag?
U – the ULTIMATE challenge. We know the usuals; climb Mount Everest, complete Ironman, Win a marathon. These do not have to be such HUGE challenges, but YOUR ultimate challenge. Maybe you want to read 100 books in a year, this could be that damn puzzle you just cannot finish or run a 5km first. Just keep it going, you could put plenty things here, write them all down, from small to big.
C – CONQUER a fear. Do you have stage fright? Fear of heights, snakes, the gym?? Whatever it may be, you’ve got this! (refer to our previous blog on Confidence to help relieve some anxiety before attacking your fear)
K – acts of KINDNESS. What cause do you value the most? The obvious choices; animals, children, cancer, #WomenEmpowerment. Whatever it is, this is completely personal to you and does not need to involve money; donate your time, skills or maybe your old clothes, but remember this should be more than a one-time deal (unless you plan to cycle cross country or run a marathon for ‘insert cause here’).
E – EXPRESS yourself! This is where you get creative. Have you always wanted to write a book, start a blog? Start planning, what’s it going to be about? Write it down! Is there a tattoo you’ve always wanted to get? Design it, get a quote!
T – TAKE lessons. Learn to speak another language (get Duolingo), play an instrument, take a short course… What have you always wanted to be able to do? #KnowledgeIsPower
L – leave a LEGACY! This is the goal, isn’t it! How do you want to be remembered? Now is the time to start building the foundation!
“You’re gonna leave a legacy, no matter what you do.
It ain’t a question of if they will,
It’s how they remember you.”
~
Rascal Flatts
I – IDIOTIC stuff. Any game shows you’ve always thought you could win? An obstacle you know you could kick a$$ at? Want to shave your head or dye your hair a color a bit wild for you? Time to do it! Let this blog be your sign 😉
S – SATISFYING a curiosity. Is there a food you just have to try? Have you ever wanted to know what a rhino’s skin feels like? Think about taste, touch, smell… what about hear, ever listened to Mozart (like an entire album)? How about see, is there a random play you might enjoy? Burlesque? strip show? I’m not judging!
T – TRAVEL adventures. Finally, the first thing people think of when it comes to writing a bucket list. Well, here it is! Where do you want to go, what do you want to see, experience? Remember to be a tourist in your hometown first, and now with Covid, that is our easiest choice. Start planning these trips, where will you go? How will you get there? Will you need a car? What do you want to see and do? Where would you stay? Worry about the money later, just plan it, dream it!
A big thank you to Travis Bell, I think this method is the easiest place to start with writing a bucket list.
Great, so we did it, we wrote it down, we have a bucket list. Now, how do we start ticking things off?
We knew we needed to write it down, but we can’t just file it away, it needs to be seen. Where would you put it? The fridge, maybe you have a white board, pin board or a calendar on your wall that you refer to frequently. You need to see it, to remind you of your goals. A nice idea, you could create a vision board to go along side it with pictures of the places, experiences or foods, etc. (I rate, I will do this)
Next step, we need to start crossing things off. A timeline is great for organising goals in years. Realistically we cannot do everything right now, so how about we base these in years. This year, next year, in the next 5-years, in the next 10-years and maybe an undetermined or future date? Maybe the goal is to tick off any 5 things a year? Whatever works for you, but hold yourself accountable, check in often and chat to your friends and family about it so they can be there to help and encourage you along your journey.
GOOD LUCK! Wishing you all the best in achieving all your wildest dreams and living your best life!
REFERENCE LIST:
Travis Bell TedX Talk ‘Life’s Way To Short Not To Live Your Bucket List’. Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GImTk0BzBhM
Learn more from Travis Bell at: https://www.thebucketlistguy.com/
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