Bucket List
14 October 2009 in Miscellaneous, Travel
Somewhere in Mongolia contemplating whether to add “Try Rogaine” to my new and improved Bucket List!
Besides feeling rejuvenated, getting in shape, and seeing more of the world, a big part of why I left the security of employment was to line-through neglected items on my “bucket list.” Nearly everyone has one of these life “to do” lists with the hopes and goals he wishes to accomplish in life, whether saved as a lengthy computer document, or simply remembered.
I made my first formal list as part of a high school science class assignment. I carried it around in my wallet for many months and into college. Occasionally, I would update or reinforce, by re-reading, my goals. The list evolved to well over a hundred things. On the list were items such as becoming EMT certified, skydiving, running a marathon, and earning a martial arts black belt. I had time-sensitive goals like winning state athletic championships. There were smaller, sillier goals as well, like drinking three gallons of milk in 24 hours (I often downed a gallon a day as a college underclassman, so I figured drinking two would be easy, thus I used three as a more challenging goal). Somewhere along the way, this original high school list was lost, destroyed, or archived in the boxes of stored belongings at home.
Why do I have a list at all? Because it keeps me focused on doing something, anything. A list focuses my interests on specific end results or skills. A list makes me fulfilled when I line-through items. Doing new, challenging, different, difficult, or crazy things make me feel alive. How boring life would be if I weren’t living and working for any particular cause, and if every day were the same as the one before. Additionally, a list can be prioritized. Obviously, world-class milk drinking is not as important as graduating serious educational programs. Lists can be ranked in other ways, too: easy to difficult, chronologically, inexpensive to costly. Lists provide structure to a busy life.
Annually, usually around the New Year, I create a short list of all the ambitious things I hope to accomplish in the next 12 months. It had been years, however, since I’d made a serious bucket list. During these past four months of traveling, I’ve been drafting my new and improved Y2K9BL.
I won’t publish my Y2K9BL for fear of public scrutiny, humiliation and ridicule. Many things on my new list mirror what I remember from that high school list. Items like winning high school championships are gone forever, replaced with the knowledge that my body has physical limitations, is not as gifted as others’ no matter how hard I train, and that athletic personal records (PRs) are really the only objective measurements we have to gauge our progress and achievement. Completing an Ironman Triathlon remains on the list, however. Some of the silly goals are gone, replaced with other silly goals. I no longer care to drink three gallons of milk in one day now that my metabolism has slowed, and my average daily milk intake can be measured in tablespoons. Instead I will complete an official top-notch state-licensing bartending school (already scheduled).
This new list is much more realistic than my reach-for-the-stars high school dreams. I know fairly well the limits of my mind and body and have big life goals (e.g., having a family, achieving professional dreams) that will consume my opportunity for some of the less important items on the list. Additionally, I have a desire to do things that result in new skill sets or contribute to others in some way. In other words, I know I can’t do it all, but wish to do some meaningful things, for myself and others.
Do you have a “bucket list,” write New Year’s resolutions, keep a 5/10/20 year plan, or maintain some other goal tracking plan? When was the last time you updated it? Do you write only serious goals or do you set some ridiculous and fun goals, too? Are you taking the required steps to line-through any of the items on your list?
Great minds must certainly think alike. I just updated the bucket list today. http://pinkysdzl.blogspot.com/
Also check out http://dayzero.ning.com/
and
http://www.43things.com/how_i_did_it/view/26395/how-to-go-on-a-road-trip-with-no-predetermined-destination
Ha! That’s crazy? I’ll give it a look…hopefully your list doesn’t include “Learn how to juggle small animals” also…that would really be quite the coincidence!
Mary, I checked out your list! I was happy to see no “learn to juggle animals.” I applaud your making the list public. I’m too chicken, but making your goals public are a good way to hold yourself accountable. There’s no hiding!
If you want to visit a new country, have some challenging riding, and lose weight, I recommend Vietnam. I dropped 10-15 pounds in the last 2 months eating rice and meat, with a snack of Oreos, Ritz, or Western food every other day or so. Everyone drives motorbikes, but they are 100cc, so you would find that very easy. The tough part is figuring out the traffic. Some people inexpensively rent motorbikes and drive across the entire country or into the mountains. I’m thinking of visiting all the states I’ve never seen and Canada. How messed up is it that I’ve been to Cambodia, but not our friendly neighbor Canada.
This idea of lists and goals…we must be related. I remember when mom and dad had us set goals at the start of every summer – how many books were we going to read, what were we going to learn about, what activity did we want to try…and then mark our progress or completion. It kind of stuck – from the big life (which keeps getting bigger) and yearly goal lists to daily to-do lists. Do you still give yourself gold stars?
I don’t do gold stars and I don’t have a daily planner, but I nearly always have a list, often written on the back of a receipt, for my daily/weekly items. I line-through each item when I finish. It’s very simple and non-technical.
Checklists have been everywhere in my life, from lists of goals and chores as a kid, to assignments in high school and college, to flying planes. I don’t think there is a better way to build a plan, document the progress, and revise. Putting something to paper is always step one in making it a reality!
Nice Brook! Perhaps I should make myself a bucket list. You are inspiring me. I have in a way done something drastic. Even though I have a dependable good paying job, I am going through a fire academy to become a firefighter. It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time. I would have done it in the AF, but no officers in that career field. Anyway, keep doing your thing. I am probably not the only one living vicariously through you.
Tom
Tom, sounds like you already are inspired. You should definitely make a bucket list. Everyone should…it gives you something to work towards and gives you rewards, through the funner more costly items, for doing the big-ticket items.