Don’t wait until you’re sick or old, make your life list now

Do you have a bucket list for 2017 yet? Bucket lists are all the rage but they’re often associated with getting older or something to create only when you’re terminally ill.

The term ‘bucket list’ comes from the saying, ‘kick the bucket’, which means ‘to die’. I guess this is the reason for the connection to dying and end of life wishes. But, why wait until you’re forced to tackle a long list of goals, dreams and desires?

Sh*t happens and your life could take a turn at any given moment. Don’t wait until you’re on your last legs or until your 50th birthday to do a tandem skydive or travel the world, plan it and do it now. In this post, we talk about the 3 reasons why you need a bucket list in 2017 and how it will encourage and inspire you to dream big and live large.

 

Direction: Get lost (and found)

A bucket list is not just a collection of crazy, adrenaline-fuelled activities you want to challenge yourself to do during your lifetime. It’s a pathway that leads you to unknown feelings, experiences and destinations. The journey through your life list may lead you to discover a new passion, undiscovered talent or love in a far-away land.

If you’ve been feeling lost in life, having a bucket list for 2017 could get you back on track. What do you enjoy? What are you afraid of? What are you good at? What skills do you wish you had?

Use these questions to make your list. Be as wild and as far-fetched as you want to be. Lesley Carter, a popular bucket list blogger, makes a new travel-themed hit list each year and says the crazier, the better.

“Creating a completely unrealistic list of items you want to accomplish is a fantastic idea and the best way to make your dreams a reality. If you can dream it and write it down, it becomes tangible even if it is utterly insane.”

Lesley Carter | Bucket List Publications 2014

Lesley has made an entire career out of writing bucket lists and travelling the world in hot  pursuit of life experiences (and check marks). Talk about finding your path in life.    

 

Growth: Life lessons aplenty       

Experience is knowledge and knowledge is power, so they say. With each new experience, we learn a little more and we grow. There is no better classroom than the big world we live in.

Just writing your bucket list is a lesson in getting to know yourself. It is common for people to not know what they want to do or how they want their life to look. To make your list, you have to consider what you actually want and this can be a challenge.

Next up is patience. Maybe it’s easy for you to write your list of goals but nothing is instant and not much in life is free. For many people, bucket lists contain epic adventures and dares. Travel and extreme sports, like skydiving, are a couple examples of things you may have to gather up the money, time and courage before earning that check mark.

There’s a saying, dreams don’t work unless you do; that sums up bucket lists quite nicely. It’s all well and good to write a list of desires but they won’t come true just because you write them down (but wouldn’t it be nice if they would?).

“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise”

Frank Ocean | Singer

 

Accomplishment: I did it!

Is there a better feeling than accomplishment? Now’s the time to shout and celebrate. Not only did you work hard towards your goal, you did something you really wanted to do.  Go you good thing!

 Don’t be surprised if you get addicted to the feeling of success. For some, ticking boxes   and getting gold stars on their goal check list is the icing on the cake. For others, it’s the life experiences and endless opportunity that keeps them coming back for more.

 Studies suggest that 50 per cent of people with written goals are more likely to achieve them. You don’t have to wait until January 1 each year either. It’s well-known that a high amount of these ‘new  year’ goals or resolutions fail by mid-January anyway.

Decide what you want, write it down, work your butt off, do the deed, tick the box and celebrate your awesomeness forever after.

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try”

Unknown

A bucket list is just a trendy way to say ‘I have goals and ambition’. It’s important to have dreams. They push and inspire us to live large and go for gold.

Are you ready to make your bucket list for 2017? If you need some help, check out this free tool for inspiration and creating your own bucket list online.