Retiring Your Bucket List

There is a new Bucket List in town, and s/he is taking over. The old bucket list was often not realistic and many of us would find that we could rarely, if ever could complete much off of it. Here is an example of the old bucket list:

  1. Visit Fiji
  2. Visit France
  3. Backpack through Europe
  4. Travel to Hawaii
  5. Watch the movie Madagascar in the real Madagascar
  6. Visit the Pyramids
  7. Safari through Africa
  8. Walk the Great Wall in China
  9. Zip Line in Costa Rica.

And, there would be a list of about 25-75 more places you want to travel to and then maybe you would add in “buy a mansion,” “win the lotto” and “get a Ph.D.”Do you notice a pattern with this bucket list? Sure they are all fantastic dreams, but most of us don’t have the time or money to do all these things.

And, if you are the person that can travel to 75 different islands or countries, buy a mansion and win the lotto all before you kick the can, then, (I want to be your friend) go for it! But for the remaining 99% of us, we have to be more realistic. So, the new bucket list is in town to help you do just that.

With the old bucket list, so often we would sacrifice today’s (and this year’s) happiness, for all the places we want to go. For example, you and your spouse decide that you want to plan that amazing trip to Fiji. There is no doubt it will be amazing sleeping in that awesome hut right on the water waking up to the beauty of the mountains and oceans. But that experience comes with a hefty bill. So, you decide that in order to do everything you want while you are in Fiji, you will work overtime, stop date nights and cut back on things you both enjoy doing together and separately of each other, in order to save more money.

This type of behavior ruins your today. It hurts your relationship. While you can cut back on some things to save for a bigger goal, you shouldn’t cut out all your fun and happiness today. You are not promised tomorrow and if you forget about the awesomeness and love you have today, and risk all of it for the future, you may sabotage your life, support systems and loved ones. Instead, try revamping your bucket list.

In the new bucket list, we have a few amazing places we want to go, but places to travel to don’t compose the entire list. And, we are much more realistic. Instead, we add in things that we want to do, that we can do right now, tomorrow, this weekend or this month. Things that will add life and happiness to our life today and even grow our relationships. You new bucket list may look something like this:

  1. Travel to Fiji
  2. Still going to watch Madagascar in Madagascar
  3. Try Paddle boarding
  4. Take a cooking class
  5. Try hot yoga
  6. Read 50 Shades of Grey
  7. Golf at 3 new courses
  8. Go Glamping
  9. Try Horseback riding
  10. Have a picnic at XYZ park (maybe this is a park you have lived by for 10 years and never went to)
  11. Try surfing
  12. Buy a home
  13. Go for my PhD

Do you notice a difference between the first list and the revamped one? In the revamped list, you still can dream big. You can still travel, you can still grow academically and work for a home, but you also get to add value, life and inspiration into today. You can add in more fun, more passion and more value in your life today and it doesn’t have to cost you all your time and money. I am sure there are tons of things you would like to try other than travel, so think outside of the old bucket list and bring yourself back to today and things you have never experienced that are right in front of you.

This week’s challenge: Create a New Bucket list with 10 things on it that you could do in the next 30 days. In the next 30 days do 2 things off your bucket list.