Sometimes, I ponder what is important in life. If I only had 100 days to live, what would I want to do or experience in that timeline? There are obvious momentous life moments, maybe marriage, kids, etc., but overall, it is important to value the little things you’ve always yearned to do or experience.
I decided to make a life bucket list not long ago, when I was upset and needed something to busy my racing mind. I found myself on Pinterest; I don’t use it much anymore, but I used to depend on that app, and after going through it, I found things that shaped my life in past years. Boards full of inspiration for my dream bedroom when I was little, consisting of a loft bed that looked like a tree house, and a wall solely consisting of bookshelves. Now my taste is much different, but it means something to me that represents my past self’s aspirations and dreams. So, by making a life bucket list, I could translate some of my past dreams and passions, and my current ones, into an ever-changing list for my life. But how do you go about forming a life bucket list?
You can ultimately make a life bucket list anywhere; some may create it on the back of a napkin, and some may illustrate it on a beautiful poster. I went for a more simple route with my Notes app because I knew it was less likely I would lose it if it remained on my phone, which is almost always with me. I am no expert at this, but I started by writing down the top things that come to mind. That included the basics like visiting Hawaii, Fiji, etc. But, I could think of only so many things to fill a list.
I then thought back to my younger self and asked, what are things I used to want to do and still want to experience? One thing on my list that I always wanted to do was have 101 Dalmatians since that was my favorite movie, but now I know that is far too unrealistic. So, I simply said see 101 Dalmatians, or at least a lot of them, together at once. I was able to incorporate my younger aspirations while keeping a realistic factor to them.
After my mind drew a blank on what to add next, I revisited other sources. I started with Pinterest; I found any board that represented dream life, inspiration, or other things along those lines. For example, at some point in time, I thought tree houses were fascinating, and I made a board full of cool, elaborate tree houses. So, I added a point to spend a night in a tree house. I then continued to go through other apps, like TikTok, and other notes in my Notes app. After searching my phone, I revisited any old bucket lists I had made in the past and added points for special things I never checked off on those lists.
There are no rules for a bucket list since it is uniquely you and represents your dreams and personality. You can keep it concise, like 10 or 15 items, or you can avoid sticking to a number and just add anything. I did not add a number so that I could add more things as I developed as a person and my interests changed. My biggest rule was that I could only add things that I could achieve myself. I needed things that I could save and purchase for myself, teach myself, or experience myself so that I didn’t get lost in depending on other people in the long process of finishing it.
I also made sure to mix in an even amount of extravagant things and basic things so that it is somewhat more realistic to achieve if I were to be given a time restraint. So, of course, some things consist of traveling to extravagant, foreign places, but others include doing yoga on a paddleboard.
I am not exactly sure if life bucket lists are even common, but I realized that if I was given so long to live, I don’t know what I’d want to do. I feel like it makes me more positive and productive because I have goals that I want to meet before I run out of time.