Write a bucket list for purpose, hope and forward momentum

I was recently reminded of a conversation going back a couple of years where we talked about our bucket lists. As per normal convention, most of the people in the group spoke of places they’d like to visit; activities they’d like to attempt; foods they’d like to try; and personal goals they’d like to reach.

My list wasn’t dissimilar, (I couldn’t think of any foods that I wanted to try and hadn’t yet…) but I said that I wanted to travel to Greece, that I wanted to do a new adventure sport, and that I wanted to write a bestseller. That last one was met with sniggers, but the people in the group didn’t know me that well, so I suppose it did sound lofty.

As an update, I haven’t made it to Greece yet, instead I have added a trip to the Middle East including Saudi Arabia to my bucket list. I have also added a trip to the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando (more thanks to my kids’ bucket lists than mine, but their dreams are also mine). I did complete my new adventure sport, I did a very memorable tandem B.A.S.E. jump last year.

The last one on my list, write a bestseller, did happen, though not through traditional methods. The book I wrote and then self-published, (after declining an offer from a wonderful traditional publisher) for television’s Mantracker, sold over 10,0000 copies!

So now what? What’ll I add to my list?

Frankly, I’m a bit stumped. My list is a bit vague and is more about spending time with my family; focussing on connections and not collections.

Luckily, the great thing about a bucket list is that it gives me time for reflection.

What do I want to do? What have I done?

Thinking about my bucket gives me a chance to create goals. Being a goal-oriented person, it feels good to have longer term goals; something beyond “Buy groceries. Do laundry. Get an oil change.”

I suppose one goal on my bucket list is to throw a party once I’ve paid off the mortgage. I seem to be Sisyphus with a mortgage/rock. Every time I pay one off, I move or seem to acquire a new one. Since I never had a housewarming party, this will do nicely.

I would also like to pen a book of my own. I hope it will enjoy the same success as my first, but it is the act of doing it that is on my list and no longer the outcome. They say that the carpenter’s house is the last one to be taken care of, and I don’t want to put my own project on the backburner forever.

I’d like to do something charitable and grand. Not sure what this even looks like, but now that it is on the list, my mind will start working on the challenge.

I’d like to improve my flexibility. As a former gymnast, I am saddened by my current physical shape and I’d like to be limber enough again to bend over and put my hands on the floor at my feet and my head to my knees from a standing and seated position.

Also in the physical activity department, I’d also like to learn how to be a lead climber for rock climbing, and learn to do an Eskimo roll in a kayak.

In the more frivolous category, I’d like my list of countries visited to blossom to at least 50. I’m currently at 38, but barring any unforeseen tragedies, 12 more countries should be easily doable in the next 40 years of my life. I actually hope to revise that number upwards at least once! I have a map with stickpins marking where I’ve travelled to remind me of how much there is still to see.

Reviewing my list, I’ve got some short, medium and long term goals to work on. Not only does the list give me purpose and hope, but it also provides a bit of a push; some forward momentum. It also gives me the opportunity to feel accomplishment and gratitude when I can mentally stroke an item off the list.

What’s on your list?

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