It's a new year! Time to review all the awesome things you did… or meant to do. Reassess your bucket list, because having a bucket list is a “thing.”
Actually, did you know how the bucket list started? If you said, “That movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, you are right! Seriously! In 1999, writer Justin Zackham was thinking about all the things he wanted to do before he kicked the bucket, and viola! He coined the term bucket list and wrote the screenplay for the 2007 movie! Not only that, but he inadvertently named the concept that many people had been thinking about. Justin’s “bucket list” made it into main stream vernacular, AND the dictionary! How cool is that??
In any case, I would need 100 pages to get into my bucket list, but for brevity, I'd like to share with you three of my more universal hopes for the coming year and beyond. Not everyone wants to go bungee jumping, but here are some ideas you may want to try:
1. Conquer a fear. I never really thought about it until I texted my bff one day and asked her what was happening. She said she was about to go on stage at a concert and sing! What??? I've know this woman from Brownie day camp and I didn't know she sang. Turns out she had being taking lessons in an effort to conquer her fear of singing! Admirable, to say the least. For work I had to overcome the whole stage fright/public speaking thing, and oh what a feeling it is to get past one of your mental roadblocks! The sense of pride and accomplishment are overwhelming, and unforgettable. Go for it!
2. Go somewhere you've always wanted to go. My dad’s dark features always made him look Greek. Plus he loved wearing Greek fishing hats and drinking ouzo after a nice lamb chop and slice of baklava. I always just assumed my dad would go to Greece someday and declare himself home! I think he did too, but he never did. I went to Greece a few times, and I absolutely know he would have loved it, but there was always some closer, cheaper place to go and a broken appliance. In retrospect, the dishwasher can wait. My dad should have gone to Greece. Period.
3. Learn to appreciate your life. I understand this is not a typical bucket list item, but I think it's important, difficult, and life changing. It takes a lot of reprogramming to filter out life's annoyances and inconveniences. For some reason we expect things to work out, and complain ad nauseam when they don't. Somehow it's human nature to focus on the roof leaks rather than the roof. Retraining and repetition can get you to the place where you appreciate going out to eat rather than bemoaning the wait time. I'm not saying be oblivious to problems, but I am saying give more value to non problems. It isn't about the people who blew off your party, it's about the people who came.
As I said, I could fill a book with all the things I want to do before I kick the bucket: learn Spanish, write a book, go on safari…. And everyone's bucket list is different. I think the main objective of our bucket lists is to make us feel good about ourselves, and once we get started, there is no stopping us!
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