About Bucket Lists

The term “bucket list” is related to the phrase “kick the bucket,” slang for a person dying or passing away.  While there were a few examples of the term being used in years prior to this, the idea of a “bucket list” exploded into popular culture and American vocabulary thanks to the 2007 movie of the same name, in which Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson play two men who meet by chance in the hospital after both being diagnosed with terminal cancer and then embark on an epic adventure to cross items off their “bucket list” in the last months of their lives. 

Many people associate bucket lists with over-the-top kinds of wishes–things like climbing a mountain, meeting a favorite celebrity, vacationing in a dream once-in-a-lifetime destination, running a marathon, or going skydiving. However, everyone’s bucket list is unique and personal and should be meaningful to them. Your bucket list items don’t need to be extravagant or over-the-top if those kinds of dreams or activities don’t speak to you. And you definitely don’t need to be an adrenaline junkie to have a bucket list. (I’m not one–believe me, you will never find something like bungee jumping on my personal bucket list!)

Why Have One

There are lots of benefits to having a bucket list. This activity can truly be a catalyst for helping you to live a more purposeful life. Writing out your fondest desires gives your clear perspective on what’s important to you and what types of things might be worth sacrificing for. It also makes fun a priority and helps you to enjoy your life more, reminding you to move out of your comfort zone and the day-to-day grind.

One of the items that I recently checked off my bucket list–starting a business–was an idea that was 100% out of my comfort zone when I first added it after a conversation I had with an executive coach that I was working with back in 2016.  I was working full-time at one of Chicago’s leading community economic development nonprofits, growing in my career, putting some of my coaching and facilitation training into practice, and also making sure I was carving out time to spend with my family.  I had a full plate already, yet I knew that I had a passion for entrepreneurship that I wanted to nurture–sooner rather than later. 

While Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson’s characters in “The Bucket List” resolved to pursue their bucket list items after receiving devastating terminal diagnoses, in real life, we don’t have to wait until the end of our lives or until a health crisis hits to get our bucket lists down on paper, and start tackling those items–and we shouldn’t wait!  A bucket list can act as a guide or framework, as well, keeping you on track toward reaching some of your bigger goals and dreams. Checking things off your list can be satisfying and create a log of some of your most amazing life experiences.

How to Start

Starting a bucket list can seem overwhelming. It’s daunting to sit down and consider the kinds of things you’ve always wanted to do. The choices are seemingly endless! This calls for some good old-fashioned brainstorming. Ask yourself some questions to get the ideas flowing and to clarify things. Consider things you’ve always wanted to do, where you’d like to go or what you want to see. Learning and education can be bucket list inspiration. Think about things that appeal to your senses like food you’d most want to taste, types of scenic locations that appeal to you or music you’d love to hear. Use these prompts to brainstorm and keep on going until you’ve got a substantial list started. You can always add to it as new ideas come to mind.

In fact, after I checked the big “start a business” item off my bucket list, I added new items to take that one’s place. (Of course, in one sense, my business is never entirely “off” my bucket list–more like a standing item, maybe–since I have dreams and visions for how to grow it now that I’ve launched.)  At a business retreat I attended in December, one of our exercises was to make a list of 23 “Dream Big Statements,” which gave me lots of ideas for additional bucket list items I can take on over the next few years or decades.  The next thing that I want to tackle on my “personal” bucket list is to travel internationally–hopefully in the near future! This other item may take a bit longer, but one big thing on my “professional” bucket list is to publish a best-selling book.  I got a chance to dip my toe into writing and publishing recently when I was invited to write a chapter for a book called The Entrepreneurs’ Toolkit for Success (Volume 1).  Getting published for the first time was a fun experience (I like to think of it as a “mini-item” on my bucket list) and made me even more excited to author a whole book of my own someday!    

A bucket list can be inspirational. It can provide motivation for living your best life. Go ahead and get started on yours today.

Through all that time that I held on to my credentialing dream, I worried about whether and how I could make it happen.  Coaching training and credentialing requires a substantial investment of both time and money, and I often got “stuck” on these barriers–how would I make it work, financially?  How would I juggle the time required for training and documentation of coaching experience hours with my full-time day job in a gratifying-but-sometimes-demanding leadership role at one of Chicago’s leading community development organizations?  And even if I could balance work obligations and my coaching professional development, would it leave me any time for my family? 

Reflecting on all these doubts and worries now, I realize that to a large extent they all boiled down to one emotion: fear.  One of the biggest killers of dreams is fear. We often let fear keep us from dreaming or the memory of past failures hold us back from setting our sights too high. This type of limitation can become a pattern. In order to live the abundant life you desire, it’s important that you’re not afraid to dream big.  Visualizing and shifting my perspective are two tactics that have helped me push through those fears and doubts and dream big. 

Your Thoughts Are Powerful

What you think is what you become. That’s a popular saying based in reality. While it may seem like merely wishful thinking to believe you can achieve great things simply by envisioning them, there actually is some science to the matter. Visualizing what you desire in life and actually incorporating small details into this picture is quite powerful when it comes to your brain chemistry. Visualization has been shown to have an effect on neural pathways and connections.  I have a vision board that’s helped me tremendously, both with making my goals and dreams a bit more tangible and with staying on track to tackle them.  I typically first spend time really brainstorming about my goals and dreams, and then I find images that reflect those and pin them to the board.   But it doesn’t stop there.  I have my vision board in a place where I can see it regularly and I revisit it at least quarterly when I’m checking in on my goal progress and planning out my action steps.  If you repeatedly see yourself accomplishing something or obtaining your deepest desire, your brain will start to believe that thing is real. You’re more likely to act it out in your real life.

Your Perspective Changes

As you allow yourself to dream bigger, your perspective starts to change. Whereas you may have been a bit of a naysayer in the past, you now start to think more positively. That’s because your focus has changed. You no longer see things from a limited point of view. Instead, you see the big picture. You’re now able to look at life more realistically. You may have thought you were being realistic before, but what you were really doing was keeping yourself stuck. When you didn’t have dreams, your world was automatically smaller.

Now, however, you can actually see all the potential of what the world has to offer. Simply by shifting your mindset and daring to think bigger, a wealth of possibilities is now open to you. You’re no longer living in a state of lack. You’re able to actually visualize what your life could be like, and this vision provides the motivation to consider what else might truly be possible. You’re open to the idea of self-improvement in order to get to where you want to be. You’re no longer stuck in the same old rut.

Applying the “Dream Big” Mindset to your Everyday Life

Of course, we have to be real, too.  Dreams don’t magically come to fruition overnight and we still have our everyday constraints–money, time, etc.–to deal with.  A vision board isn’t going to change the fact that we need money to pay our bills, for example, but dreaming big and visualizing those dreams might help you think creatively about different ways to make that money or changes you might be able to make over time to shift your income and expense needs.  Refocusing on and visualizing my coaching-credential dream sparked me to think that maybe there were resources out there to help coaches defray the cost of training/certification, and that was the first step in my research toward eventually finding Coaching for Everyone, which helps make coaching training and certification pathways more financially accessible.  

You’ll see that lots of new opportunities can exist for you simply by dreaming. You’ll find yourself working proactively and productively toward your goals.  In fact, once I recommitted and started dreaming big about my certification journey, I found it inspired me to keep going–I couldn’t stop dreaming big and ultimately also launched and began to grow my business, Mission ENSPIRE. 

In addition, you’re likely to seek out other “dreamers-to-doers” who are making things happen in their own worlds. All of these small changes you’re making will begin to add up to big things. Just wait and see what happens when you’re not afraid to dream big.