THE BUCKET LIST

“I will lose weight.”
“I will quit smoking.”
“I will learn a new language.”
“I will be a better partner.”
“I will stop being an impulsive shopper.”
“I will get angry less.”
“I will smile more.”
“I will search for a better job, etc.”
“I will spend more time with my family and friends.”

You have all at least one of these New Year’s resolutions, right? I don’t know though how many of you actually keep your resolutions throughout the year? If you do, you have my salute! If can’t, please don’t worry. You’re not alone.

There is an alternative to the New Year’s resolutions it’s called a wish list that will not limit you to just the following year. It is something for your entire life. This long-term wish list is often described very well as the ‘bucket list,’ used in this text as defined in one dictionary: a list of the things that a person would like to do or achieve before they die. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press.)
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“I want to climb Mount Everest.”
“I want to see the Great Wall of China.”
“I want to fly in a balloon.”
“I want to go on Route 66.”
“I want to read all the books in the world.”
“I want to sing on a big stage, even though I know I will never be a real singer.”
“I want to be a great cook."

Did you ever make this kind of list? I know some of you have. I have too. Albeit for me, it is called, ‘My little book of happy things.’ When I started to write, I didn’t know the usage of the term ‘bucket list’, but it is actually my bucket list in a form of a little book. As time passes, I come up with more and more things I want to do. If you do not have such a list yet, please take your time and write it down. The list can be endless. Whatever one puts on one’s bucket list is personal, and is going to fulfill one’s life to the fullest. Look at the list and commit to it.

Don’t look at it only as a ‘To-do’ list, but more as a personal guide for a happy, meaningful, and fulfilled life. Each time something from the list is done or achieved, the satisfaction will grow. Your life will gain a deeper meaning. Your life becomes richer. It doesn’t necessarily have to contain big things. I encourage you though to think wider. Don’t let the possible barriers stop you.

Dream big.

Write everything down as if you are sure that it is going to happen. As if, you have a magic wand in your hand. Day by day, month by month, year by year, mark down what you have fulfilled. Feel free though to constantly add any additional wish or goal that comes to your mind. Little by little achieve them. Don’t postpone things. Don’t leave until tomorrow what could be done today. Tomorrow may be too late. Live today to the maximum and plan tomorrow’s potential and use it. Make it, so you have no regrets. Yes, some things will require more time or money, but so long as your desire is strong enough, there will always be a way. Trust me!

Having a bucket list doesn’t mean that you will not allow spontaneity in your life. It simply means that you choose what will be the main things you want to experience in order for you to feel you’ve lived a full life. The other things will just give additional color tinges to your life. Don’t live in black and white. Let the colors fill your life. The more you live as you desire the more the colors of your life will get sharper and brighter. Living like this will leave no space for regrets. Never stop believing in your dreams.