Bucket list - Why and How to have one?

A genie asks you to wish for what you want in life. It is not just three like the traditional genies but unlimited. What will you ask for?

I want to be an astronaut.

I want to travel around the world.

I want to eat that Italian dish.

I want to publish a best seller

...

The list must be really long. That’s okay. Just make the list. 

Are you done with making your list? Save it in a secure place. Don’t worry if you are not done. You can add wishes to the list any time in the future also. Now name it as ‘bucket list’ or ‘list of things to do before I die’ or ‘My wonderful wishes’. Give it a name which is closer to you.

“Now that the genie is gone, what do I do with the list?” you must be wondering.

Bucket list has a lot more advantages than a genie fulfilling them all in a go. If you have not noticed previously, you cherish those things more which you worked harder for than for those which came easily.

Here are a few reasons why you should have a bucket list:

1.      Create long lasting cherishable memories: When I was in my final year of my college, I felt the time was ticking away. And I hardly had any remarkable memories of college. That was when I sat with my friends and made a crazy list of things we wanted to do. There were a few which we could never do, but still did them.

2.    Makes your purpose on earth more clearer: Sometimes you might feel lost. You might feel that you are aimless. That is when you back to the list and reread it. You might want to make something from that list as your goal.

3.    Makes you dream higher in life: Elon musk achieved whatever others thought was impossible. His future goals are also at the same level. Even you can have the impossible bucket list and overcome your limiting beliefs. If you don’t dream big, how can you achieve something big?

4.    Makes you feel good about yourself: On the days when you feel low if you look at your bucket list, it definitely brings a smile on your face.

5.     Makes you change your career stream: When you are bored of the current job, you can pick up one of the interesting things mentioned on your list and start off with it.

6.    Makes you an interesting person: You can develop new hobbies from your list. People will start looking at you in a different way because of your unique experiences.

7.     Tells you how short life is: When you look at that you will realize how little time you have to accomplish so many things. This makes you plan each of the tasks on your bucket list.

Now go back to your list, add two additional columns to it. Name one column as a category and the other as time. Create your own categories. A few sample categories might be travel, personal, family, career, hobbies. In the next column, write down by when you might actually be able to do them.

Now pick a few from the list. Whatever you think is achievable this year. Write down a detailed plan for it. 

Let’s say you want to travel across Europe this year.

Most important aspect of traveling is finance. How are you going to manage it? With whom are you going to travel? 

Do you have any responsibilities? If yes, whom are you going to transfer them while you are away?

The above questions are just to guide you to get the overall picture. Plan in detail. Cross off the tasks as and when you are done.

Make your life richer and more beautiful.

Happy making bucket list!