Several times we have talked about trying new things, and striving to get up when you fall down, and climbing out of the valley over the next hill. But what is it you want to do in life?
If you are in the valley, how do you know you want to climb that next hill?
By having a bucket list.
When we are young and poor, we have wishes and dreams. That’s the time of life to start jotting down all the places you’d like to see, all the experiences you’d like to have. Write them down. That makes it more concrete.
Then it’s not as if you have to go around crossing things off your bucket list as you do them, it’s the very act of putting them on the list that solidifies in your mind that, yes, this is really something I want to do in life. When you later do it, you’ll know it was on your bucket list, and you’ll know you just crossed that off.
What if you accomplish everything on your bucket list? Make a new list. Or simply repeat pleasurable events. Was visiting Hawaii on your bucket list, and when you got there you really enjoyed it? So visit it again someday! Try a different island, or take that excursion you missed last time because of weather.
The point is this is not a static list that you cross off and then die. It’s setting tangible goals for you to do, to put them in the back of your mind.
Nothing worse than to feel like you’ve done everything in life and now you are just waiting to die. There’s always something new to learn, to try, to achieve, to live!
I don't know how I came across your blog, but I'm impressed. The more I read, the more I want to learn.
Over the last few years, I started doing open water swim races in interesting locations around the world. I did one in Barbados, then in Curacao. I was supposed to do one in Spain in May, but couldn't due to a shoulder injury. That injury has sidelined me for the last 6 months, and after a lot of hard work and rehab, I am starting to be able to get back in the pool.
It made me feel like I was failing at my bucket list.
But you reminded me that you can put things on your bucket list that you used to be able to do, but are working back toward it.
So new on the bucket list is to be able to do full 2km swim practices 3 times a week without pain. Right now I am swimming twice a week and only 400m of the are a full swim, the rest is kick. It's progress from a month ago when the whole swim practice was only kick.
It's going to take a few more months to work up to my goal. It's there.
Once I hit the goal and sustain it, then maybe another race can go on the bucket list.