Tips For Creating Bucket Lists that Actually Inspire You

Bucket Lists are not created equal. They can be no more than pie-in-the-sky dreams, or they can be documents that motivate you to stretch yourself and pursue big dreams. Last post I talked about how a bucket list (or whatever you prefer to call it) can help you live a more intentional and meaningful life.

This week I’m giving practical tips to help you craft and maintain bucket lists that will motivate and inspire you.

Bucket List Categories

We need goals and inspiration in various areas of our lives, which means it’s helpful to create multiple categories of bucket lists. Here are some suggestions for facets of life where a list might be useful:

• Travel and adventure. My example: Return to Pompeii and explore beyond the typical tourist routes.
• Career. My example: Appear on a live author interview.
• Finances. My example: Turn a profit on my writing. (This may only come after years of investing in advertising and publicity.)
• Family and relationships. My example: Enjoy grandparenthood
• Ministry or service. My example: Speak at a women’s retreat.
• Learning and education. My example: Take a cooking class.
• Health and wellness. My example: Maintain my health and fitness so I can remain active and able to explore the world into my 80s.

Bucket List Dos and Don’ts

Do put them somewhere you can find them. Inspiration may be jotted on a napkin or sticky note, but you should transfer the final list to a more permanent medium. If the lists are to be meaningful, you need to be able to refer to them, curate them, and keep them fresh in your mind.

Do refer to them often. A list doesn’t do much good if you never look at it. You should make a habit of reviewing your lists regularly, to remind you of your ideas and inspire you to reach for them.

Do take time to ponder. In order to be meaningful, a bucket list should only include things that truly matter to you. It should be a list of things that will bring you joy, fulfillment, and a sense of success. It should include things you’re willing to spend serious money and effort to achieve. It’s not a list of random-things-that-might-be-fun-if-I-ever-got-the-chance. (It might be fun to keep a random fun things list, but don’t confuse it with your lists of goals and dreams that really matter.)

Don’t over-analyze. Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so it is with your dreams. What inspires you may seem irrational or unimportant to someone else. That doesn’t matter. If you’ve always dreamed of visiting the Matterhorn, don’t waste energy psychoanalyzing it. Just honor the dream. If you are in tune with your true self, trust your judgment and don’t dismiss a few crazy ideas that don’t make sense.

Don’t try to win the Nobel Prize. (Unless that’s your personal dream.) A dream or goal doesn’t have to be earth-shattering to be worthwhile. For example, when it comes to traveling, the destination isn’t as important as the experience. That same concept is true in any variation of your list. The specific goal isn’t as important as the fact you are pursuing something that is meaningful to you. So relax, listen to your heart, and enjoy the process. If your whole list is filled with fluff, you may need to ponder some deeper issues, but don’t judge the worth of your list on the supposed merit of the goal.

Don’t let the gap intimidate you. For some people, the gap between where you are today and the items on your list motivates you to get moving. For others, the gap piles on guilt and stress. If that’s the case, find a way to reframe the bucket list concept in a way that doesn’t make you focus on the gap.

How to curate your lists

Think of your lists as living documents that evolve over time. They will grow and change with you.

Which means every now and then you need to read through your lists and remove items that no longer need to be there. Here are some suggestions for curating your list to keep it relevant and inspiring.

Relevance. Remove items that are no longer important. Our priories change. So do our interests. Once upon a time, I thought earning a Professional Engineering License was an important goal. Several career moves later, it’s obviously not important, or even helpful. Give yourself permission to eliminate items that no longer mean what they once did.

False aspirations. Remove anything you included because you feel you should achieve it, or anything you’ve been told you ought to aspire to. Listen to your heart, not to society, your brother-in-law, or your boss. For many people, a visit to Paris is on their travel life list, but I have no desire to go there. Seeing the artwork in the Louvre might be “good for me” but it’s not what excites my soul. (Sorry, Mona Lisa.)

Life Realities. Remove things that are no longer possible (or healthy). Bodies age. Injuries happen. A dream you had at twenty might no longer be feasible with your sixty-year-old body, damaged knee, or weak heart. A physical handicap can inspire you to overcome, but it can also inform what you should allow yourself to let go of. For example, I used to dream of leaning how to fence, but I’ve given that dream up. (And my bad shoulders thank me for it.)

Missed opportunities. A bucket list is not the place to collect all the things you regret not doing. We’ve all missed out on things we could have done, and we don’t need to feel guilty over them, or feel compelled to go back and achieve them. So remove the dreams or goals you wish you would have done, but didn’t (unless they’re still something you really want to do.) For example: once upon a time, I contemplated taking acting classes. I was directing high school plays at the time, so the goal made sense. It probably would have made me a better director, but I never pursued it. It might still be fun, but my priorities have changed and so I’ve set that goal aside.

I hope these thoughts have inspired you to rework your bucket lists, or compile a new one. I wish you success as you move forward on things that matter.

ONE MORE THING

I’m running a giveaway for everyone who preorders my debut novel, Death and a Crocodile, before February 8. Enter to win an autographed bookplate, bookmarks, and other swag, PLUS a chance to win the Grand Prize.