Until recently, I had viewed a bucket list as grim reminder of the inevitability of death. It made me uncomfortable to think about. But truth is truth; every creature has one thing in common: an end.
When I was out and about, often running errands, I found myself thinking about things that might be a cool or fun experience. In fear of forgetting, I began writing all those things down. Without realizing it, my bucket list was born. And you know what? It wasn't scary after all.
A bucket list isn't about dying, it's about living.
Adding stuff to my list started being fun, like I was collecting Pokemon or something. I would add pretty much anything, no matter how simple of far-fetched (but still possible). Anything from beating Super Mario Bros. 3 ( ✓ ) to seeing the Northern Lights (haven't done that yet). It forced me to really think about what I wanted to do and see in my life.
I had always wanted to solve a Rubik's Cube. I was born in the 1980's and I felt like it would've been an injustice to not complete one. I spent two weeks working on it, taking breaks when I got frustrated. I kept finding myself a few moves away from completing a line, but then one little color would be wrong. Ugh. I started over probably 20 times. One night I had made a decent go at it, feeling confident that I was close to solving it. Finally, at 4:30am, I spun the last piece into place.
Sure, there are some people that can solve it with their feet faster than me, but hey, I did it and I was proud!
And that's really the point: putting check marks next to goals gives you a sense of accomplishment. No matter how seemingly trivial, doing something you want in life should be a point of pride. A little positive participation in the world goes a long way.
So go make a list and start living! Share your favorite bucket list goals in the comments below so we can steal cool ideas from each other and add them to our own ever-growing lists!