By now you’ve heard the term bucket list. You know, a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket. I didn’t really think about putting together a bucket list for myself until I watched the movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman when I was on vacation in 2007.
The movie was simple, yet very effective. And boy did I bawl my eyes out when Edward (Nicholson’s character) crossed out “kiss the most beautiful girl in the world” and Matthew (Edward’s valet) put Edward’s ashes next to Carter’s on the top of the Himalayas and crossed out “witness something truly majestic.”
There’s something magical about the word majestic and that’s one of the secrets to having a great bucket list – challenging yourself to experience the MAJESTIC and feeling incredibly ALIVE while you’re still able.
How To Make A Bucket List
So how do you make a bucket list? Well the best part is there is no right or wrong way to do it! You just have to take the time to put a list together. Some people list theirs in the order they want to complete things and others scribble theirs down randomly. I chose to put mine together by category. I actually had my bucket list forming in my head for the longest time but I’m glad I finally put it together this past week when I was relaxing on the beach.
Step one is simply figuring out where you want to keep track of yours so you always have access to it. I put mine online so that it’ll never get lost and so that I can share my personal journey with you. Whether you decide to keep yours private or show it to the world, the most important thing is to write it down and do it asap!
Trust me on writing it down because the draft version I had for my bucket list in my head was nowhere near as cool or as extensive as the one I created in writing. It’s also too hard to keep track of things if you can’t stare at them, plus you’ll get so much satisfaction when you get to literally cross items off your bucket list!
Quick And Easy Bucket List Tips
- Write your bucket list down (trust me, just do it!)
- Have a minimum of 10 items (life is too short to have a tiny list)
- Think BIG (even if something seems impossible right now)
- Get specific (you’re more likely to accomplish things this way)
- Don’t worry about what other people may think (bucket lists are about YOU)
- Read your bucket list regularly and get active (b/c only you have the power to make things happen!)
Why You Need A Bucket List
I’m the type of person who sets high expectations for myself and I get a big high when I complete things. But even though I make a lot of goals for myself each year (see what I mean here: my 2012 goals), there are things I want to do in life that are bigger than my day-to-day objectives.
A bucket list will bring a lot of challenges and a lot of joys to your life. And that’s what living is all about! I used to want an easy life just lounging around every day until I got smart. Twenty years from now we’re going to smile at all the troubles we overcame, all the things we learned, and everything we tried. The things that are going to make you frown when you look back on your life are the things that you were too chicken or too lazy to try. Failure is better than never giving yourself a chance at success.
I bet you didn’t know I’m scared of heights and the ocean. And if you read my bucket list you’re probably wondering why I have so many things related to the water and climbing on my bucket list. Well I’ll tell you why – because overcoming fears is incredibly liberating! Try it sometime and you’ll see what I mean.
55 Ideas To Get You Started On Making A Bucket List
Ready to start making your bucket list?! Here are some fun ideas to get you started:
- Donate $10,000 to a children’s hospital
- Go on a humanitarian trip to Africa
- Rent an RV for a month
- Climb Mt. Fuji with your best friend
- Win a merit based scholarship
- See every country in Europe
- Become a foster parent
- See all of the National Parks
- Take a cross country road trip
- Window shop at every store in the Mall of America
- Go on all the rides at Disneyland
- Complete a triathlon
- Teach an adult how to read
- Attend an event at the Olympics
- Take a transatlantic cruise
- Spend the night in a Medieval castle
- Sing karaoke solo in front of total strangers
- Get a black belt in karate
- Go on a camping trip in Alaska
- Ride a donkey up the mountain to Santorini
- Rent a boat along the Congo River
- Kiss a dolphin
- Learn how to fly a plane
- See all the ancient wonders in Egypt
- Have a conversation with a stranger in a foreign language
- Sing the national anthem in front of 500 people
- Star in a TV commercial
- Attend a church service at the Sagrada Familia after it is completed
- Travel entirely by train on a 6 month trip through Europe
- Take a trip to see glaciers and polar bears
- Ride the top 10 highest roller coasters in the world
- Become a vegetarian
- Attend the Iditarod sled races in Alaska
- Ride on a ship through the Panama Canal
- Walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China
- Swim to and stand behind a giant waterfall
- Give a graduation speech to 3,000 students
- Zip line across the Amazon rainforest
- Visit every island in South East Asia
- Have dinner with your favorite musician
- Get entirely out of debt
- Participate in Brazil’s Carnival
- Make it to the final table at the World Series of Poker
- Become a homeowner
- Visit Victoria Falls
- Save a life becoming a bone marrow donor
- Swim with sharks in Palau
- Audition for a game show
- Become the president of a community organization
- Swim from San Francisco’s Aquatic Park to Alcatraz island
- Help someone complete an item on their bucket list
- Be a featured artist at a local gallery or business
- Learn how to drive a stock car at Talladega Raceway
- Attend a prayer service at The Blue Mosque
- Start your own business
I hope I’ve given you some inspiration to work on your bucket list!
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Updated for 2017 and beyond
Well I have decided this new Year instead of making a resolution , I am going to write me a Bucket List andwith Gods help try to accomplish many of the items on it before I leave this world. I am currently 61 and my desire and wish with help from the Almighty is to live till in my 90s like my Dad andother family members. I enjoyed your bucket list and ihave to say a few of the things you listed are some I think I would love doing in addition to my own …who knows,we may cross paths in doing them …Smile
Awesome Ninette! I’m so glad to hear you’re writing a bucket list. That’s a good sign your dad and other members of your family have lived into their 90s. I don’t think anyone in my family has lived that long but I’m hoping I’ll be the first! 🙂 Best of luck with your list and hope you have a blast!
ok so i luv ur list and im adding some of these things to mine heres what i have b4 reading urs
Play dingdong ditch in a hotel
take someone elses drink at Starbucks on purpose
write down all your secrets signed with your name and let them go into the sky tied onto helium filled balloons
write your will
visit pairs
visit Italy
visit Greece
set foot on all 7 continents
rope swing off a cliff
have a food fight
have a shaving cream fight
lave a note on someones car window
take a picture every day for a year
read 100 days a year
spend new years eve in time square
dance with a complete stranger
get a tattoo
bury a time capsule
kiss someone who is not expecting to be kissed
donate blood
go on a cruise
swim with dolphins
ride a mechanical bull
throw someone a surprise party
perform on a stage
egg and tp a house
go zip lining
don’t drink soda for a month
ride in a limo
only say yes for a whole day
only say no for a whole day
go to a drive in theater
visit the Hershey chocolate factory in Pennsylvania
ride a subway
ride a segway
ride a train
ride on a plane
order a cake at least 5 teers tall
write a letter to someone every day for a year
call out sexy to a really ugly random guy
call out sexy to a really hot random guy
give your number to a really hot guy
give your number to a really ugly guy
tell a random girl that her boobs are showing when there not
throw sand at someones face then duck into the water so they don’t see you
scream that you saw a shark in a kiddie pool
say you saw a mermaid
be on TV
kiss someone back
pretend you’re talking to fish
scream when a tiny waves come
dig a giant hole
write a childrens book
bury your who9le body but your head in the sand
dye your hair with every color of the rainbow at least once
walk on the streets in Halloween costumes w hen its not Halloween and when people ask just say what costume
realm to ice skate
walk on a frozen lake or river
hang glide
pierce a body part besides your ear
have a sleepover on a roof
have a outrageous wish come true
eat a whole jar of nutella without drinking or eating anything else inbetween or an hour after
donate hair
use a fake name at starbucks
buy a really expensive pair of high heels
go to a dance
go to prom
go to a dance without a date
play spin the bottle
destroy a ton of fruit with a sledge hammer
kiss a girl
ask a girl for her number
ask a random guy for his number
pay for something in all pennies
fly first class
fall in love
play truth or dare at midnight outside in the pitchblack
go swimming in skinny jeans
shower in your clothes
pee in a urinal
walk a tightrope
rent or buy a rv and go on a huge roadtrip
take a cross country road trip
window shop at evrey store in the mall of america
go on all the rides in disneyland
teach some one how to read
teach someone how to ride a bike without training wheels
sing kareoke solo in front of total strangers
get a blck belt in karate
ride a donkey
kiss a dolphin
star in a tv commercial
become a vegitarian for at least a month
keep a journal and write in it evrey day for at least a year
Nice list, you’ve got some funny ones in there.
I want to write a bucket list, but I’ve already accomplished some things that I want to do. Do you think I should include these and then cross them off straight away or just leave them out?
Hi Charlotte. If the items you already accomplished were significant achievements to you, I think it’s a great idea to include them crossed off. This way you’ll remember what they were each time you look at your bucket list, plus it will keep you motivated to complete new items on your list. Feeling good about the things we’ve accomplished is very motivating and makes us happy!
I was totally with you on this list until you got to the National Anthem one! Yikes. I love how a lot of these ideas are travel-related, but not typical touristy things to do.
I know that is an intimidating one! I’ve performed in front of people before but not for that many. I’d be so nervous about forgetting the words as we hear stories like that all the time even with professionals.
What great ideas! I love the ideas for getting started, too. I recently started my list…it’s mostly filled with skiing and travel…better get saving!
Whilst messing around on the internet I came across the concept of Mind Movies – a start-up company all about making short ‘affirmation’ clip reels, interspersed with pics of things you want – the idea being, by watching the movie back and visualizing those things, you create the pleasure of experiencing them – thus attracting them!
It’s worked amazingly well for me – I was quite shocked, having not watched the Mind Movie I made for a few months due to traveling – I discovered I’d knocked off another few achievements from the movie! There was a picture of a top of the line Macbook Pro, one of someone riding through Petra in Jordan, and a mock-up of my book as published – and I’d brought all these things into my life since I last watched the movie!
Now… time to make a new movie I guess :0)
Tony
Love it Sydney! You’ve inspired me to write my own bucket list this year. It’s scary how quickly we age. Gotta keep track or else we might let everything pass us by!
I’m gonna think BIG as you recommend, and a little audaciously!
Sam
That’s great to hear Sam! I’m glad you’re pumped to write your own list now. And I hear ya on the aging – our parents and teachers weren’t kidding when they told us growing up “time goes faster as you get older.” I’m hoping my knees and legs stay strong for a long time because I’ll be so sad when (or if) I can’t hike, dance, and go on full day tours anymore. I think I’ll go do some knee exercises now. 🙂
Hey Sydney,
Even better than writing down a list, creating a board with pictures of the achieved goals both stimulates our senses and (mystically?) helps brings forth the opportunities to make these dreams come true – case in point:
5 years ago we started such a board with our first picture, 2 people looking down on Machu Picchu; to make it seem more real we even pasted pictures of our heads over theirs! We looked at it everyday, waiting for the right opportunity to come, which it did about 4 months ago when there was a 2 for 1 sale on trips to – you guessed it – Peru! Last Sunday night we got home from that life changing trip, where a mere 5 days ago we were getting our own photos taken while looking down on Machu Picchu!
Now we are home the old picture has come down (Mission Accomplished!) and been replaced with a new one… spending a week in an apartment in Venice, Italy.
I’ve used this system to complete over 100 goals in my life, so I know it works! Give it a try!
Oh my gosh – I love it!! That is so awesome you went to Machu Picchu and with a 2 for 1 sale too! And I like how you have now replaced the goal pic with a mission accomplished pic. 🙂
I like your next item too. Venice is so beautiful, you’ll love it. It’s small but I found it so charming. The areas around San Marco are always PACKED with tourists, but it’s easy to wander (and get lost) into little alleys without anyone else in sight. I’m getting excited for you guys just remembering how unique Venice is. Boy could I go for some of their squid ink pasta and 2 scoops of gelato right now! 🙂
PS – pack LIGHT and pack smart! I had a roller bag and even though it wasn’t that big it was a huge pain lugging it up and down the steps – which are EVERYWHERE in Venice. I got totally lost trying to find my hotel too which didn’t help but was a fun adventure in itself. You could always hire a water taxi but those are big bucks which you’re better off saving for a gondola ride (those don’t come cheap either!)
I hear you – thanks for the advice! Actually, it will be my 3rd time to Venice, but the new goal is for us to begin home swapping and spending 1 or 2 weeks living in the cities we’ve enjoyed visting in the past – true “Untemplater” style!
Cheers!
I definitely need to WRITE DOWN a bucket list. I’ve thought of some ideas but never really wrote anything down. I’m thinking I should put it as a page on my blog as well so I can try to get some of the items done. I really liked the show The Buried Life on MTV. I was sad when they cancelled it. Best of luck with your list and get moving!
Yes Lance, you gotta write it down! 🙂 Even if you don’t know everything you want to put on yours right now, I bet just starting with one or two items will get your creative juices flowing pretty quickly.
I just went to look up “The Buried Life” (it was a reality show with 4 guys working on finishing a list of 100 things to do before they die) as I never heard of it before. I can see how that must have been a fun show to watch! But the good news is that now that it’s cancelled you’ll have more time to put towards your own list of things to do before ya kick the bucket!
I have one of these! I love lists, and I love your suggestions.
Thanks! I’m glad to hear you have a bucket list Kathleen! I get excited when I hear other people have compiled their own bucket lists. I met a woman a few weeks ago who had indoor skydiving (which I’ve done and it’s INCREDIBLE) on her bucket list and she was getting ready to do it the next day. People light up when they talk about their lists, especially when they are ready to cross something off. Good luck with your list!
All great ideas! I haven’t made a “formal” bucket list just yet, but I know what I want to accomplish with my life. I should write it all down, so that I can at least revisit it and see how my list changes as years pass.
Thanks Daisy! You gotta write it down!! It feels awesome having it laid out and you’ll get more pumped to work towards crossing things off.