I recently read The Bucket List: How Aspirational Thinking Improves Life and Leadership by Paul Batz and Mark Bergman. It’s a quick, 45 minute read packed full of practical tips for creating a bucket list that you’ll actually complete.
In the book, Batz notes that many people have bucket lists, but they keep their lists private and they often forget about the list.
His research has found that people are much more likely to accomplish the items on their bucket lists IF they share their lists with other people.
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Batz believes that bucket lists are more important than we realize – because aspirational thinking propels us forward instead of keeping us stuck.
Many of us feel trapped in the mundane to-do lists of daily life and we often complain that there isn’t enough time or money to go after our dreams.
But setting specific goals – and sharing those goals with others – can help us to imagine what’s possible. Maybe you’ll share a goal with someone else and that person will be able to help you achieve your goal.
Perhaps remembering your list of travel-related goals will remind you to prioritize saving money for trips instead of spending all of your extra money remodeling your house or going to Starbucks every day.
Since sharing your bucket list with others can help to hold you accountable to it, I’m going to share mine here.
Over time, I might decide to shift some of my goals and priorities. That’s completely okay! You can always change your list if you want to.
Here are 25 items on my current bucket list!
TRAVEL
- Attend the Milwaukee Pug Fest.
- Travel to Iceland.
- Speak French in Montreal, Quebec.
- Drive the scenic North Shore route from Duluth, MN to Thunder Bay, Canada.
- See the Badlands in South Dakota.
- Travel to 75% of the states. I would say 100%, but there are a few states that aren’t really worth seeing (sorry)… and I’d rather spend time and money going to places I actually want to see.
FAITH
- Get baptized.
- Attend an Elevation Church service and experience Elevation Worship in person (they are amazing)!
- Give more money to my church than I ever thought possible.
- Share my faith story with someone. You can read more about my faith journey here.
- Participate in another class at church.
- Join a Bible study.
CAREER & MONEY
- Move into a more strategic management role.
- Pass the CPP exam (Certified Payroll Professional).
- Complete an HR certification (I haven’t decided which one yet – I’m looking at the PHR, GPHR, or HRIP).
- Max out my 401(k) and Roth IRA.
- Pay cash for my next car.
- Retire before 65.
EXPERIENCES
- Pet a penguin.
- Take a cooking class.
- Lose those dang 15 pounds.
- Ride a train.
- Try some kind of art class.
- Be a mentor to someone.
- Leave a huge tip at a restaurant.
What’s on your bucket list? Share in the comments!
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