Ok… “problem” is not the right word. There’s nothing wrong with bucket lists. In fact, a bucket list is something I believe you should take the time to think through and draft. But having a list is the easy part. The problem with bucket lists is that most of the time they are just that… lists.
There are many challenges when I look at my bucket list. And not just my list. You all had quite a few big ones on the list as well. Here’s a sampling (of items sent in by you):
- Visit a concentration camp
- Create something that would be admired by many
- Attend Oktoberfest in Germany
- Learn to play the guitar
- Own a farm
- See my daughter get her Ph.D.
- spread the good word from my life experiences with God & how He helped me
- go see the great whites off the coast of south africa
- picking up our little girl from China someday
- Drive across the country. Visiting every state on the mainland. I want to see it all.
- see Montana and the wild west
- Sponsor a village in Africa so that they can have a clean water well installed and one day go see it.
- Visit every single baseball team at their home stadium.
- be a contestant on The Wheel of Fortune
- To be fluent in another language
I hope you read them all because every single one is compelling, interesting, and inspiring. They’re BIG. But therein lies the challenge.
The problem with bucket lists is that most of the time they are just that… lists.
Most of the items on my list…
- …aren’t things I have to do
- …aren’t super-important in the grand scheme of things and in light of the world’s problems
- …are expensive in time and money
Beyond the actual list itself, there are a myriad of other challenges that make the list “unrealistic.” One word usually holds us back and gets in the way. A little thing called “life.” Life gets in the way of what we desire most. So we wait. We procrastinate. We justify. We hold back in insecurity and fear. We make excuses. We settle.
What are you waiting for?
There’s no bullet point step-by-step that follows here. No profound advice. Just a couple questions:
What are you waiting for?
- …your “ship to come in?”
- …more “free time?”
- …your “big break?”
I’ve got news for you. It’s not gonna happen that way. You’ve got to move things forward. After all, it’s your list.
What are you doing today that moves you towards drawing a little line through that big scary thing on your list?
Go and do that.
“The glory of God is man fully alive.”
St. Ignatius
P.S. If you are actually doing something to move forward, let us know what actions steps you’re taking. This can actually be more inspiring than your list itself and helps build in accountability by going public.