The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.
Ben Stein
I remember being a child of around 9 or 10 and making a bucket list. I also remember thinking that my life was going to be too short to accomplish all of the things on my list. But I have always had a list since then and I have spent a good portion of my life achieving the things on my list.
I met a man 7 years ago and we have been married 3 years now. We created a new bucket list together. He has things to do and places to go that I have already done so I have what I call my re-bucket list. You can go back to the same places and do some of the same things at a different time or with a different person and it is a completely new experience.
So I use my bucket list like a road map to where Im going and what I am up to in my life. It gives me purpose and inspiration and it reflects my values. It is my vision of what I want to accomplish in my life. It always gives me something to look forward to. It makes me happy when I think of all the interesting people I will meet and the exotic places that I will go in the future.
When I share the things on my list with other people it often inspired them to create things in their life that they can be up to. I also find excitement and receive encouragement from other people when I share my goals with them.
Several years ago I decided that I wanted to compete in a tri-athlon, which is something that I had previously deemed impossible. I found a partner to help train with me. For six months we ran, swam and cycled together. Another person helped me with my eating habits and phoned me every morning at 6:45 am. to give me support. When the day of the race came my daughters were there at the finish line cheering me on. It was an amazing feeling to have completed that event, especially with the support I received from so many people in my life. As a result of my success several people in my life were inspired by this and took up the challenge to complete a tri-athlon. Im sure that after their success even more people were inspired to take on things that they once thought were not possible for them.
Accomplishing things on my bucket list definitely has helped to raise my self confidence and gives me an opportunity to celebrate these milestones in my life. Its a way to track my successes in life and be aware of the footprint that I am leaving on the planet.