Fulfilling Your Bucket List Needs Commitment

By Helga Stokes


Bucket lists were introduced as a motivational tool to be used by critically and chronically ill patients. Relatives, friends and medical personnel often work together to ensure the patient experiences the fulfilment of a dream that they believed was outwith their reach. The dream can be anything, but some of the more achievable experiences include meeting a pop star or someone else famous, attending an event or making a special trip. The idea of fulfilling your bucket list is attractive for many people.

There are no hard and fast rules about how many tasks you can set for yourself. However, if you set too many goals you may become disheartened and give up. Starting with around ten or twelve tasks ranging from easily achievable to the more complex or difficult is what most people do. Simple tasks such as reading a specific book, or writing that letter you have meant to do for months once completed, can give you the motivation needed to try something more complex.

Timescales to complete all the tasks is another personal choice. Too little time may see you not achieving all the goals, while too much time may see you lose interest in completing the list. Be realistic and flexible with timescales. Many individuals setting complex goals give themselves a number of years, or decide that by the time a particular birthday comes around they will have achieved all their goals.

As you achieve goals your self-confidence will improve and you may want to add more challenging tasks to your list. A positive attitude and approach when deciding on what to include as your goals is necessary. Rather than use statements such as I would like to or maybe I should, try using I will which is a much more positive statement.

Some of the goals such as trips to another country or taking up a hobby or activity may have a financial cost. Plan ahead and allow yourself the enough time to save up to fund your goal. Taking the time to research and plan a trip or an activity is all part of the exercise.

You can share a personal list with someone you trust. They may be able to support and encourage you with some of the tasks. It is not unusual for two or more in a group of family or friends to compile a list for the whole group.

If you want some ideas for compiling a list, you will find some simple and some very unusual goal ideas on the internet. It is a great way to motivate yourself into trying out some new hobbies or activities and allows you to decide if you want to pursue something. Set goals or tasks that you really want to try, or you may quickly lose interest.

Fulfilling your bucket list should help to stretch you both emotionally and physically. You should be left feeling that you have accomplished something special for you when you complete a task. If the items on the agenda are things that you do frequently or even infrequently, it is unlikely you will gain from the experience.




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