If you were on your death bed right now, and you only had one hour to live, what would your biggest regrets be?
I know that is not a super fun question to ask yourself, but if you take the time to do it, you may be surprised how much it can affect your life.
When I quit drinking, I was lost. I found myself with a newfound energy and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. All I had ever done was drink, eat and sleep. Suddenly I was 40 years old and had no idea what the point of my life was.
That is when I decided to create my bucket list
What is a bucket list?
To me, a bucket list is more than just a list of things I want to do or places I want to go. Those things are on there for sure, but really a bucket list is a picture of what I want my life to be about. It’s a list of the things I want to do, the things I feel God is calling me to do, and the things I want to accomplish to feel like I lived a full life.
When I am on my death bed, whenever that day may come, I want to look back on my life with a grateful heart and the satisfaction of knowing I did it. I lived. Even if I didn’t accomplish all my goals, at least I tried. I got up every day and worked towards the life of my dreams. I was able to focus on the things that were important and shut out the noise that comes from all of the things that aren’t.
Hopefully, when it is all said and done, I was able to encourage others, build strong relationships, and leave the world in a little better shape than it was in when I found it.
How do you create a bucket list?
Here is the simple 7-step process that I took to map out my bucket list. I learned this from someone along the way and it has helped me learn what is really important to me.
List your regrets. Imagine yourself on your death bed. Today. You are going to die in an hour and you have just enough time to look back on your life. What would be your biggest regrets? Write these down.
List the actions you need to take. What do you need to start doing today to address these regrets? Typically, it is the opposite of whatever your regret is. So if you would regret not spending more time with your family, then one of your actions would be to spend more time with your family. Write these actions down.
Create your bucket list. Make a list of all these actions you want to take throughout your lifetime. They can be about your career, your money, family, friends, travel. Whatever you want them to be. It’s your list!
Print out your bucket list and post it in a place you will see every day. Mine is on the wall in my office/dining room. You can put yours in your bedroom, bathroom, office or in your car. It doesn’t matter where it is, it only matters that you see it every day.
Get to work. Start at the top of the list and start taking action. Some of these things may be something you do once like take a trip or buy a dog. Some of them may be changes you want to make in yourself over time like read more, spend more time with family, etc. The point is to start taking action. One thing at a time.
Be willing to let your list change and evolve. A big thing I have had to learn is that my list is always growing and changing. That’s ok! Be willing to let it change as you change. And believe me, doing things on your bucket list is going to change you in ways you never thought possible.
Tell others how to create their bucket list. Share this strategy with a friend or family member. Tell them what you are doing and how you came up with your list. You never know how one conversation like this could totally inspire someone to change their lives.
You have to actually do it
So many people are walking around like zombies. Most of us just go from one pointless activity to the next and never take the time to think about what we want our life to look like. By taking the time to do this exercise, you will be one of the few who broke out of that cycle. You will be free! And the rewards are seriously endless.
But you have to start. You have to actually do it. Most people love to sit around thinking about all the things they would love to do but never actually do any of them. Don’t be one of these people. Start taking action today.
Now seems like a pretty good time to start. So what are your regrets?