Imagine you are 60 years old. You just found out you have a terminal illness and you realize that you have yet to truly experience life. Now you are looking back at your time on this earth and thinking of all the opportunities that you could have taken advantage of, but didn’t. This causes you to do what many people do when they feel as though they have not lived life to the fullest and make a bucket list.
When I went skydiving, I met a woman who did exactly that. She felt that she “had not really done anything in life,” and was eager to tell me why she decided to try something new. As she told me, I was not sure what to say, because I was thankful for myself and sad for her all at once. I was thankful that I could jump 15,000 feet from an airplane and not worry about any cancers that may affect my experience, but I was saddened because this woman who appeared to be healthy, waited until she was sick to take a risk and enjoy the thrill of taking on a new and exciting task.
In Bucket Lists: are they a good idea? Kira Cochrane writes that the term bucket list “derives from “kick the bucket.” This is why often times people automatically assume that to make a bucket list, you must be dying, but that is not true. This list can also be made when you’re twenty years old, in college, and healthy and there are some amazing benefits to fulfilling your bucket list when you are young.
Here are three reasons why this can be beneficial:
You are capable. This reason may seem like the most obvious, but it can also be the most forgotten. When a doctor tells you that your bones are not as strong as they used to be, or that your heart is failing, it can limit your ability to do a lot of things such as lift and run, because of the side effects that may occur when doing so. While you are young, it is not as common to feel pain after too much movement, which is why waiting until you do have those aches may not be the best idea.
Discover your passion. There are many college students who start school with an undecided major, because they are unsure of what they want to do in life once they graduate. Having a bucket list that you are actively participating in can help many students find out what career path they are most interest in. This list allows you to explore new places, meet new people who have completely different backgrounds, and learn much more than a textbook can teach you. It may also allow you to choose your path and discover what you love without feeling judged or pressured. Unfortunately, if you wait until you are older, you may come across something that you love and find that it is too late to partake in it.
Build a legacy. There are people who allow fear to consume them and hold them back from doing what they truly want to do, but you can be different. By knowing you have time to complete your list, you can choose how you want to be remembered. When you are gone and future generations are reminiscing about the type of person you were, they can say you were able to set goals and accomplish them while having fun, learning, and creating memories.
Bucket list can be life changing. They can entail anything from skydiving to swimming with sharks, but knowing that afterwards, you will be able to share your experiences with your friends and family without being afraid that things are coming to an end is satisfying. However, your greatest pleasure will come from understanding that you were able to cross off one adventure and can move on to the next one.