Th phrase “Bucket List” has almost become cliché. We throw it around when we talk about the impossibilities of our lives – things we would love to do but don’t ever expect to do.
I’m tired of watching people live the status quo – never expecting anything to get any better. Never embracing the “now” by making it the “best now” it could ever be.
If you are a regular reader (YAY!) of my blog, you know I have two mantras: choose joy & best day ever.
A couple years ago, I just decided that particular day would be the best day ever. Nothing spectacular happened to me that day – I didn’t win any award or get some great compliment. I didn’t even find the matching sock in the mysterious lost world of the dryer.
But it was the best day ever because I CHOSE to make it the best.
I have come to the conclusion that we CHOOSE a whole lot. We don’t choose what happens to us, but we certainly CHOOSE how we respond to it. And all those things I put on my bucket list? The stuff I want to do before I die?
I started last year by making a list of things I wanted to do in the year I turned 40. I turned 40 a couple weeks ago – and I’m still working through my list. But the key word? I’m WORKING on it. I’m actively DOING it. I’m pushing myself to monthly do one of the items on the list.
That means if you want to skydive, start researching cost, where you can do it, what it takes to make it happen.
If you want to go on an Alaskan Cruise, place a jar on your kitchen counter. Place extra money and change inside that jar. Start saving. Research what cruise line you want to use. Make the dream a reality.
For years I’ve wanted to write. I have a passion for writing. Finally, when I lived in Oklahoma, I felt God tell me that if I really wanted to write a book, I needed to stop talking about it and actually write a book.
So I did it.
And now, after lots of hard work and determination (and help from some amazing author friends), I have an agent (Thanks Karen Solem of Spencerhill & Associates!) and I’m in the process of finding a publisher.
If you want it, start the process of making it happen!
It was a fun adventure dream I had to be on a game show. So instead of just “thinking it would be cool,” one day I had my students help me make this video to send into “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”
Guess what?
They called me, interviewed me, and I taped the show this summer!! I’m on a gag order about what really happened, but I will let you know when the show airs sometime this winter or spring! Woot!
My point is, stop just SAYING sometime is on your bucket list and start DOING. Start the process of making it happen. This life is short – but it is meant to be lived WELL, to the FULLEST.
I have started calling my quest to live every day as the best day my BEST DAY EVER ADVENTURE. And now I challenge you, with January just peeking around the corner, to create your LIST OF NOW. It’s your NOt Waiting list.
Put your dreams on this list, your grand acts of kindness, your small little quirks. For my birthday, a friend gave me one of those great coloring books for adults. I’ve always wanted to take a few minutes to sit down and color – a catharsis for the soul! That’s a little quirk to add to your list of NOW!
Here is a picture of a great document you can print and put on your refrigerator or on your bulletin board. It will help you track your list of now and start making it happen TODAY! To get this document FREE just click on the text below that says, “The List of NOW.”
Download this document to keep track of your list of now by clicking here:
Let’s make our BUCKET LISTS into LISTS OF NOW and do the things we’ve always dreamed of doing. We don’t know when our last day will be, so there’s NO reason to Wait.
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Here are some other inspiring posts you might be interested in:
Eating to Live: why I will never diet again
What happened when I gave 40 teenagers a dollar and told them to make a difference?
The word I permanently deleted from my vocabulary
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Carrie Wisehart 