Living the Dream: Is Your Bucket List a Wish List or an Action List? by Sheri B Doyle

Travel Notes
5 years ago

Living the Dream: Is Your Bucket List a Wish List or an Action List?

I am often told I am "living the dream." People automatically assume I am doing something they never will: living a dream. For me it doesn’t seem that way. Yes, I am living my dreams, marking items off my bucket list, but it isn’t exclusive to me or “other people” – it can be you as well.

At first my bucket list was a wish list; a list of things I would do some day. Then one day my husband and I decided we didn’t want to wait for some day. We wanted to experience things on our bucket list now. In that moment our bucket list went from a wish list to an action list.

Instead of talking about some day we started looking at our lists and making plans on how to achieve what we could. Some of my bucket list items were cheap, learning to knit or learning a language. Then there were other items we could achieve without a lot of expense or time, like local events or activities. Then there are the big ones.

I categorized what I could achieve easily and what would take more planning. Then I set out to achieve both. We made plans, saved money, watched for best times to travel or found locations where we could have multiple experiences at one time. We talked to people about what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go and asked for advice or suggestions. Slowly the items began to come off my list, and new items were added. 

My list has ceased to be wishes, and now are calls to actions – items requiring a plan to be realized. With each one I take off and each one I add, my life seems richer for having met a goal and found a new one.

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Elisa Schmitz
"Instead of talking about someday, we started looking at our lists and making plans on how to achieve what we could." This is key. Thank you for sharing how you made your dreams come true. More of us need to stop dreaming and start doing! Sheri B Doyle
Jessica Acree
Yes yes yes.. this is my heart-song right now. I am slowly leaving the comfort zone behind and taking more control and intentional ACTION to live and not let life just "happen". Sheri B Doyle I'm so glad you share all of your beautiful travels with us... it makes us dream big with possibility too <3
Sheri B Doyle
@JessicaAcree that is amazing to hear. I hope you post about your actions and how your life is changing because of them. I love reading your tips and being part of this community with you. Life is all about what we do and not what we plan to do. They don't all have to be big things just things that are meaningful to us.
Cassandra Conyers
Definitely an action list. I have an A list and a B list. That way I can work major buckets and be open to b-list bucket opportunities should they arise. Most of my bucket lists are about places I want to travel to or live for a month or more. One thing I do for activities or events is that each season I look at the months and add events (ballet, symphony, special baseball games, weekends away, dinner at special restaurants, etc) to my calendar. For example, when April arrives I start planning my May-Labor Day (summer fun). The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) kicks off my summer (starts in May)I and I just plug in events through Labor Day. Then when August comes, I look at the months from Sept. through Dec. This has helped me to create some fun traditions that I do each year and stay mindful of creating down times so I have balance.
Sheri B Doyle
Cassandra Conyers That is amazing! I want to hang out with you, you sound like you make so much out of life! This would make a great tip!!!

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