Mommy Mojo: New Year’s Bucket List – Starting A New Annual Tradition of Checking Off the List

Ever sit down to write out your Bucket List? The long laundry list of things you want to do someday, approximately sometime before you die-ish?

It doesn’t really matter if you have taken the time to write it down, create a vision board or share it on your blog because we all have those secret someday dreams that we’d like to do…someday.

That’s the problem with a Bucket List is it feels like a someday list, not a TODAY list. It’s the far off “I will do this when…” followed by a long list of criteria that need to be met before you tackle your list.

When you finish university becomes when you finish planning the wedding becomes when the kids grow up and before you know it, your never ending list of when’s is longer than your Bucket List and not a single one of your secret dreams is checked off.

It’s time to change the way we think about Bucket Lists

Starting today, change the way you think about your Bucket List. Stop thinking about it as a someday list and start thinking about it as a today list. Today, I am going to do something that I have always dreamed of doing.

Whoa! Now?

Yes now. Why not now? Why wait? Why teach your children that dreams are meant to be folded up in a piece of paper and tucked away for someday? Dreams are meant for today – for action and enjoyment, for fueling your soul and for embracing life and living.

Okay logistics people. I can hear you saying, “But not everything on my Bucket List is doable today. We need to plan, to save up and that’s just impossible right now with everything else that’s going on.”

Bullshit.

I guarantee there are things on your list that you can do today and if there aren’t, then find a way to step toward doing the logistically challenging ones. These are your dreams – not some sort of weekend chore list! If not today, when?

So are you ready?

The Bucket List Challenge for 2011

Yes, now you have an assignment (and it’s your own dang fault for clicking the link to read this post so stop whining about it).

#1: Write out your Bucket List (or dig up the one you folded away) and post it somewhere you will see it everyday – This has to do with accountability. If you want to start living your dreams now, you need to think about them now. Today and everyday.

#2: Start making plans – Not those fake plans like when you research the heck out of something, but never get past the idea stage. I mean finding accomplices, picking dates, and making arrangements.

#3: Start living your list – Set a goal to check off another dream off your list on a regular basis. Maybe one a month is possible for stuff, like learning a new skill or trying something new, but maybe only one a year is possible for the really big stuff like traveling across a country.

It doesn’t matter how often you check things off your Bucket List or what you check off when. What maters is changing from the wishing mindset to the active doing mindset. It’s no longer your someday list – it’s your TODAY and everyday list.

And if the worst thing that happens is you run out of things to do before you die, well good for you!