Lists: from Travel to Love

Live OUT Loud Podcast

River + Michele discusses the idea of bucket lists and lists in general with Michelle Morganti returning to the podcast as a repeat guest.

Most people think a bucket list, originates from "kick the bucket." The usual definition is that a bucket list lists the experiences or achievements a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime.

Even if you don’t keep an actual list, chances are you have thought about what you would like to accomplish in your lifetime. A survey conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine found that over 90% of participants had a bucket list. The researchers sorted bucket list items into six categories. Those, along with examples, are included below:

1. Travel (78.5%) - visit a specific attraction, city, or country.

2. Accomplish a personal goal (78.3%) - learn something, run a marathon, write a book.

3. Achieve specific life milestones (51%) - get married, have a child, reach a wedding anniversary milestone, see their children have kids.

4. Spend quality time with friends and family (16.7%)

5. Achieve financial stability (16.1%) - pay off debts, retire comfortably, save enough for children’s college education.

6. Do a daring activity (15%) - go on a zipline, surf a 20-foot wave, skydive, bungee jump, or hang glide.

   But a bucket list can also just be a list of goals you'd like to accomplish.

   One thing is certain: none of us want to reach the end of our lives and wish we had lived differently. With that in mind, consider the top regrets of the dying, compiled by Bonnie Ware while she was caring for people living with serious illnesses.

   1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

   2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

   3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

   4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

   5. I wish I had let myself be happier.

   Taking action is the best way to minimize the bucket list effect and to live life with fewer regrets. Start your bucket list today: include some items you can accomplish within the year, and include some items that may take time to work toward. Don’t worry about what’s on other people’s lists; your list should be a reflection of you.

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