Bucket List, Schmucket List
Let’s retire the term and keep things more tangible-inspirational
Do you fall into the category of “list-maker” like I do?
Oooooh, it can be endless for us over-planners and organizers —
- To-Do lists
- Next-Essays-to-Write lists
- Honey-Do lists of projects around the house
- Career Goal lists
- Books To Read lists (does it ever end?)
- Travel Lists — or as the world insists on calling them, Bucket Lists
Travel has become my passion, the thing I love planning so there’s always something to look forward to. Some of you may have spent a gap year backpacking around Europe, but I was super late in discovering travel.
And as a self-confessed list-maker, I’d like to propose something controversial — it’s time to retire the term “bucket list.”
Bucket List = Things I Must See In This Lifetime Before I Kick The Bucket
That’s an awful lot of pressure.
That’s, may I suggest, a tad overwhelming.
Sure, I want to see Iceland and French Polynesia. It would be nice to witness the Northern Lights, sail around the tip of South America, lay eyes on the temples at Petra and take the slow train across Russia.
But I fear sometimes that we’re only adding to our Anxiety and Depression by creating such lofty lists and labeling them as such. Years go by quickly, and those goals can seem unattainable and flitting away due to inflation, health issues, dental emergencies.
KISS — Keep It Simple, Stupid
When I first expressed an interest in travel, I paged through Travel & Leisure Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, NatGeo Travel — full of gorgeous photos and impossibly expensive destinations.
Thankfully my travel-writer friend Monica was kind enough to point that out. “Those are too affluent, too aspirational, too… not you,” she said. “I prefer Sunset Magazine, have you ever tried that?”
And a seed was planted.
I turned away from the glossy, you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me travel porn of the jet set and honed in on attainable travel to scratch that itch.
I’m a big proponent of keeping what I call an Arsenal of Inspiration and certain self-help books when it comes to writing, painting, acting — any creative endeavor.
So let’s now develop our Travel Arsenal of Inspiration.
My dogeared copies of Sunset have been underlined, circled, bookmarked and highlighted — just waiting there on my shelf anytime I’m ready to ponder the next attainable road trip, the next mini adventure.
Find your version.
It could be an online pub about the RV lifestyle, a YouTube vlog about Central American slow-travel or an actual paper magazine that arrives by mail to break up the endless screen time.
Or travel writing by favorite authors — the kind that doesn’t pop your balloon with big-budget or I’ve-gotta-quit-my-job-and-abandon-the-kids planning.
Find something with travel steps that are attainable, to give you that momentum, to keep the passion alive.
It’s depressing to create a Bucket List with the Acropolis in Athens, the islands of New Zealand or a hike up Mt. Everest if inflation and job stagnation are making it challenging to even fly domestically.
I’m all for big goals but not if they only make you feel worse about yourself as the years go by.
I’m 50 years old and didn’t find my bliss — travel — until I was around age 41, so I have some catching up to do. So far I’ve only been to parts of Italy, England and Spain.
But I feel momentum and fully inspired thanks to my Travel Arsenal of Inspiration with very attainable local travel destinations that are affordable, doable — and most importantly for any list-maker…
Are Cross-Off-able.
It can keep your mental health intact, can keep you smiling, and keep you looking forward instead of backwards.
Life is hard enough. Give yourself the tools, the mental tricks to succeed.
See you out there in the big world!
© Joe Guay, 2024
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