Is It Time to Ditch Your Bucket List in Favor of a Live in the Moment List?

The longer that bucket list gets, the less time you may have to fulfill it.

I admit it. I have a bucket list. It includes some travel goals, a lengthy list of books I want to read (and possibly write) before I die and a variety of other random experiences that may occur to me from time to time.

I’ve been working on this list a long time — really, for most of my life, probably decades, I have contributed to this ever expanding list.

While I do occasionally scratch an item off the list here and there, I have been increasingly aware that this list continues to grow much more rapidly than it shrinks. And my life expectancy continues to shrink rather than expand.

Hmmm . . . I think there’s a lesson somewhere in this.

Recently, my husband and I were lamenting the fact that the chaos of a world pandemic has greatly restricted our ability to travel and see the world as we constantly dream of doing. Since we are still somewhat hesitant to leave the continental United States, but do feel relatively comfortable in country, he asked me to give him an instant response to the question, “Where do you want to go? Wherever it is, we’re going, and we’re going now.

I instantly pulled a response that was probably pretty far down on that aforementioned bucket list and said, “Arches National Park in Utah.”

That same day, he booked the airline, the rental car and the hotel — for about three weeks after he first popped that question.

We had a memorable, exciting and non-stop crazy time. Even the 100+ degree temperature wasn’t enough to slow us down.

Everything about that trip reminded me of why I even think about having a bucket list in the first place. It fulfilled some of my dreams and fantasies and made me yearn for more.

And that’s the point. I shouldn’t just be waiting for an opportunity to present itself so I can scratch one more thing off the bucket list. If it hadn’t been for the spontaneity of my husband saying it’s time to go somewhere and do something, Arches National Park would probably still be buried in the recesses of my mental bucket list — possibly never getting the chance to surface.

We chose to live in the moment because we were feeling closed in and decided it was time to break free of some of our self-imposed restraints.

Those restraints are always there. Life has boundaries and limits. There is a time stamp on each and every one of us that will always remain a mystery up until the point where it is too late.

Newsflash! There is not going to be enough time to fulfill that bucket list. So, stop working on the list and start working on the action plan!

It doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t have to be a 2,000 mile trip across the country or a plane ride across an ocean. It can be going out to dinner at that new restaurant you heard so much about and planned to try “someday.” It can be splurging on that fancy bottle of wine you always wanted to try but felt you needed a special occasion before you could indulge.

Today is a special occasion.

That “someday” is today. Cram as much life and living into this miraculous, never to be seen again in this life time, day as you can. Do something worthy of being considered a bucket list item, just don’t bother wasting time writing it down somewhere or locking it away in the recesses of your mind.

If you liked this story, consider reading some of my other stories inspiring the idea of living in the moment.