Most people, on their deathbed, regret not living life to the fullest. They wish they had done more with the time they had. A powerful way to prevent this is by creating a bucket list!

A bucket list is a list made up of things you want to do in life before you “kick the bucket”. The aim is to tick off as many things as you can. Nothing’s too big or small to put on your list!

You may want to swim with dolphins, climb a mountain, or travel around Europe. Alternatively, you might simply want to finish that book you’ve been meaning to read, take that fitness class, or learn some basic Spanish—anything goes!

Bucket lists are an excellent way to achieve the fun things you truly desire. Moreover, you can continuously add new dreams to them along the way. They can enhance your outlook on life and empower you to achieve more than ever before! But how can writing a bucket list actually improve your life?

Achieving things off your bucket list…

Improves Your Self-Esteem

Achieving a personal goal makes you feel good and more confident in your own abilities. The great thing about bucket lists is that they consist of things you want to do, so it doesn’t feel like a chore. I find that the more you achieve, the better you feel about yourself and the more you will look to do in the future.

If you do one of your big goals like climb a mountain you feel immensely proud of your achievement. So, smaller tasks like taking that yoga class you’ve always wanted to try but never got around to, seem a lot more doable. The more bucket list things you tick off the more this feeling builds. Therefore, you will feel like you can do anything, which helps your self-esteem and confidence to grow.

Check out my post 5 Easy Ways to Stop Fear Holding You Back from Pursuing Your Dreams for help in pursuing your bucket list goals!

Gives You Goals

Having the things you want to achieve in list form in front of you, ready to tick off, helps to give you something to strive towards. The goals can be a mixture of things you’d like to achieve in your life within the next few years. Such as, have more savings, move out or to start work on that career you’ve always wanted. Or, bigger goals with no time limit. These could be things like visit the pyramids, go on a cruise or see the Northern lights.

Whatever’s on your list, it shows you what you really want out of life. This will give you an indication of what you should be focusing your time on achieving. The great thing about bucket lists are you’ll never run out of things to do, so you’ll always have a new goal to look forward to.

Gives you Purpose

If you feel like you haven’t done as much as you’d like to in your life, and other people’s lives seem way more exciting than your own, focus on pursuing your bucket list. Prioritise reaching your goals, as this will give your life more purpose. You will feel like you have more to live for than just going to work and paying your bills.

If getting your ideal body is on your list, then start taking the steps that will help you to reach your fitness and body goals. Or, if you’ve always wanted to take a cooking class, push yourself to go and try one out. Who knows, you may end up loving your first class and this could become a highlight of your week that you look forward to. Not only will it improve your cooking skills, but your self-esteem as well.

You never know where pursuing your bucket list may take you. It could lead you to meet new people along the way that have a positive impact on your life. You could find a new passion, hobby or even potential new career path from achieving one of your bucket list goals.

Creating and reaching goals off your bucket list creates more purpose in your life. Moreover, having something to look forward to and to aim for gives your life more meaning.

Gives You New Memories

Ticking things off your bucket list will help you to achieve things you’ve always envisioned doing one day but never got around to. Accomplishing these goals will give you lasting memories to cherish, as well as improving your confidence. Trying new and exciting activities, or travelling to a place you’ve always wanted to visit will improve your view of life.

It will help to create happy memories to look back on in the future. If you don’t get out there and try the things you’ve always wanted to, you could be missing out on amazing experiences. If you don’t try then you’ll never know what exciting opportunities you could have, and what memories you could create.

Makes the Most Out of Your Life

Having a list of goals and activities you want to try, will help you focus on making the most of the time you have in your life. If you’re stuck on what to do with a spare weekend, you could pursue a goal on your bucket list. It’s a great opportunity to find fun things you’ve always wanted to try and tick them off your list. Furthermore, it’s easy to fall into the trap of routine and working too hard in life. Make the most of your down time and pursue your goals.

No one on their death bed wishes they’d worked longer hours and had more money in the bank. As cliché as it sounds, life is for living and getting out of your comfort zone. If you feel like you’re not capable of achieving some of your bigger goals then you’re mistaken. I never thought I’d be able to climb a mountain. But, I did, with zero training, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it!

Check out my post How to Unlock Your Potential and Live Your Dream Life for tips on how to decide what you want in your life. And to make a plan of how to achieve your goals!

Helps You Learn New Things

Whatever is on your bucket list, you will learn new skills or ways of thinking from trying out new things. Whether it’s learning a new language, how to surf or going on a vacation alone. You will not only learn new skills but you will grow as a person and build your self-esteem.

You can accomplish things you never thought possible, or that you thought were just dreams that would never become a reality. This will enable you to see that you are capable of doing more than you imagined. It will also help you to learn new things about yourself and your abilities.

When you push yourself out of your comfort zone, you are opening yourself up to new experiences, opportunities and ways of thinking. Pursuing your life’s goals will help you to learn new things about your capabilities, self-worth and confidence. As well as allowing you to learn new skills, hobbies and interests along the way.

Puts Life Into Perspective

Seeing a list of everything you want to do before you die puts your life into perceptive. It reminds you that these things aren’t just going to tick themselves off your list. Therefore, you need to be proactive to reach your goals.

When something is important enough to make it onto your bucket list and you finally do it, the sense of pride and the positive feelings you experience will emphasise the significance of pursuing the things you’ve always wanted to try.

Following your passions and desires will make you feel good about how you’re living your life. You shouldn’t take anything for granted in your life. No one knows how much time we have to fulfill our dreams. You don’t want to wake up one day when it’s too late to pursue your goals, or live with regret.

Will Increase Your Gratitude

Most people are a lot luckier than they think, and many of us don’t realise all the opportunities we have in life. Even if you can’t afford that cruise you’ve always wanted to go on at the minute, you have the option to work towards your goals and improve your circumstances in some way.

Some people could only dream of having the time, health or means of being able to do half of what we take for granted. When you start working on your bucket list, you will see the endless possibilities of the things you can achieve in your life if you try. Enjoy everything you achieve to the fullest. This will cultivate a greater appreciation of how good your life really is.

Builds Your Character

Trying new things and going to new places will help you to discover more about yourself than ever before. Some of the things on your bucket list might challenge you mentally or physically. Activities such as skydiving, learning sign language or swimming with sharks, will help to build your character.

Push yourself out of your comfort zone, face a fear or simply experience something you’ve never done before. This will help to build your personality and make you a more interesting person, as you will have new things to talk about in conversations. Similarly, you will build your character if you ask for advice from someone who has achieved something you’ve always wanted to. As this will improve your social skills and confidence. The more things you try in life, and the more experiences you have, will help you to grow and improve yourself.

Gives You Motivation

It’s great to start off with smaller tasks on your list that are easily achievable with little time or money. I find that when you do a number of small things off your list you have more motivation to tackle substantial and harder goals. 

Accomplishing things and ticking them off your list will make you look for the next thing you can try. Once you start you’ll not want to stop. You’ll see how much you’ve already done and want to continue. Remember, these are goals that you want to achieve. Therefore, it’s easier to find the motivation to do them than regular everyday tasks. You will gain more fulfillment, happiness and excitement achieving them because you’ll look forward to doing them.

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching”– Gerard Way

Summary

Your bucket list should have whatever is important to you personally! It’s uplifting thinking of ideas to put on your list. Creating your bucket list will inspire you and improve your mood. You have endless possibilities of what you could accomplish by making the most of your time.

A bucket list will help you focus on what’s truly important to you and the kind of life you want to lead. As you start ticking things off your bucket list, you’re actively pursuing what you truly desire in life. The wonderful aspect is that there are no time limits!

“Stop dreaming about your bucket list and start living it”– Annette White

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