As a goal-oriented person, lists are part of my day-to-day life. There are lists on my desk of chores to do, groceries to buy, bills to pay, tasks to accomplish, long-term goals to strive toward, and more. But, one list I’ve never made is my bucket list, for a few reasons. One is that the idea of “before I die” is weird to me. Philosophically, I lean more toward “I could die at any time, so better do things I love everyday.” Another is that bucket list goals are BIG goals, and I find it much, much easier to focus on smaller, easier-to-attain goals. However the challenge has been issued, and I shall rise to it!
My bucket list is going to be divided into categories, because…well, that’s just how I think.
Business/Professional Goals
Earn $_____ in a year. I’m not telling you how much, but there is a number in my head!
See significant income from (non-fiction) book sales. So far, I’ve only published one book, but another is on the way soon. Several more are in the plans. Hopefully, the sales of these books will supplement my retirement income.
Begin publishing fiction on a regular basis. Maybe two books a year. I don’t expect to write “the great American novel” but I would like to be a solid mid-list writer and entertain some people.
Earn an award, or other public recognition, for my professional expertise. Yes, it’s shallow, but I love a gold star.
Travel Related
Take a 6 week or two-month vacation and drive across the country. I haven’t been many places and would like to see the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the Pacific Northwest. We have friends all over the country. It would be awesome to take a couple of months and go visiting. We’ve heard of so many amazing places to visit, we wouldn’t even know where to start. However, one of my friends recently visited Iceland and seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve not thought about going somewhere colder before, but from looking at her pictures, it looks like such a beautiful place. She even sent over this blog post from Rent.is to ensure we travel over there at the right time. Maybe we’ll have to add Iceland to our bucket list. It does look a fascinating place! We’ve got so many other places we want to see though. Perhaps we need to dedicate more time to travel!
Visit Mexico. This one has been on my mind since college. I have a minor in Spanish and taught Spanish for several years. Studying the history and culture and language of a country gives you the desire to see it.
Personal
Run a half marathon. This one is in the works. I’m training for a race in March, on my birthday.
Write fiction. Yeah, this one is on here twice. It qualifies as both professional and personal, and it’s an important one.
Make my home beautiful. I’ve always dreamed of a beautiful house and yard that can serve as my oasis. Right now it’s more of a moldy shack, but I have big dreams.
Raise a substantial portion of the food I eat. I’ve always wanted an amazing garden, and now I’d also like to raise some animals, too.
Learn to knit, and beekeeping, and much more about herbs, and soap making, and quilting…this list could go on for a long time, so I’ll just stop.
And finally:
Be surprised by and delighted with and appreciative of whatever comes my way. Some of the best events in my life have been completely unexpected. I would hate to miss out on something amazing and wonderful because it wasn’t in a plan or on a list.