Goal Setting 1: The Bucket List
Boston, Massachussets
This is the first in a series of goal-setting exercises.
The "bucket list" is probably the first thing that most people think of when they think of making goals. The basic premise of a bucket list is "things that you'd like to do before you kick the bucket (die)." These are usually pretty fanciful, one-time events. Kiss a supermodel. Go Skydiving. Climb Everest. Get thrown out of a bar's window.
They could also be "life goals" or things that you would like to accomplish by the end of your life. Write a book. Have children. Become Trilingual. Get a PhD.
I don't personally believe that experiencing all these events will translate into your overall, day-to-day happiness. However, I do think that it's a useful excercise to go through because it's fun, it allows you to dream, and verbalizing these fanciful dreams will allow you to recognize an opportunity when it presents itself. I believe it spurs you on to take chances and do things you wouldn't normally do, and will lead to a more interesting and fulfilling life along the way. "My friends are going skydiving? Oh! That's on my bucket list! I should go with them!"
To write a bucket list, just break out a sheet of paper and start writing! Don't hold back because a goal seems "silly" - you have to get past the surface before your brain really gets flowing and unleashes your deepest, most personal dreams. When you run out of steam, look back on the list and ask yourself whether the items on the list are there because you want them there, or because you think they should be there. Envision yourself accomplishing each of the goals on the bucket list and coming back to "tell the tale". The ones that give you the most emotional lift are the ones you keep or expand upon. If you instead feel awkward and wrong - strike it out. It's okay if you don't want to "climb Everest"! Let your imagination fly - chase down the feeling of "heaven" - your own personal heaven - and capture that on your list.
Once you finish a bucket list, you should put it in a place of honour. Celebrate the goals you have achieved and always look to what you want to accomplish in the future. If you don't keep your bucket list somewhere nearby and accessible in your day-to-day life, you'll be running around in your old age trying to complete them! One strategy is to incorporate your bucket list goals into an "Inspiration Board". If you resonate more easily with images than words, bring together images that represent your ideal life: A runner. A mountain. A city skyline. A festival. A forest. Bring together your dreams and anything that inspires you in a tactile way and put them all in one place.
Setting these goals is the very first step you must take to achieving them. First focus on the feeling that you're trying to capture. Then you are free to find your next steps.