I came across an article last week that stated everybody over the age of sixty should have a list of things they want to do before they “kick the bucket.” Commonly referred to as a “bucket list.”
A movie came out several years ago starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman about two elderly men who had both been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. They met in the hospital during treatments and began to talk about how they’re going to spend the time they had left on earth. One of the characters made a list and called it his bucket list – a list of ten things he wanted to do before he “kicked the bucket.” Fittingly, the movie was called, The Bucket List.
The two men agreed to build a list together and spend the next several months checking off items on their bucket list. They went skydiving, visited the Taj Mahal, rode motorcycles on the Great Wall of China, went on a lion safari in Africa, visited Mount Everest, and drove race cars around a speedway in California. I’m assuming those were things they wanted to do in their life but never got around to doing them.
Well, I’m past sixty and I don’t have a bucket list. As I pondered this dilemma, I decided to Google ideas to place on a bucket list. Here are some popular suggestions.
1 Swim with sharks
2. Go skydiving
3 Run a marathon.
4. Ride camels across the Sahara desert
5 Go bungee jumping.
I have zero desire to do any of those. It makes little sense to me why a near death experience is required for an item to be placed on a bucket list. I don’t need to cheat death this late in life, it’s coming for me regardless.
I was talking to a friend last week about getting old, and he made a golf analogy to communicate his point of view. “Howey, you and I both are on the back nine.” I corrected him quickly and said, “No Sir, we’re way beyond the back nine. From where my ball is lying, I can see the clubhouse.”
I’m not trying to be morbid here; I’m just being realistic. The average male lives to seventy-seven years of age. That is only sixteen years away for me, about the life span of a Chihuahua. So, does that mean that I need to go swimming with great white sharks, jump out of an airplane, ruin my knees running a marathon, risk heat stroke riding camels across the Sahara desert, or snap my neck bungee jumping? I don’t think so. As I dug more into my no bucket list dilemma, I realized that I do have a list, it’s just not that gutsy.
In reality, a bucket list is really nothing more than goals you set for yourself. I made a list five years ago of ten things I wanted to accomplish within the next five years. I called it my, “TEN THINGS TO DO IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS LIST.” Not highly creative on the title, but it got to the point.
I reviewed my list earlier this year and I have only accomplished half of them. I guess the other half is my remaining bucket list. But none of them require me to put my life in danger. They are really about simplicity, no bungee jumping in my future. But even in their simplicity, they are adventurous, because getting there is going to require me to get out of my comfort zone and take a little risk. What I found interesting is that two of the five items remaining on my list I no longer care about. Priorities change, and so does my list. It’s time to update.
Research shows that people who are intentional about writing down goals are more likely to reach them. A bucket list can help you stay purposeful and excited to engage in new adventures.
Adventures can come in many forms. Certainly, skydiving would be an adventure, but there is a chance your chute won’t open. But also, volunteering can be an adventure. Mending a broken relationship can be an adventure. Starting to attend church can be an adventure. Inviting people who are not like you over for dinner can be an adventure. Starting a new job can be an adventure. Overcoming a fear of heights or public speaking can be an adventure. Fixing up an old truck with some help can be an adventure.
I look forward to the day I can teach my grandkids how to drive a stick shift, which will certainly be an adventure for us all! Really, anytime one steps out of their comfort zone, the adventure begins, and it can be adventurous without the fear of a shark bite.
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
– Abraham Lincoln
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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles appear on Fridays. Email comments to thowey63@gmail.com.