Bucket List Ideas

There is something about being in your 40’s that seems to make the clock tick faster.  Instead of going down a rabbit hole of identifying all the parts of me that don’t look the way they used to I’ve decided to do something constructive!  I’m going to work on my bucket list goals!

There is a whole chapter of your life, when your kids are still really young, that just seems to blow by way too fast.  You are hyper busy while also being hyper tired all the time!  Then, they get to a good age where you can reclaim some of your time and start looking at what lights you up again.  This chapter of my life has resulted in this blog, and the perfect time for a bucket list.  So, what are some bucket list ideas?  Well, this is how I see it:

Put them into Categories

I’ve decided I’m going to group my bucket list ideas into categories.  The organizer in me is spoiling the fun a bit, I know, but this way we know what we’re looking for when we need inspiration.  So, what I’ve done is I’ve come up with the following categories: Travel, Sport, Skills and Achievements and Experiences.

This should be something you print out and put up somewhere in your house as a reminder of the experiences you want to have in this life.  We too easily talk about dream trips and then put them at the back of our minds.  But, we only have one chance so put it somewhere prominent and then make a plan!  Choose a goal and start planning how to make it happen.  If you like you can have a note on the side with the cost of the trip/activity so that you know what you need to work towards.  Or, have a savings plan for it.

What I love about the Bucket List planning

Once you get started on creating your Bucket List ideas you kind of get carried away, and it’s so much fun!  Your imagination explodes, you dream up everything you’ve ever wanted to do, you think big!  This is a wonderful feeling and also super healthy for you to get you into a positive and uplifting headspace.  You imagine the best version of your life and focus on things that bring you joy.  These things might not be a current reality for you, but nothing in life ever happened without first being imagined in the mind!  Get creative, set your imagination free and feel inspired to live the life you imagine for yourself!

Now you Work on your Plan

Pick something small to work towards and something big to work towards.  My husband and I had the conversation about how there are actually things on our bucket list that are so achievable, but we just don’t make the effort.  So, my first bucket list item I want to tick off is Hobbiton!  It is only 3hrs away and will only take a bit of effort to save up for us to be able to go.  How ridiculous that it sits on the list as unachievable when in actual fact it just takes us making a decision to make it happen.  If you’re on the other side of the world you’re probably thinking ‘Hobbiton is 3hrs away and she hasn’t been, she must have rocks in her head’.  I apologize for my moment of insanity, and promise to make my way there as soon as possible!

This is the very real problem that so many of us have.  We think we’ll ‘get to it’.  Before we know it life has slipped passed and we can’t believe we haven’t ‘gotten around to it’ yet.  I honestly believe that if we make this more tangible by putting it up in a frame, for example, we are more likely to make the effort.  Also, the process of first coming up with the ideas and then categorizing them in your head as small/medium/large bucket list goals helps to get the necessary steps clearer in your mind.  The big goals may leave a pang in your heart, wondering when you’ll ever get to it, BUT, those smaller goals will become way more acheivable and before you know it you’ve started ticking boxes!

Deciding What To Do First

As I mentioned before there are so many things when you stop and think about your list that are actually quite achievable.  Sometimes you will find you are your own worst enemy because you have so many items on your list and you want to do them all, don’t want to prioritize, and you end up not doing any of them!  I can think of a few experiences I would love to do that are an easy ‘no-take-aways-for-two-weeks’ fix!!  That’s insane isn’t it!  But, so true.  And, that’s really what this is all about, being honest about where we are wasting money on days we don’t remember instead of saving for days that will go down in the memory banks!!

I won’t get into the mindfulness and being present in the moment but I will just mention that if we make a conscious decision to take 2wks of ‘down time’ where we stay home, enjoy the family, focus on each other and don’t spend frivolously then we can reward ourselves with that dinner cruise in the harbour or kayaking in the glow worm caves.  Have an honest look at your list and see where you could be missing out because you aren’t making a pretty small effort, really.

‘being honest about where we are wasting money on days we don’t remember instead of saving for days that will go down in the memory banks!!’

Here goes – a few items for each category to inspire you!  Have a look at mine and then get started on your own.

Travel

1. Machu Pichu
2. Venice
3. Northern Lights
4. Cherry blossoms in Japan
5. Angkor Wat
6. European River Cruise
7. Experience Mardi Gras
8. New York at Christmas
9. Riverboat in England
10. Take a trip on the Blue Train
11. Go to Disneyland
12. Travel to Hawaii
13. Take a trip on the Orient Express
14. Walk along the Great Wall of China
15. See the Pyramids
16. Visit a Rice terrace in Vietnam
17. Swim in the Blue Grotto in Italy
18. Crooked forest Poland
19. Experience Morocco
20. Easter Island

Sport

1. Learn Tai Chi
2. Abseiling
3. Kayak in a Glow worm cave
4. Do the Colour Run
5. Go Sandboarding
6. Ride a camel in the Desert
7. Horse riding on the beach
8. Learn to surf
9. Take dance classes
10. Try Snowboarding

Skills and Acheivements

1. Cooking class
2. Talk on stage
3. Learn a new language
4. Make something with my hands ie. Sculpture
5. Publish a book
6. Build a home
7. Flip a House
8. Speak in front of a crowd

Experiences

1. Hot air ballooning
2. Eat at The Fat Duck
3. Buy a whole new wardrobe
4. Spend 1yr in another country
5. Go on a wellness and meditation retreat
6. Fly First Class
7. Swim with the dolphins
8. See butterflies swarm
9. Stay in an Igloo
10. Trace my lineage/ancestry
11. Attend a Murder Mystery dinner party
12. Attend a cultural ceremony eg. Indian Wedding, Maori Hangi, Native American Pow Wow
13. Go to the Grand Prix
14. Get a Henna Tattoo
15. Work with an Energy Healer
16. Have a private dinner on a beach
17. Shop at Harrods
18. Pick Strawberries
19. Stomp grapes in Italy
20. Go to a Break Room to release stress
21. Spend time in a Monastery/silent retreat
22. Get a family photo in Abbey Road

Because I’m in New Zealand and it’s an amazing country with sooo much to offer I had to do a special New Zealand Edition.  These are some of the things I personally want to do and some I just feel need to be shared (like bungy jumping that is definitely NOT for me but still a bucket list item for NZ!).

Bucket List – New Zealand Edition

1. Cruise Milford Sound
2. Helicopter trip over Milford Sound
3. Visit Hobbiton
4. Explore Waiheke Island
5. Visit Frans Josef Glacier
6. Tour the Weta Workshop
7. Bungy jump in Queenstown
8. See the pancake rocks – Punakaiki
9. Visit Hot Water Beach
10. Campervan Holiday Across New Zealand
11. Visit the Geothermal geysers in Rotorua
12. Hike the Tongariro Crossing
13. Explore the Waitomo Glowworm Caves
14. Visit the Te Papa National Museum
15. Visit historical Russell in the Bay of Islands

Don’t take my word for it, head over and find out more about these incredible places at 100% Pure New Zealand where they have their own NZ Bucket List.

Obviously these are my bucket list goals but I’m sure you will find some inspiration for your own.  Hopefully I’ve got you thinking about what you would add or take away from this list.  So, what are you waiting for?  Starting your list gets you one step closer to ticking off the items.  I’ve added a printable example above, but you can design your own on Canva!

Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of inspiration to get you motivated and excited about life again.  Especially after the way the world has been in the last year with travel all but ground to a halt.  Let’s focus on what we can do right now, and what we’re super excited to do as soon as we can.  It is so important to have something to look forward to and I think doing your Bucket List is sure to get you amped up about life again.

I hope you feel inspired and I’d love to hear what some of your choices would be!  Let me know in the comments.

Steph x

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Similar Inspiration: Read 5 Ways Travel will help you Growth as a Person

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