Life can get in the way of your dreams. And before you know it, you’ve been swallowed by work and other stuff.
Thus we’ve gathered 48 bucket list ideas you should try and do before you die.
Check them below.
Shed relationships that no longer bring out the best in you
Life is short and time is the one commodity no one can buy. Surround yourself with people who help you become the best version of yourself that you can be. Nurture those relationships.
Stop worrying about what others think about you
What others think is really not your business. You cannot control others anyway.
Write a letter of thanks every Thanksgiving to someone who has made your life better in some way
Send it via regular mail. Letter writing is becoming a lost art.
Do a random act of kindness every day
You will fill your karma bank and make this world a better place.
Interview an elderly relative to increase your knowledge of family history
Record it in some way for those who come after you. Consider doing a DNA test. People are learning shocking things about their ancestry via these increasingly accessible tests.
Visit the part of the world from which your ancestors came
Sample the local fare. Try to talk to as many natives as you can to increase your cultural understanding.
See the 7 natural wonders of the world
Not sure if this should be one item or seven, but either way, it’s on my list.
This list includes:
- Aurora Borealis or Nothern Lights (visible from several Scandinavian countries)
- Mt Everest (borders Nepal / Tibet)
- The Great Barrier Reef (in Australia)
- The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
- The Grand Canyon
- Paricutin (a volcano in Mexico), and
- Victoria Falls (borders Zambia and Zimbabwe)
So yes, there’s quite a lot of travel involved but I think it’s a good goal! So far, I’m up to 3.
Camp or hike for a week with no wifi
I’m addicted to my devices so I’m a little scared to try something like this but I also know it would be an amazing experience.
I can hardly imagine just letting my mind roam free without input from the internet! What new thoughts and ideas could I have?
There are still plenty of places without mobile coverage or wifi, so I think I need to force myself to one of them for a long stay!
Paint a picture I’m proud to hang on the wall
In my youth, I loved to paint but I haven’t done any for years because I know it won’t be up to my aesthetic standards.
But of course, I also know that I won’t improve unless I start painting again. I’d love to showcase something in my home that I’d created myself.
Bring family and friends together
Thinking about dying, another bucket list item is to have regular events that bring family and friends together.
Some groups do this naturally, but there are others where no-one has stepped and lead the charge for keeping everyone together.
I’m not talking anything woowoo – just a regular dinner party with a close group of friends, celebrating special occasions with family, or holding an annual party. I want to let the special people in my life know they’re special to me – and this is my way of doing it.
Live in a foreign country
I’m currently doing this now and it’s an experience I’d highly recommend. You’ll be challenged in ways you never expect and come to know yourself in new ways too.
You’ll also learn so much more about your own culture – it’s impossible to see it when you’re in it!
Watch Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) near the North Pole, in northern Norway, Sweden or Iceland
But this out of the world phenomena can mesmerize you with the way the various colors of light dazzle and illuminate the sky. You are never sure about its timing, but the probability of it happening increases in winters.
Do a skydive
Can you imagine the thrill and the adrenaline flow to fall from the sky at heights of 10000 feet and more? And the fear just before the dive? It would be exhilarating.
Attend Tomorrowland in Belgium
Be a part of the biggest music fest and get lost there. get swarmed as the best in music make you rock to their tunes.
Visit Antarctica
Touch the southernmost continent on the earth. Frolic with the penguins and go for the zodiac rides to explore the continent.
There are two major items on my bucket list.
Jumping out of a plane
Last year, I watched a video on YouTube where Will Smith talks about seizing your fear and moving beyond it.
Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of the fear that’s holding you back.
He used the experience of Skydiving to illustrate his point. Ever since then I’ve wanted to jump out of a plane.
Not because of the thrill but because it’s a way to conquer my fears.
Getting lost in a foreign city with my partner
After getting married, it’s been one responsibility after another. Kids, mortgage, and work have kept us tied down.
When the kids are a bit older and we have more time I’d like to go back to our youthful days and do what we should’ve done. Travel like a nomad, immerse ourselves in a strange culture, and not worry about tomorrow.
Visit the top 10 art museums in the world
When I traveled around Europe after college, I had very little money. One day while visiting Paris, I could afford to either have a meal that day or visit a museum – not both. I chose food.
I remember eating my hotdog and pommes frites outside of the Louvre, telling the Mona Lisa that it will have to be another time.
My wife and I just visited Paris, 25 years later, with a little more money in our pockets. We visited all of the museums that I missed the first time around.
That made me think – have I been to the top 10 art museums in the world? Upon looking at a couple of credible lists, I have been to about 7 of them. Three more to go to fulfill my museum bucket list.
Have you visited each of the top 10 art museums in the world (according to Reuters)?
- The Louvre, Paris
- Vatican Museums, Vatican City
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
- J. Paul Getty Center, Los Angeles
- Musee d’Orsay, Paris
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
- Tate Modern, London
- Prado Museum, Madrid
- National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
I have a few Bucket Lists: Travel, Professional, Personal/Spiritual.
Travel:
So many trips on my bucket list. Many in Africa (mountain gorillas*, safari*, diving in Seychelles, Spice Island, a political tour of Libya/Tunisia/Egypt, Morocco).
Any diving trip in SE Asia*. Bali with the love of my life. Alaska during the summer. Turkey for a really long time. Back to Sri Lanka.
Diving again in the Indian Ocean. Former Yugoslavian coast. 2-month housesit in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Political tour of Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia/Myanmar. Hiroshima*.
Someplace where I can go topless on the beach and no one cares. New Orleans during Jazz & Heritage Festival*. Macchu Pichu. Diving in the Galapagos. Guayaquil, Quito. Vancouver for along housesit. Too many places in Europe to name, and frankly, diving anywhere!
But, my real dream destination? The moon. Seriously.
Professional:
Publish a book that changes people’s lives*. Get interviewed by Oprah. Help other authors get their books finished and out in the world*. Hit a best-seller list.
Personal/Spiritual:
Relocate to Europe. Marry the man of my dreams. Be the woman of his dreams. Nail manifesting.
* I’ve recently crossed these items off my list!
- Go on an international trip with your best friends.
- Have an art gallery of my own.
- Go for an International Dance competition and win.
- Go all around the world, visiting poor countries, and donate basic needs to the needy.
- Be a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
- Prove my grandmother that even art can earn money in Malaysia.
- Smash a phone on the ground really hard.
- Eat the World’s most expensive ice cream in Dubai.
- Fly an airplane with at least 2 passengers.
- Collect 100 toothbrushes (43 more to go!)
- Be a successful YouTuber.
- Convince my dad to get me a puppy (17 years but still failing).