How To Make An "Over 50's Bucket List"

 

It's imperative if you're on the right side of 50...

Most people over the age of 50 want to continue to be active and busy and a great majority have had lifestyle changes and know there’s more that they want to be doing.

But what exactly is “more”?

If this is you, it’s time to make an “Over Fifties Bucket List” — so pour yourself a glass of wine or a cup of coffee or tea and set a timer for 30 minutes or more and reflect:

Reflect on what? Here are some prompts to help you along the way…

#1: Reflect on what you’ve done up to this point and what you’ve loved as well as what you haven’t loved as much;

#2: Your ideal day and week.

If these prompts aren’t enough, we should dive right into the bucket list.

Why is the bucket list important?

For one, it allows you to dream. It’s your bucket list so don’t censor yourself. This is not an “if this happens, then I would want to do this”. This is about the things you would want to do for yourself. Even if you want to hold off on doing some of these things, they still need to be on your bucket list.

The list doesn’t have to be extravagant like “I want to jump out of an airplane or circle the world on an air balloon.” It could be “I want to take a mini-vacation every month for a year”.

You can start with a messy brainstorm list and then go back, edit, and plan your list from that.

It gives you goals.

Have a look at your list and determine what you would like to try first. Next, start taking the steps to make that happen. This may involve some planning and letting others know about it. Set a timeline and start working on this goal.

I decided I wanted to have a mini-vacation every month — even if it was a day trip. I sat down with a map and a calendar and decided where I wanted to go and when I could do it. Sometimes, this involved moving some work dates around and involving my friends and family’s schedules and plans.

Facing the fears and doing it anyway was one of the BEST feelings in my life.

It energizes you.

Just looking at this list and just imagining yourself doing the things on it gives you newfound energy. Planning and taking the steps to get yourself closer gives you a reason to get up in the morning and go to work with a brighter outlook and attitude. It gives you something to look forward to. To me, that is joy.

You can try things to figure out what you like.

Norma was a widowed, empty nester homemaker from New Jersey who was trying to figure out what to do with her life. She took a trip to Spain while terrified to do it on her own. When she was there, she decided that when she got back home, she would pack up and move to Spain to live.

Three months after doing so, she ended up starting a relocation agency that caters to single women moving to Spain. Had she not gone there for that trip, moving to Spain would not have occurred to her as a life choice.

Having a bucket list gives you things to see what might click.

This is not saying that we don’t love the people and things in our lives — our work, our friends, our families. Why not have some friends over and have an “Over 50s Bucket List” party?

The point is that we can love those things and look forward to doing things for ourselves as well.