The Anti-Bucket List: Why Making the Most of Life Doesn't Have to Mean Adventure
Do you have a bucket list? You know, that carpe diem list of dramatic adventures for your later years that will make you feel like you’ve gotten the most out of life?
Skydiving in Machu Picchu? Surfing the Great Barrier Reef? Running with the bulls in Pamplona?
It all sounds exciting but it also sounds like a lot of pressure. Kind of exhausting, too.
So I was delighted and entertained when I saw Stephen Randall's wonderful piece in AARP the Magazine extolling not the grandiose but the simple and comforting, what he calls his “anti-bucket list.” Judging by the volume of positive responses we received from readers, I wasn’t alone.
After a health scare that he thankfully got through, Randall was besieged by well-wishers who wanted to know how he was going to maximize his time by ... doing things that were completely different from what he’d always enjoyed before. He writes:
领英推荐
“My bad year had taught me a lot, and probably chief among those things is that there’s much to be said for ordinary life. So I suggest you put the bucket list in the shredder. Do what I’ve done: Create an anti-bucket list. It’s easy. Plane travel? It’s over. Anything you watch on shows like The Amazing Race or Survivor — forget it. Things that might cause stress or fear or make your back ache? Getting up too early or staying out too late? Why? Really, why?”
One of the great things about getting older is growing more comfortable in your skin, gaining a deeper understanding into what makes you happy and, frankly, what you just don’t want to put up with anymore.
Formal dress codes and uncomfortable heels? Nope. I’m leaning into my style and wearing what feels good to me.
And when I do travel? No more middle seats on the plane. I make sure to always nab the aisle even if it costs a little more. Once we get where we’re going, I’m all about setting time aside to get settled and wandering around the neighborhood vs. rushing around and feeling like every single moment must be amazing.
What about you? What’s on your anti-bucket list? Reply in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going.
Engineering Professor, PhD, 42 Granted Patents: cyber security, digital money, AI, chemistry, innovation science pioneer, innovation as a purpose and meaning.
12 个月We need more than a "bucket list" and an "anti bucket list" -- aging people graduate out from 'normal buziness' need a philosophy to be guided by towards the final stretch -- otherwise depression will take over. I rely on the "Unbound Ignorance" mental attitude. https://www.amazon.com/Unbound-Ignorance-Commitment-Ultimate-Questions/dp/0963522035?ref_=ast_author_dp&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pNrwmWboxayzpXIUU21FMtAmj2IbvMez-5OACWEszgshqDM7hUyzz4-0oE55EtuhctYg2GkRzEd99KUY8h0sY6Fju3TIuqUjrpkGqA_G8fmLKUvJoQLFUXyXG2NC7GDVsNZXa5Fhshb7xVq83uVtqrihUKtmMC3-uk0654YFWYp35Wp1ZKkeFGJKfUMowpBM.-oaKoGqlhU1VjAOftSIRpPxfo2X2w9kLntL8zdwAZwY&dib_tag=AUTHOR
J & G Engineering, the commonsense Automation Company, and Western States Machinery Corporation together make up the "Solution Dream Team", together we can make your process run with high ROI and low labor costs.
1 年This figures, Ive spent 50 years completing 8 of my bucket list items, I guess now I just sit in a chair and watch the grass grow? Im still going to do the last 2 items, dive in a cenote cave, and ride whale sharks.
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." Saint Augustine
1 年I've always liked the idea of an Anti-Bucket List! How about including things that you NEVER want to do AT ALL ... like bungee jumping or jumping out of an airplane or descending in a shark cage? ??
Chief Factchecker - SABR BioProject at Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
1 年The top thing on my anti-bucket list is eating at a restaurant. In the past few years, the price have gone up while the quality of food and especially services has gone down.
Children's Book Author, Workshop Presenter, Experienced K-12 Teacher, Administrator,
1 年Great piece! Life will look different for each one of us as we age. What I have learned is to embrace the day I have been given and let it unfold and appreciate all of the gifts each one brings me.