the-bucket-list-734593_1280I’ve always been big into goal setting and loved the time of the year we all refresh ourselves and strive to become even better versions of our ‘flawed, but beautiful’ selves. The beginning of the school year with the fresh, uncreased notebooks and sharp pencils reminds me of the same time of year. A time of new beginnings. I never dreaded settling new year aspirations, but at the beginning of the year I tried something even better.

Instead of create a list of hard nosed things you will do or you’ll quit doing, make a Life List instead.

What is a Life List? A list of things you want to accomplish or more importantly experience in your life. Some people may call them bucket lists.

First off, creating the list is a growth experience in itself. Have you ever done this? Try it. Sit down and start a list of all the things you wish to experience in your life before you are done here. Yes, I said done here. Think about yourself near the end, hard as that is. What do you want to have experienced? What battles do you want to have beaten? Lessons learned? Love felt? Thrills raced through your veins? You are only here once as far as any of us know, so what do you want it to look like, feel like? If God tapped you out tomorrow what would your biggest regrets be? You have to go to that place in your heart to get out your true desires.

Now that you are in the right frame of mind, start writing. Number a paper 1 – 100 and fill it up. All of it. Even if it takes you a week. Fill it up. It’s not as easy as you might think. Come back to it as many times as you need. Look at other lists online for ideas. Dream not just big, but enormous. Want to act in a movie? Put it down. Want to meet someone famous? Put it down. Want to live overseas? Put it down. Share it with a close friend to see what you share in common. Yes, it’s personal. It’s supposed to be personal, this is YOUR life. Add in those little moments you want to capture that may not seem big, but they are to your heart.

I did this at the beginning of this year and the year has not only been super successful for me, it’s been incredibly fun too!

Here are the items I get to tick off as done, or currently in process:

  1. Zipline in Haiti over the ocean
  2. Go on a cruise with my boys
  3. Make Grandma’s homemade cream-puffs as a surprise for my Dad.
  4. Make meditation a consistent practice in my life.
  5. Attend a poetry reading.
  6. Attend Iowa Writer’s Workshop
  7. Surprise a friend with flowers.
  8. Unplug from technology fully for one week.
  9. Go on a girls only vacation.
  10. Find a new volunteer avenue.
  11. Relaunch my blog.
  12. Do a really BIG anonymous act of kindness.
  13. Read the bible cover to cover. (I am right on time with my One Year Bible so far.)
  14. Join a writing group.
  15. Teach business skills to at risk women.

Notice some are big and some are small. The beauty of the list is nothing is too small. This is your life. What do you want it to look like? The only way to live intentionally is to first set the intention. This is also a great place to go back to if you need a feel good kind of day. Pick something small off the list and treat yourself to the experience or accomplishment. Isn’t that a ton more fun than setting a New Year’s Resolution to “Lose 10 pounds….again?” How many times do you really want to beat yourself up over that one?

I’ve had a great time revisiting the list and it is such an encouraging process because everything about it is positive. So I knocked 15 things off my list and I have 85 left. Do I feel bad at what I didn’t accomplish? No! I feel joyous and positive at all that we can experience here. Plus if I did 15 things in one year and I have 85 left that only takes me through another 6 years. I better add to the list since I am hopeful for another 40-some years! This is a living, breathing, changing document that grows with you as you design your life, grow and then redesign your life. The entire process focuses on only the positive. With 100 things on your list you’re bound to have several successes. This approach also increases your feelings of the big-G – Gratitude. How can you not feel thankful just to be alive and have all these opportunities to design your own unique life?

We still have four months left of this year. Why wait for January? I encourage you to give it a try and when January rolls around you won’t even think about joining the resolution setters. This is way more FUN!

I’d love to hear if you’ve tried this and how it worked for you.