What’s on Your Bucket List? (Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Start on It)

This month is NaNoWriMo month. I know, it sounds like a foreign exchange students’ reunion. Most people have no idea what it is. I didn’t either until 3 weeks ago. NaNoWriMo is the acronym for National Novel Writing Month and the event takes place during the month of November.

It can best be explained as a phenomenon of temporary insanity that strikes a writer when they decide to take on the NaNoWriMo challenge of writing the first draft of an entire novel (minimal 50,000 words) during November. (Want to join the craziness next year? Visit the NaNoWriMo website here.)

Yes, you read that right – 30 days, an entire novel. Ridiculous, right? Right!

But I plan to do it in November 2019. “Why torture yourself during the Thanksgiving holidays and a month before Christmas?”, you may wonder.It’s a Bucket List Thing

Writing a novel is on my bucket list (list of things you want to do before you die) and has been for years. And, to be honest, I’m not getting any younger.

I pulled out my bucket list recently and reworked a few things because, let’s face it, priorities change. Since I turn 50 this year (can’t deny it forever, ladies), I had to question whether having a bucket list at my age is even realistic anymore. I mean, am I going to be around long enough to finish some of this stuff?

One dream on my list is to go whitewater rafting. I’m talking about class 5 – scary level. But it would be such a downer to the other boat passengers if I had a stroke in the middle of it and ruined their whole vacation and gave them nightmares for months. Where do I draw the line and admit, “Better get this bucket list wrapped up before I actually kick the bucket?” (Ok, so I’ve been known to be a bit dramatic…)A Gift to Myself

So, I’m going to write a book. I’m not going into this believing that I will be the next Jane Austen or Agatha Christie. I’ve already read the admonitions from successful writers that your first book will probably be a flop and something you’ll read again later and want to hide under your mattress. I’m OK with that. My goal isn’t to impress anyone or to be included on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Writing a book will be a gift to ME for following a lifetime dream. I may even put a pretty bow on the finished product, give myself a “fist bump”, and sign my own book copy! In fact, I may cross out the remaining items on my bucket list because everything else will seem boring after that. Finally writing my book will be my grand performance on the stage of my life.What’s on YOUR Bucket List?

Do you have a bucket list? Not everyone writes it out on fancy paper and frames it on their wall. It might be tucked deep in your heart – dreams and ambitions that lay dormant because you haven’t taken the time to pursue them.

There will be some things you will never accomplish as I wrote about in my blog post, “Not All Dreams Come True (and that’s OK).” That’s no excuse to wander aimlessly through life, floating in the abyss between paydays and lazy weekends. (Spoiler alert: You aren’t getting any younger either…)

Don’t have a clue what to put on your bucket list? Here’s a few ideas to get you started:

• Go see the Northern Lights
• Fly in a hot air balloon
• Try tandem skydiving
• Run in a marathon
• Learn a new sport like skiing or archery
• Finish your college degree
• Learn to play a musical instrument like the piano or guitar
• See a New York musical or play (or both!)
• Learn a foreign language
• Go on a road trip with a friend
• Spend Christmas in a cabin in the mountains
• Write a book! 🙂

Obviously, you have to be realistic. Extreme cliff jumping at South Point Cliffs, Hawaii (you also have to watch for sharks when you jump) may be pushing it a bit – but, hey, you never know.Don’t be like me and wait 30 years to pursue a dream. I’ve come to terms with the idea that I may have to lower my expectations for whitewater rafting to a class 3 level instead of a death-defying class 5, but writing a book shouldn’t kill me. I think…

Go start that bucket list!