What's on Your Bucket List?

​What is a bucket list and how do you make one for yourself? Explore these bucket list ideas to create your bucket list.

​A bucket list is a list of experiences one wants to have before they die. Often, a bucket list includes big accomplishments, travel, and fun things we’d like to experience in our lives. Given that engaging in positive activities is good for our well-being (Catalino, Algoe, & Fredrickson, 2014), checking off things on our bucket list may also be good for our well-being. Simple pleasures may be especially beneficial to our well-being since contentment is thought to be central to what it means to live a fulfilling life (​​Cordaro, Brackett, Glass, & Anderson, 2016).
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So, let’s get started exploring ideas so you can create your own bucket list.

Bucket List Ideas

​Here are some common things​ that might go on a bucket list:

1. Go to college
2. Fall in love
3. Get married
4. Find a job you enjoy
5. Have kids
6. Buy a house
7. Become a grandparent
8. Retire

For many people, travel is a big part of their bucket list. So here are some ideas that might involve travel.

1. Swim with jellyfish
2. Go on a cruise
3. Stay at a bed and breakfast
4. Go on safari
5. Hike in a rainforest
6. See penguins in their natural habitat
7. Go to an aquarium
8. Attend a luau
9. Stay in a resort hotel
10. Stay in an underwater hotel
11. Stay in an ice hotel
12. Travel in a train
13. See all 7 continents
14. Go wine tasting at a vineyard
15. Visit a butterfly sanctuary
16. Take a hot air balloon ride
17. Live in a foreign country
18. Visit all 50 US states
19. Walk on a glacier
20. Sit in a hot spring
21. See the northern lights
22. See redwood trees
23. Go snorkeling
24. Swim with the dolphins
25. Learn how to hula

Is travel not really your jam? Here are some more fun bucket list ideas:

1. Run a marathon
2. Finish reading a classic novel
3. Set a Guinness world record
4. Go sky diving
5. Go bungee jumping
6. Go parasailing
7. Ride a motorcycle
8. Learn how to skateboard​
9. Learn a different language
10. Be in a parade
11. Ride a mechanical bull
12. Go skinny dipping
13. See your favorite band in concert
14. Go kayaking
15. Learn some magic tricks

In addition to doing fun things, we may also have some career-related things we want to put on our bucket list. Maybe we want to climb the ranks in our job or make a certain amount of money. Here are some more ideas:

1. Become an expert in your field
2. Mentor someone
3. Master a new work-related skill
4. Speak at a conference or event
5. Start a business
6. Lead a major project
7. Write a book
8. Teach a workshop
9. Take a job in another country
10. Become a philanthropist
11. Go back to school for your Master’s or PhD
12. Become a millionaire
13. Achieve financial independence
14. Retire early

Finally, here are a few more unique things you might want to add to your bucket list:

1. Support a cause that’s important to you
2. Paint a painting
3. Go green
4. Host a natural disaster refugee
5. Ride in a limo
6. Go vegan for one month
7. Try acupuncture
8. Conquer a lifelong fear
9. Dye your hair a crazy color
10. Get a tattoo
11. Get a six-pack
12. Become a black belt in karate
13. Reach your goal weight
14. Knit a sweater
15. Learn how to snowboard
16. Learn how to ski
17. Learn how to surf
18. Learn how to code
19. Learn how to play an instrument
20. Learn how to drive a stick shift
21. Go on a blind date
22. Be on TV
23. Eat at a Michelin star restaurant
24. Build your dream home

Final Thoughts on Bucket Lists

Making a bucket list is a fun way to clarify which activities and experiences you think will bring you joy and life satisfaction. As long as you don’t get too caught up in feeling like you have to do them all, this list can help serve as a road map for creating a life you love.

References

• Catalino, L. I., Algoe, S. B., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2014). Prioritizing positivity: An effective approach to pursuing happiness?. Emotion, 14(6), 1155.
• Cordaro, D. T., Brackett, M., Glass, L., & Anderson, C. L. (2016). Contentment: Perceived completeness across cultures and traditions. Review of General Psychology, 20(3), 221-235.