The Anti-Bucket List
I recently discovered David Goggins (and by recently, I mean at 1 am as I was trying to think of things to write for this post). He is a Navy SEAL and an ultra athlete and if you’ve never heard of him you should really check him out.
His mentality of purposefully doing things that induce pain inspired me to create what I’m calling my anti-bucket list. Let me explain a little more fully what I mean by this….
Lot’s of people understand the power of putting your goals out into the world publicly, to create accountability and give yourself a sense of pressure. That’s why Thomas Frank from College Info Geek publishes his Impossible List on his website and T.K. Coleman from Praxis publishes daily reading notes. That’s why I made this website. If everyone is watching, you’re more likely to follow through. But, these bucket lists usually consist of things that people want to do, that are inspiring and cool. Travel to Europe, write a book, go skydiving, you get the idea. You might even have one yourself.
But what if we flipped this idea on its head? What if we made a list of things that make us extremely uncomfortable, things we hated or absolutely did not want to do and focused on checking things off on that list?
It’s only by doing hard things that honestly suck that we can see improvement and build character.
So, here’s my anti-bucket list.
Hi there! I realize this post is about a year old, but I just wanted to pop in and let you know that I actually have a blog built around this very concept (anti-bucketlist.com). About five years ago, I too came to the realization that I had fears and dislikes and a) and I could continue to ignore them, or b) do something about them. I chose b) and my blog is now a mix of tracking my own journey and helping others to face their fears and live courageously. If’ you’d like to check it out, I’d love to get your input, since you’ve given this a lot of thought already and have been doing this for a year.
Hi Rachael! Thanks so much for your comment. I checked out your blog and I love it. I’d be curious to see your full list and looking forward to reading more about your journey. 🙂
Thank you very much, Kiren! I appreciate the feedback. I’d be glad to send you my anti-bucket list. What’s the best way to contact you with it?
You can reach me at kirenruth@gmail.com. I look forward to reading it soon!
Hi Kiren, just saw your comment tonight; my apologies for that! I did send you an email just now though with the list. Enjoy it for what it’s worth! 🙂 Have a great evening!