One recent rainy afternoon, my business partner and I were chatting about diaries in the office. Ours is a busy business, and while this is great news in many respects, it means that we tend not to have a great deal of free time. So, as we were shoehorning yet another event into our packed diaries, it occurred to both of us that we might be going about things the wrong way. We both enjoy road trips, but while our diaries contain lots of meetings, speaking events, training seminars and business journeys, you won’t spot many road trips. It dawned on us that this was a bit of a problem.
As the author of a book about time management, my family take great pleasure in pointing out when I fail to walk my talk. And here was a case in point! We realised it was time to clear some time and give our respective bucket lists priority.
For me, it was completing the iconic ‘North Coast 500’, a 500-mile road trip around Scotland’s incredible coastline. It had been on my bucket list for years, and it did not disappoint; why had I not done this sooner?
Wows
Everyone’s bucket list is unique, with different Wow! highlights. And we all have different reasons for not having ticked off our Wows. Apart from being “too busy”, Wows tend to be expensive, and they usually involve a lot of travelling. Perhaps you want to experience the Northern Lights in Iceland, or you want to take in spectacular Canadian scenery on one of the world’s great train journeys aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, or you want to (really) get away from it all in Australia’s Southern Grampians. Can we justify the costs – financial and environmental?
Let’s take a look at a more modest Wow. Imagine you’re in your local coffee shop and you spy a tempting maple pecan Danish. Reasonable arguments for NOT indulging may be your expanding waistline, ruining your appetite, or clogging your arteries. But you really want that treat. So, you buy it, consume it, and it marks a happiness high point in your day, even though it went against all that good reasoning. Were there some pretty sound reasons not to do it? Yes. But you did it anyway because you enjoyed it, and it made you feel better. It was one of the day’s high points.
Happiness pockets
This is an example of what I call a ‘happiness pocket’, and your days will be full of them. Little pockets of happiness that make each day bearable. It could be a snack, a chat with a friend, a glass of Rioja, a meal out or a takeaway, or a trip to the cinema or the local pub. You won’t recall them individually in years to come, but they’re essential for making your day-to-day life enjoyable. These happiness pockets also happen every year as well as daily. Holidays, family parties, and luxury purchases all serve to make the year bearable, and not only do they give us something to look forward to they’re also something to remember.
Meanwhile, back at the big Wows on your bucket list, assuming room can be made in your diary and the funds are available, your thoughts may return to unjustifiable environmental costs as an excuse for leaving a dream trip unticked. But expand your thinking, and research (Google is your friend). For example, Iceland’s capital Reykjavik is one of the world’s top eco-friendly cities, the Rocky Mountaineer has won awards for sustainability, and you can book eco-treehouses in Australia’s Southern Grampians. And your flights? These can be offset, often through the airline for an extra fee. You can always find a way to chip away at the excuses for not experiencing that dream trip.
Life’s too short
Bucket lists don’t always involve travel, and we don’t always make an actual written list, but if asked to, everyone could come up with their own. Perhaps not putting pen to paper (or fingertip to keyboard) is a key factor in so many of us not chasing dreams. Imagine sitting in the garden in your dotage, looking back on your life, regretting not ticking off more items on your bucket list. If you only settle for a cheeky Danish now and again, you’re selling yourself short. Instead, I would urge you to write your bucket list and make sure you have something from that list on your agenda for EVERY year of your life and do whatever is necessary to make it happen. It can be big, or it can be small, expensive or cheap. Will you always be able to justify it financially? No. Luckily, some items on the bucket list can be very inexpensive, but to be blunt, you won’t be able to spend your cash where you’re going next.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ian Child is a former corporate leader, co-founder of the leading property development training company propertyCEO and the author of ‘Your Own Personal Time Machine, a guide to getting your life back’. www.propertyceo.co.uk