The Life List

The life list. 

Most of you know it as the Bucket List; that infamous list of all the things you want to accomplish before you die. I have one friend who has done a good job of crossing these off her list as she moves on to the next one. I'm some what envious, because for some reason even just coming up with the list is hard for me. 

Chris Guillebeau in The Happiness of Pursuit encourages making what he calls a life list. His goal is that when he comes to the end of his life he can look back with few regrets about the things he did or did not do. He includes being specific, dreaming big, and not limiting your possibilities. 

I am truly motivated anytime I read authors like Guillebeau, but don't find myself rushing to make my list. However, this time I think I have discovered what might be holding me back. In considering your goals there should be a deadline and a next step. For me the next step is always the hard part. Where should I start? 

Guillebeau states, "All you need is one next step. Don't worry about thinking the whole thing through yet." Being the planner by nature I have the tendency to want to see the whole picture before beginning. It's kind of like bring handed one piece of a thousand piece puzzle, and being told to get started. Yes, the first piece is important, but what should I do next?

I think what Gillebeau is encouraging is that once you take the first step towards something, the next step seems to come along. And even if that step is wrong, just like the puzzle piece you can try another. The list is the big picture, the completed puzzle, and definitely what you are striving for, but it's a matter of trying the other pieces along the way to see how they fit. 

Including the next step seems to be the missing piece to my life list. For those skeptics Guillebeau states, "If nothing else, it's a great starting point to becoming intentional with your life."