First let me tell you something about the bucket list in general. I think everybody should have a bucket list. Besides that it’s fun, it’s also good to strive for things and get excited about doing new things in life. And it doesn’t have to be all big or expensive things. It can be smaller things, or things like getting a dog, volunteering somewhere, getting a tattoo, acquiring that job you really want or going to a certain city you really want to see.

Setting up your bucket list

You can just write down anything you want. No one has to know about it, it’s just for yourself, like a wishlist for life. It can really be fun and it’s especially cool when you get to check something of your list once you’ve done it, bought it or achieved it.

A bucket list isn’t just for things that you think will be possible. Because you never know. Maybe you’ll win the lottery and you’ll be able to buy that expensive trip to the Maldives and stay in a water villa. So when making your bucket list, just write down all the things you really want to experience, own or see. Things that would make you happy.

Personally, I don’t have a lot of wishes on my bucket list with regards to owning/buying things. For example, I don’t have a specific need for a private airplane. Or a yacht. Sure, if I win a billion dollars, I could buy a yacht. But it’s not something that would specifically make me happy. So I don’t write things like that on my bucket list.

I have things on my bucket list like swimming with sharks, going to the Maldives, see a musical on Broadway, snorkeling at Great Barrier Reef, making a road trip through the United States, getting a tattoo and making a certain promotion at work.

When you become physically challenged

I have a chronic pain disease called fibromyalgia. Which basically means I have pain throughout my whole body. And it limits me in daily life as to what I can do. Unfortunately this also means I can’t do all the things I used to before while I traveled. Like jeep safaris through rough terrain, long hours of hiking through woods and mountains. And I can go on and on.

Because of this, a couple of things I used to have on my bucket list, just aren’t realistic anymore. When you just got diagnosed with a chronic pain or fatigue disorder, this can be hard to accept. And even for me, with 20 years of experience with fibromyalgie, it can still be hard to accept that every year there are more and more things I can’t do anymore. This also means the bucket list I once set up, is no longer realistic.

Deleting things from your bucket list

Over the last couple of years my physical limitations have grown. And when I think about deleting things from my bucket list, I only want to delete things that aren’t physically possible anymore. Not just because I want a bucket list of things that could actually happen, but also not to keep being reminded of the things I can’t do anymore, which I once really wanted. Because that can be depressing.

Keep adding things to your bucket list

Besides deleting things from your bucket list, I also recommend to keep adding things to your list! Over the years you’ll grow. As a person and how you stand in life. Your personal life may change, with regards to relationship, kids or where you live. Your professional life may be totally different than when you first wrote your bucket list. And most important, your desires or what you really find important in life or worth having, may have changed.

One thing I had on my bucket list was owning a house with a sunny backyard. My previous house was a big apartment, which I really loved. But it didn’t have a garden. And I really missed being able to sit in the sun on nice sunny days. Last year I could check that one off. Because we bought a house with a yard, which has sun all day long. I was so happy! At the same time, our new house came with a new thing to add to my bucket list, which is having a beautiful new bathroom.

Your desires and what you find important in life changes

I keep a bullet journal, which also contains my bucket list. Every year I review my bucket list, check things off and add some new things I want to accomplish in life. And countries / places I would love to see.
Besides the fact that it can be fun to keep a bucket list, it’s also a good time to think about things you really find important in life. What you really want to achieve, acquire or do. Over the years this will change, so I can recommend to keep updating and changing your bucket list annually.