Are you ready to start Living Your FulList?! If you are, let’s get you started with creating your FulList. Before you start, you’re gonna need to gather the proper materials: you’ll need some scotch tape, a dandelion, three oval rocks, a hair from a horse, and some pixie dust. I’m just kidding… that’s for the portal spell. Kidding, kidding! Really, you just something to write on and something to write with. (We’ll have some little notebooks for sale soon that you’ll be able to keep your list in.)
Alright, once you have your devices to keep track of your list, it’s time to decide what you actually want to put on your list. Now, you could Google search “top bucket list ideas” and it’ll give you lists of thousands of different items you could add to your list. I found a major flaw in this though, just like I find the name “bucket list” subpar. The ideas Google spit out at me were ideas other people had come up with for things they thought would be cool to do sometime before they kick the bucket. In other words, majority of the things on there were things either A. I had already done, or B. I didn’t ever care to do. Sure, I could also list out 1000 or more things that you could add to your list, but if you’re anything like me, you’d find yourself scrolling uninterested past huge clumps of list items until maybe finding a few that resonate with you. I have My FulList here for you to see if you want a list of things that might spark a thought or two for you, but I think majority of your list should be things that you come up with on your own.
Most of your list can be created by going through the activities that you enjoy doing and trying to come up with variations on them. For instance, I enjoy travel. I didn’t want to just sit there and list a bunch of countries that I wanted to travel to though because like a bucket list, that would be vague and uninspiring. Most of the countries I would put I wouldn’t even know what they had to offer. So instead I opted to list specific things that I wanted to see in specific countries. Rather than “Travel to China,” my list says “Eat Dim Sum in China.” Research the places you want to travel to and find things about those places that excite you. Try to create your list as if the items were goals. And the best way to make sure your goals will get completed? Make them SMART Goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Now, I haven’t put a time limit on any of my list items, but that’s because I am trying to cross them off as often as possible. I do however try to make them specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic. In my opinion, anything can be achieved if you work hard enough for it, so don’t be afraid to put some big goals on there even if you know it might take a while until you can cross it off.
Another thing I enjoy? Creating things. So I sat and thought about things that I would want to create sometime. “Paint a Scene to Hang in my Room.” Or “Make a Candle.” I also enjoy learning new things: “Be Proficient at Archery.” Make the list your own by thinking about things you enjoy doing and then coming up with things you’ve never done within those categories. Don’t worry if it takes a while for you to think of things to add to your FulList. Keep it on hand and jot down things you think of as you go about your day. After a while, you’ll realize you’re observing more and more things that you want to do or see or taste. You’ll find that travel ads will prompt you to list a new place that you’ve never heard of. Someone’s Instagram post will make you remember a food you’ve always wanted to try. If you keep an open mind, life will present you with new things you’ll want to add to your FulList.
Another great way to come up with some items is to make a FulList with friends. You’ll start to bounce ideas off of each other and maybe some of your items will overlap and you’ll plan a fun activity or trip together to cross off those items. Sharing your list can be a motivator to Live Your FulList as well. It’s exciting to share accomplishments with friends and family and you could be an inspiration for them to start as well. And if your family and friends aren’t excited for you, we certainly will be! Share your accomplishments with us by tagging us on Instagram: @liveyourfullist and you might even get featured!
One more idea to help you come up with some items for your list is to think about how you could help others. Although your FulList is often about finding ways to make yourself happy, it does not all have to be selfish. There are so many ways that we can help others while Living Our FulLists: pay for someone in line behind you, lend a helping hand to stranger, or volunteer at a shelter. These are just a few ideas to help you come up with some selfless acts of kindness that you can add to your FulLists. Usually helping someone else out will make you feel good too, so everybody wins!
Ready, set, go! Hopefully this will give you a good start with creating your FulList. Your list should always be growing and evolving as you go through your life, so don’t worry if you can’t come up with a huge list right away. The most important thing is that you start to think about the things you want to do in your life and that you start crossing some of those things off your FulList. So, get out there and start living!
LIVE YOUR FULLIST 