Got word this week that the parkour gym in Baltimore is closing. While I am rather saddened by this, I'm choosing to focus on the fact that I got to study parkour for a year and a half, and that there are opportunities to continue doing so, if I choose to take them up. Having decided on that point of view, however, I started thinking about all the things I've gotten to do in life. You frequently hear about bucket lists - things that people want to see and do before they die - and google is full of "best ideas to add to your bucket list" pages. I get stuck, though, on the concept of having a list of things you want to do - or think you want to do - or think you should want to do - just lying around waiting for you to pay attention to it.
I don't have a bucket list (surprise, considering the title of this post). Don't get me wrong, there are probably things I want to do before I die, but instead of making a list based on things I want now, which, let's face it, is apt to change as life progresses, I prefer to live life in such a way that when opportunity or interest hits me, I can go and do it. My father has a story he's fond of telling about a person who would"someday" go on that bucket list trip to Europe. Things kept never being quite right, and they died having never gone on a simple trip. Don't wait for "someday," he says, make it happen.
And that message stuck. Ten years ago, if you asked me if I wanted to train parkour, I probably would have shrugged and said I'd rather be in a top ranked raiding guild in World of Warcraft. At the time, that's what interested me, so I was working toward it. During that period, parachuting piqued my interest, so I went and did it (once was fine, thank you). When my interest in gaming waned, I looked around and found an awesome Irish dance group. When that ended, I discovered bodyweight training. A random comment led me to parkour, which I have loved doing for the past year and a half. Now that that's ending, I'm looking around to see what's next.
I'm not saying a bucket list is a bad idea, but it's all too easy to make putting things on the bucket list the last thing you do about it. "It's on my bucket list, I'll get to it someday." We all know how someday happens, unfortunately. If it's a simple item, like "have a conversation with a random stranger in a coffee shop (yes, I perused some of google's sample bucket lists), just go do it. By the time someone comes up with the idea, digs out their bucket list, and writes that down, they could have just gone and done it. If it's a harder or long-term item, like visit x country, or climb a certain mountain, break it into steps and start. Plan the trip, buy tickets, save $x per paycheck so you can do it by y date. Take climbing classes (you never know what that might set off, meeting strangers and exposing yourself to new points of view), climb local areas, talk to people who've done what you're after and ask for tips. Instead of being an ideal on a list, you're living life in such a way that will deliver you to that point where you are doing what you want.
And as a bonus, you get to have a pretty interesting life while prepping for it. Overall, not a bad contingency plan.
I don't have a bucket list (surprise, considering the title of this post). Don't get me wrong, there are probably things I want to do before I die, but instead of making a list based on things I want now, which, let's face it, is apt to change as life progresses, I prefer to live life in such a way that when opportunity or interest hits me, I can go and do it. My father has a story he's fond of telling about a person who would"someday" go on that bucket list trip to Europe. Things kept never being quite right, and they died having never gone on a simple trip. Don't wait for "someday," he says, make it happen.
And that message stuck. Ten years ago, if you asked me if I wanted to train parkour, I probably would have shrugged and said I'd rather be in a top ranked raiding guild in World of Warcraft. At the time, that's what interested me, so I was working toward it. During that period, parachuting piqued my interest, so I went and did it (once was fine, thank you). When my interest in gaming waned, I looked around and found an awesome Irish dance group. When that ended, I discovered bodyweight training. A random comment led me to parkour, which I have loved doing for the past year and a half. Now that that's ending, I'm looking around to see what's next.
I'm not saying a bucket list is a bad idea, but it's all too easy to make putting things on the bucket list the last thing you do about it. "It's on my bucket list, I'll get to it someday." We all know how someday happens, unfortunately. If it's a simple item, like "have a conversation with a random stranger in a coffee shop (yes, I perused some of google's sample bucket lists), just go do it. By the time someone comes up with the idea, digs out their bucket list, and writes that down, they could have just gone and done it. If it's a harder or long-term item, like visit x country, or climb a certain mountain, break it into steps and start. Plan the trip, buy tickets, save $x per paycheck so you can do it by y date. Take climbing classes (you never know what that might set off, meeting strangers and exposing yourself to new points of view), climb local areas, talk to people who've done what you're after and ask for tips. Instead of being an ideal on a list, you're living life in such a way that will deliver you to that point where you are doing what you want.
And as a bonus, you get to have a pretty interesting life while prepping for it. Overall, not a bad contingency plan.
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