We're all about setting realistic goals
Here's the thing: your bucket list doesn't need to impress anyone else but you.
Sure, the idea of swimming with dolphins, climbing Everest, learning Mandarin, skydiving and playing a symphony on the bassoon is fantastic. But this year we want to make a to-do list that's doable - one that won't leave us feeling like we've fallen short in twelve months time.
Start small (bigger isn't necessarily better). The New Year sentiment that's all about cheerleading improvement can be applied to the littlest things too, and it doesn't preclude ambition - it just requires rethinking how you measure achievement.
Behold! The Sense-Of-Achievement-Guaranteed Bucket List:
Stop worrying that you aren’t bilingual and can’t play the piano. Find a hobby that excites you and is entirely your own. Consider cheese tasting, tattoo collecting, tree climbing and cloud watching.
Make something with your hands every time the seasons change - a bookcase, a jumper, a bowl, a three course meal (from scratch).
Get a new piercing. Feel 15.
Make a don't-do list. Write down all the things you wasted time on in 2015 and vow never to repeat.
Write more letters: thank you notes, greetings cards - any pen and paper correspondence. In fact, write 365 letters to yourself (keep a diary).
Print out all the photos on your smartphone, so they don’t get wiped or lost in a cyber hole and leave you full of regret.
Eat all the food you buy at the supermarket. All of it (not all at once, just before it grows mould). Basically, be less wasteful.
Keep plants alive, perhaps even some plants that can bear fruit or vegetables.
Put down your ipad and buy a newspaper (at least once a week).
Forget far-flung locations, get to know the country you live in.
Sleep in a treehouse, or a cabin made of wood. A garden shed counts.
Wear a snake like a necklace, or a tarantula like a hand ornament. Essentially, get acquainted with something that terrifies you. You could also get to know a fear-inducing philosophy or a scientific concept, if you're feeling cerebral.
Remember: marathon runners are awe-inspiring but that doesn't mean you should become one.Start walking part or all of the way to work everyday instead.
Learn more about your personal history. Quiz your family while you still can.
Vote. Always.
Travel solo. Take yourself on a mini-break and learn to love your own company.
Crash a party. You are never too old.
Make a new friend. It’s never too late.
Make a YouTube video. Potentially become the good kind of viral sensation.
Pay for dinner. Just because you think they're so cool.
Be a better host.
Give more compliments. And get better at receiving them.
Grow out your armpit hair, and remember that no part of your body is disgusting.
Spend 24 hours naked.
Sleep under the stars. Lying down outside, away from light pollution is TOTALLY DOABLE.
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