Bucket lists tend to have a travel element (or in some cases, are almost entirely travel oriented. We guess that’s because people who like to set themselves goals are the kind of people who enjoy exploring the world.
While it’s a useful exercise for determining the places you want to see and the activities you want to do, there is one glaring problem with bucket lists.
The danger of writing down your hopes and dreams is that those things will remain just that – hopes and dreams. Bucket lists become an excuse to wait … to procrastinate. They invite the mentality, “I’ll go there … do that … sometime in the future”.
Travellers may be better off following the One Place philosophy. On his blog The Art of Non-Conformity, entrepreneur, life-hacker and passionate traveller Chris Guillebeau challenges readers to think of the one place in the world they’d like to visit.
There are only two rules. You have to pick one place, and it has to be somewhere you haven’t been yet.
The idea is to have focus; i.e. pick one place, set a deadline, then form a plan to make visiting the destination by that time a reality.
Guillebeau points out that even the most challenging destinations on earth are realistically reachable for less than £1,700.
If you set a two-year deadline, and your budget is £1,700, that means you’d need to save £71 a month. For alcohol drinkers, that works out as around two less nights out a month.
Guillebeau says taking the “first single action” is key to the plan. He says: “You don’t need to buy a ticket or anything else.
“Just go to the bookstore and check out the travel section. Read the travel guide for your place in the café.
“If you prefer, look for books about your one place at the library, or ask someone who has been there to tell you about it.”
The sheer size and grandeur of a bucket list can be overwhelming. By taking things one step at a time you’re more likely to achieve your goal(s).
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Featured image: Chi King)
