Life's not like the movies

We have all seen the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. If you haven’t seen it, the plot is pretty straight forward; two complete strangers meet in a hospital room where they both learn they only have a small amount of time left on their lives. They decide to make a pact and both complete their bucket lists before time runs out. This movie is a tragically beautiful concept of how two people go out on an adventure and don’t give up on the lives they’ve always wanted to live. But the question remains, why did they wait? They had their whole lives to achieve their goals but instead they wait until the last possible moment to go after their dreams instead of seizing the moment long ago.

While this movie has a great message, it isn’t realistic that everyone will know how much time they have left to live out their dreams which is why it’s so important to go for it now without making excuses.

Time is your most precious resource

Being present is a great way to start understanding how precious our time is. It is also a really hard concept to grasp because of how busy we make our own lives. If you’re having trouble accomplishing your goals, practice being present in a moment to give yourself more of a handle on how important your own goals are.

• Write a note and mail it to someone: The process of writing down something allows you to fully be aware of what you’re doing in that moment without distraction. An even better thing to do would be to write down your bucket list to not only be fully aware of your life goals but also as a great reminder and guide to your life journey.
• Pay attention to your breathing for two full minutes: Becoming aware of your own breath is one of the best ways to realize how alive you really are and what a precious and miraculous thing that is.
• Close your eyes and imagine your own paradise: Odds are this paradise of yours is probably straight off of your bucket list and imagining yourself there will automatically generate a flood of motivation to actually make it to that place.
• Tell yourself what you love about you: Being aware of how amazing you are is a subconscious way of supporting yourself in everything, including your life goals.
• Remind yourself of your own goals before bed: Before you shut your eyes for the day remind yourself of what you really want to accomplish. If you accomplish one item off of your bucket list everyday it gives you motivation to complete another goal the next day.

Once you take on the task of being present, achieving your life goals are next in line.

Waiting for a notice from the grim reaper? Time to step up...

Carpe diem is defined as an urgency to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future, or more simply to enjoy the moment. This is a term most people wish to follow but because of the demands of everyday life, they unfortunately don’t. Here are a few ways to implement this popular saying into your everyday routine.

• Live your life with purpose: Don’t mundanely live life through routine, but begin to live your life with focus. There is no way of getting around certain tasks like work but it’s important to not live your life just around those tasks. Instead of only having one larger scale bucket list, make daily smaller scale bucket lists and accomplish them in addition to your daily responsibilities.
• Stop making excuses: There will always be a reason to not go after your dream. Sometimes we dream so big it almost seems impossible to accomplish it, but if you put your mind to something, anything is possible. Take the time to realize that you and only you are responsible for your own life and you are the only one who can truly make your dreams come true.
• Don’t compare yourself to others: The more you compare your life to another the less likely it is you will live the life you want. It will cause you to feel down about yourself and in turn dissolve any motivation you once had to complete your life goals. Everyone is different and no one will ever live the exact same life so there is no reason to compare yourself to another. Instead of comparing, use someone you admire as encouragement that you can also live a life of purpose and excitement; if they can do it, you can do it.
• Believe in yourself: In relation to the advice above, it’s important to believe in yourself and to give yourself support. You have to believe that you’re worth your own dreams in order to achieve them. Remind yourself everyday that you are enough and that you can achieve your life goals and cross things those dreams off of your bucket list.
• Take Action: Now that you know you can do it, it’s time to do it! Don’t put it off for tomorrow because there may not be a tomorrow. Today is the tomorrow you planned for yesterday so start acting on those dreams now before it’s too late to accomplish them.

Your life isn’t like the movie The Bucket List. There isn’t always enough time to suddenly realize how important it is to accomplish your dreams. Tomorrow is never guaranteed and unlike the movies there might not be enough time for “one last spin.” Don’t save your bucket list right before you know you’ll be leaving this Earth for good because it’s more than possible that you won’t ever know when that time is. It’s rare to get a notice from the grim reaper that your time is coming soon so you have a certain amount of time to get done what you’ve always wanted. Be present and start taking action on your dreams because it is possible to accomplish them, but it is impossible if you never start trying.

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