We live life with churning fears: It could be public speaking, not being good enough, or never finding love.
To ensure we live life to the fullest, people typically make bucket lists of things they’ve always wanted to accomplish.
Often, it’s when they’ve had a jarring experience when they nudged death’s door.
We should also make anti-bucket lists of things that scare or terrify us–like asking out a girl who extremely interesting and totally out of your league.
Here’s a standard anti-bucket list:
Public speaking
Taking on a second job
Writing a book
Going skydiving
Moving to a new city where you know no one
Of course, research risks first.
But after that, go and do it. Life is too short to hold regrets on our deathbed.
Resiliency is a trait that may predict future success more than intelligence or connections.
That’s because the possibility of pleasure outweighs pain, and most things seem frightening only until we’ve accomplished them.
It’s similar to lifting weights in the gym. The weight is heavier in your head because you’ve already admitted defeat.
And the heaviest weight in the gym is the door. Once you’re inside, everything is easier.
The hardest part of climbing a mountain is the base. If you focus on each step and a strategy to reach the peak, it’s more satisfying than only imagining the top.
People envision making over $60,000 or owning a larger home by a certain date.
Focusing on process over goal illuminates your control, which is a larger factor in life happiness than your salary.
Facing your fears and accomplishing either bucket or anti-bucket lists is easier said than done.
We always think we’ll have more time in the future to accomplish goals, although the future is almost always more complicated– with kids, a mortgage, and a heavier workload.
My list includes skydiving and writing/publishing a book. I should have both done by a year from today, by Sept. 2021.
Face your fears, because they’re rarely as bad as you imagine them to be.