Out With the Bucket List, In With the Chuck-It List

What’s on your bucket list? It’s a line most of us are all too familiar with, since it was popularised by Justin Zackham in the 2007 movie The Bucket List. At the time it was a novel idea, prompting many to pen their own lists — even if only in their heads. More than a decade on, the question hasn’t gone out of style: what do I want to do before I die? Lots of people are devoted bucket-listers. They write ambitious lists: Ride a camel around the Egyptian pyramids, leap out of a plane (with a parachute attached) learn a new language, swim with dolphins, get a tattoo. Obviously the lists are individual. What’s common is that most, if not all, the items can be filed under “experiences I haven’t had before”. Things that make my life Bigger, Fuller, More Interesting. So far, so good. But a client recently reminded me of the folly of this approach. In his mid-fifties, and about half-way through his bucket list, he’d become disillusioned. “I’ve realised I’m never going to tick off all the things on my list. Whichever way you look at it, and no how much I do, I’m going to come up short. “Is that the feeling I want to create? <h1>Enter the chuck-it list</h1> Turns out, he’d read Valerie Tiberius’ NYT piece <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/28/bucket-list-life-goals-let-go/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjk0MTQ1NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjk1NTI3OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2OTQxNDU2MDAsImp0aSI6IjE2NzhlNmVjLTM3Y2EtNDJkNS04YTA1LWI2MTI5Yjk3NDE4MyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9vcGluaW9ucy8yMDIzLzA4LzI4L2J1Y2tldC1saXN0LWxpZmUtZ29hbHMtbGV0LWdvLyJ9.Zvq2MCbEISnfQjK1QFk1czd-x_cKP32wpclFGdskYGc&ck_subscriber_id=2123428119&utm_campaign=Get+Up%2C+Stand+Up+-+11719832&utm_medium=email&utm_source=convertkit" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Why You Should Swap Your Bucket List With a Chuck-It List</a>. While not a new idea, it’s one worth unpacking. To build your chuck-it list, you have to move many of the things on your bucket list into the “I’m never going to do this” file. That may mean things that are unrealistic, you can’t afford and won’t ever have time for. <a href="https://medium.com/on-the-couch/out-with-the-bucket-list-in-with-the-chuck-it-list-9aa7423d4c33">Learn More</a>