88 The Bucket List

CHAPTER 1 What's a Bucket List? THE GREAT ROMAN EMPEROR MARCUS AURELIUS SAID. "YOU WILL GIVE YOURSELF PEACE OF MIND IF YOU PERFORM EVERY ACT OF YOUR LIFE AS IF IT WERE YOUR LAST." Could this have been the secret to the emperor's success? Everyone wants to have peace of mind, as well as success. Planning and organization can help, and a good way to plan is to make a list. Have you ever heard the idiom "kick the bucket?" Do you know what it means? "Kick the bucket" means die. Even though the expression is well known today, nobody is absolutely sure of its origin. There are several ideas, though, and all of them seem to suggest that the common bucket has been associated with death for a long time. And it is from this idiom that we get the term bucket list.

So what is a bucket list? It's a list of everything we want to do before we die. In the movie The Bucket List, Academy Award-winning actors Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two men who are dying of cancer. Faced with their impending death, they write down all the things they want to accomplish and then set out to do them. The movie was a success and was seen by more than 200 million people. It was both entertaining and inspiring. These days, people are finding that writing a bucket list helps them lead more satisfying lives. Try it! You can organize your list in different ways. You may want to have categories, or groups of ideas, like the elements of wellness: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, occupational, physical, and social. Ask your friends for other ideas, or just prepare a list based on alphabetical order. It's your life and your list!

CHAPTER 2 Tackle Your Fears! ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION: WHAT AM I AFRAID OF? THEN SET OUT TO TACKLE YOUR FEARS! It can be thrilling and satisfying to do something you were once afraid to attempt. Here are some ideas. Hang out with Spiders and Snakes Who isn't afraid of spiders and snakes? Maybe it is because their bodies are so different from ours. The best way to tackle this fear is to learn more about them. You can also visit snake and spider enclosures and touch them at petting zoos! You may find out you like them. Swim with Sharks Many people fear sharks, especially those who have seen the 1975 thriller Jaws. But only five to fifteen people die from shark attacks in the world each year.

Sharks are beautiful creatures, and the best way to appreciate them is by shark cage diving! You stand in an underwater cage and watch sharks as they swim by. Great places to try this include Costa Rica, South Africa, and the Galapagos Islands. Learn Public Speaking Some people say that public speaking is scarier than swimming with sharks! But anyone can master the skills of public speaking. There are many organizations, like Toastmasters International, that provide support for people wishing to learn to speak confidently in public. At regular meetings, members prepare short speeches on different subjects and get feedback. Act in Community Theater Many people secretly wish they could be famous actors. Fortunately, many cities have community theater and other performing arts clubs. Members have various levels of experience, but that's all part of the fun. And who knows? If you get a role, you could become famous— at least in your neighborhood!

BASE Jumping It's common for people to be afraid of heights, but the growing popularity of BASE jumping tells us that people are ready to face this fear in the name of excitement! BASE jumping opportunities can be found in many different settings: bridges across river valleys, the tops of tall buildings, cliffs. Anywhere, as long as it's very high. So you shouldn't have to travel far to find a BASE jumping site. Become a Trapeze Artist If BASE jumping is too extreme for you, why not try some circus-training classes and become a trapeze artist? Because of popular circus shows, ordinary people are showing an interest in learning circus skills. These days, anybody can have a chance to be a trapeze artist and fly above crowds on a swing. You may not be brave enough to get too high at first, but confidence comes with practice. Take a Dive Afraid of heights? Afraid of the water? It's possible to tackle both fears at the same time!

Cliff diving used to be something people watched professional divers do. But today there are many places around the world where regular people can enjoy the thrill of throwing themselves into the ocean from cliffs as high as 12 meters. Cliff diving lets people fly like a bird and swim like a fish, all in a few seconds! Learn to Scuba Dive Once a person is confident in the water, the next step is to learn to scuba dive. It takes a lot of effort to become a certified scuba diver but the reward is seeing a whole new world under the sea. In addition to swimming and lifesaving skills, students must learn some science, like the effect that breathing compressed air has on the human body. Your underwater world is waiting! Don't let your fears hold you back. Add them to your list and start checking them off!