Active Seniors – Do You Have a Bucket List?
(Daily News-Sun Brings A Camera to Grandview’s Very First “Bucket List” Activity!)
We all have a bucket list of things we would like to do in our lifetime: elegantly waltzing across a ballroom floor, picnicking on wine and cheese in Central Park, triumphantly finishing a marathon or strumming a guitar like we actually know what we’re doing…Some of them are easier to accomplish than others, and sometimes we just need a helping hand to nudge us forward.
Grandview Terrace is providing a helping hand through its new “Bucket List” program, which explores ways to help residents do things they’ve always dreamed of and proving, once again, that age is just a number.
As a MasterPiece Living community focused on nurturing healthy aging and a redefined vision for what retirement can be, the program was a perfect fit. Inspired by the 2007 movie, The Bucket List, residents jotted down their bucket list ideas. Staff members work with residents to figure out ways to help them “live their dreams.”
Dozens of residents, some in their late 80s, signed up for the first program activity – soaring over the Northwest Valley in gliders.
It’s never too late to check items off your list.
What’s On Your Bucket List?
Dreams are wonderful. They give us hope, inspire us to do more with our lives and bring us great joy when we accomplish them. Creating a bucket list puts structure around our dreams, forcing us to separate our meaningful dreams from passing, unrealistic fancies.
Writing them down makes them seem more substantial and “real.” It also forms a deeper commitment to activities on that list and helps us remember them.
For those of us addicted to our smartphones, there are apps to help you manage your personal bucket list.  Two worth looking at are iWish (Apple) and My Bucket List (Android).
Bucket lists, short or long, provide us a way to feel like we’re leading the life we want to live, instead of coasting through on cruise control. No one wants to end up with regrets for all the things you meant to do but never got around to.
As you think about your own personal bucket list, you will probably create a mixture of lofty goals and simple, everyday activities. No matter what those dreams are, the satisfaction and contentment you’ll feel as you check them off your list is priceless. Whether you’re 45 or 85, it’s never too late to stop thinking and start doing.
Start With a Summer Bucket List
Even when it’s something you REALLY want to do, sometimes the hardest part of an activity is JUST GETTING STARTED.
The Bucket List program at Grandview Terrace makes it easy for residents to explore ideas on their bucket lists, and then work to fulfill them.
How can you do something similar on your own? By creating a list that is manageable and putting some timelines in place.
Focusing your very first bucket list on activities you can do this summer might help. We suggest brainstorming a list (searching “things to do in Arizona” might be a place to get started), then narrowing it down to just three things – one each month.
What kind of things go on a bucket list? Any kind of activity you’ve wanted to do. Self-learning, travel, family or friends, entertainment, career or hobbies, financial and relationships are common themes.
Here are a few articles on building your bucket list that might be useful:
- How to Make Your Bucket List (WikiHow)
- What’s On Your Bucket List? (Retire USA)
