by Kathleen Vestal Logan, M.S., M.A.

One of the most wonderful – and undervalued – aspects of growing older is the power to focus more clearly on what’s important to us and what we want yet to accomplish. We can begin by concentrating our energy and abilities toward reaching the goals we hold most dear, dipping into our mental/spiritual “bucket list,” so to speak. How does that process work?

A clear focus doesn’t usually happen magically, however, often requiring conscious thought and deliberation. Here’s one approach you can try (have a pencil and highlighter handy).

First, take a sheet of paper and write your gut responses to the statement: While I’m still able, I want to ___________. Try to jot down fifteen or twenty items.

Second, go down the list item by item, asking yourself: “Would I be sorry if I never did this one?” If your answer is, “No, I wouldn’t be sorry,” draw a line through it, because it’s not really a priority in your life. It’s okay—even necessary— to let some of your long-held goals or possibilities go.

Here’s the crucial third step. Again go down the list, asking, “If I knew I were to die next week, I would most regret not doing __________. Highlight the ones that would cause you regret later if left undone. These are your top priorities. You might categorize what you’ve done as:

• Essential (highlighted); I’ll do this first.
• Nice to do, but won’t cause regret (neither highlighted nor crossed off); I’ll do this if I have time.
• Skip it; not a priority (crossed off); I choose to let it go and not spend time on it.

It should be obvious by now where to focus your time and energy, but how can you get what you want to accomplish off the list and into your everyday life? What actions do you need to take? What’s the first, most important thing you need to do to start making your essential goals come to fruition? Today’s the day to get started!

What’s on your bucket list?