The thought of a bucket list can be daunting because it’s a list of things you want to do before you die. However, it’s also exciting because it encourages you to achieve your dreams before it’s too late. One woman reached her 100th birthday without crossing the last item off her bucket list, and police officers made it happen.
Her request may seem unusual, but everyone has different ideas of what they want to experience. Some items on your list might be serious, while others are silly. Either way, crossing these things off your list is exciting because it creates memories and helps you find joy.
While a bucket list often lists exciting things you want to do, it can bring a sense of death as it reminds you of your mortality. You might not want to think about death, potentially causing anxiety from feeling like you have limited time to complete all your goals. However, it also brings fulfillment, encouraging you to do the things you’ve always dreamed of.
Police Arrest 100-Year-Old to Help her Fulfill her Bucket List on Her Birthday
Everyone has different things they want to experience on their bucket list, including 100-year-old Jean Bicketon. Bicketon had never gotten arrested, preventing her from completing her list. At her 100th birthday party, police in Victoria, Australia, arrested Bicketon to help her fulfill her dream.
Bicketon is a former army nurse living at the Narracan Gardens Residential Aged Care facility. The officers staged a mock arrest, detailing her during her birthday festivities. Before the arrest, the police filled the resident in on the plan to avoid scaring them.
The officers used their lights and sirens, giving the full effect before placing Bicketon in handcuffs. They announced that she was officially under arrest, leading to Jean describing it as one of the best celebrations.
The officers posted on Facebook, “Now these kinda arrests, we’re happy to make. For many, getting through life without being arrested is a pretty good run.” They added, “So, when we heard of Jean’s wishes, our team at Moe station were ready to step in and help check it off.”
Benefits Of Having a Bucket List
Having a bucket list is more than a fun experience. It also offers many benefits, including:
Encouraging You to Accomplish Your Dreams
A birthday reminds you that you have limited time on earth. That reminder is a good thing because it encourages you to accomplish the things that bring fulfillment. It pushes you to do what’s essential to you during your short time here.
Nourishing Your Spirit
Experiencing things that excite you and achieving your dreams nourishes your spirit. It helps you feel fulfilled, pushing you to live the life of your dreams.
Allowing You to do Things You Enjoy
When you do what you love, it helps you feel energized and at peace with your life. It prevents burnout and reduces stress. Consider adding hobbies and fun activities to your bucket list so that you’re more likely to make time for those things.
If traveling is on your list, vacations reduce stress while improving life satisfaction. You don’t have to travel far for the effects, and a staycation can work, too.
Realizing Your Values
You’ll become more aware of your values if you make a bucket list. It helps you identify what’s essential to you, making you shift your thinking to how you can accomplish it. Realizing your values also helps you spend your time wisely to achieve more.
Staying Focused on Your Goals
When you have a list of things to accomplish, it helps you remember your goals. Without the reminder, you might put things off and let time get away from you. Keeping a list reminds you of your goals and encourages you to take steps to accomplish them.
Inspiring Creativity
Having a bucket list to reference can help inspire your creativity. You’ll think of new ways to accomplish your goals and make life meaningful. It also encourages you to do things that inspire you and help you find what you want in life.
Tracking Memorable Experiences
You can use your bucket list to track memorable experiences. It will push you to do things you otherwise wouldn’t have experienced. These experiences often end up being some of the best memories in your life.
Allows You to Make Necessary Life Adjustments
Having a list to reference can help you see which areas of your life need adjustments. You might be following societal expectations when you should be on a different path. Recognizing your life dreams can help you determine which areas of your life you should change to head in the right direction.
Promotes Focus
When you have a bucket list, you’ll have an easier time staying focused on living the life of your dreams. You’ll be less likely to get distracted by social media, TV, or other things that threaten to sidetrack you.
Without focus, you might take opportunities you didn’t want or need. It can take you off course and lead you away from where you want to be. However, if you have a bucket list, you can reference it anytime you lose focus or have a decision to make.
Motivation
If you want your dreams to happen, you’ll need motivation. It pushes you forward, helping you overcome obstacles and reach your goals. Having a bucket list gives you something to focus on, providing the motivation and inspiration you need to do anything.
Pushing You Out of Your Comfort Zone
Having a list of the things you want to do the most in life can help you get out of your comfort zone. You’ll have more experiences and accomplish many more dreams in your life. The risks you take when you get out of your comfort zone can lead to personal growth and an expanding mindset.
Helping You Feel Accomplished
You likely feel accomplished after getting things done around the house or at your job. However, consider how accomplished you’ll feel if you cross things off your bucket list.
Your list of things to do before you die tends to have more considerable achievements than your daily to-do list. Each time you can cross one off, you’ll experience a sense of accomplishment that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. You’ll feel pride, increasing self-esteem and life satisfaction.
Keeping You Active
Having goals that require physical activity on your bucket list will help you keep moving. You’ll stay active when you have an adventure to tackle. Hiking, traveling, and joining races or events are all options that keep you moving. You’ll see more of the world around you, increasing the benefits.
Encouraging Bigger Dreams
Thinking long-term and of lifelong dreams can help encourage you to do bigger things. Writing these things on a bucket list helps you strive for more. You don’t have to focus on your current situation and deadlines all the time. It allows you to dream without worrying about fear, time, or money interfering.
Other Fun Things People Put on Their Bucket Lists
Our time on earth is short, but there are so many things you can accomplish before it’s over. You don’t have to focus on short-term tasks when you have a bucket list to focus on achieving. It helps you live your life to the fullest, focusing on things that bring meaning and fulfillment.
- go on a cruise or safari
- see your favorite animal in their natural habitat
- sleep in a treehouse
- ride a horse on the beach
- visit New York City in the winter
- run a marathon
- write a novel
- ride a roller coaster
- take a trip with friends
- learn to surf
- go scuba diving
- swim in all five great lakes
- visit a specific country
- swim with an aquatic animal
- go to a favorite sporting event
- learn another language
- get a tattoo
- start a business
- pay off all debt
Another Take on Bucket Lists
The traditional bucket list involves things you hope to do before you die. However, you can create bucket lists for other things, too.
You can create a list of things you want to do before the next decade in your life. Instead of setting a birthday goal list, you can create to-do lists of what you want to do before summer or winter ends. You can write a bucket list for any time frame, including one to complete before:
- getting married
- having kids
- your kids become adults
- you turn a specific age
- a holiday
Final Thoughts on Police Arrest 100-Year-Old on Birthday Because It Was on Her Bucket List
100-year-old Bicketon added a funny dream to her bucket list–and she accomplished it on her hundredth birthday.. Although she didn’t work to achieve it because she didn’t want to break the law, it all paid off in the end.
You don’t have to add anything like Bicketon’s wish to your list. Yours could focus on goals you’d want to take steps to achieve. However, don’t be afraid to add something silly because it can bring a smile to your face.
Consider adding things to your list that will make you step out of your comfort zone. Add experiences that you’ll never forget and bring meaning to your life. Your list might not look like someone else’s, and that’s okay because your dreams only have to make you happy.
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