Creating a Life Checklist

A Life Checklist is a list a person creates detailing things one hopes to accomplish in his or her life. Generally these are significant events rather than the daily to do list items such as mowing the lawn or going to the grocery store. However, each person needs to identify for him or herself what is truly important and what justifies being on the Life Checklist. Personally, I like to include things which I have at least a little bit of control or influence over. For example, seeing the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl was great, something I wanted to see happen in my life time, however, I had no control over it happening what so ever. Fortunately, I have accomplished a number of the major items on my Life Checklist already. Now I am getting to the point where I can add some crazier things or some smaller items that I have just always wanted to do. I guess one should always continue adding to his or her own list just as one should continue to keep really living life. Below are my newest additions to my Life Checklist. Feel free to add any of them to your own list or enjoy the memories you have of already accomplishing these.

1. Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

2. Go to Salem, MA for Halloween. I have read about it and seen pictures plus Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.

3. Visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I love football but yet this is the one hall of fame I have yet to visit.

4. Learn how to throw a boomerang. I would like a real one, not just one of those plastic ones or a Nerf.

5. Learn how to juggle 4 things. I taught myself how to juggle three things back in grade school. While I can juggle almost anything I have never been able to get the hang of juggling four items.

6. Learn hypnotism. How cool would this be? I wonder if it would work on my kids?

7. Catch a trophy fish. I don't want to keep it or have it mounted or anything, I have just never really caught a "trophy" fish.

8. Try panning for gold. Ever since I stumbled upon the gold mining show on cable I have wanted to try this. I wouldn't mind finding some either.

9. Get a whirlpool or hot tub. Pretty much just a materialistic want.

10.Enter a competitive eating contest. I have no visions of winning but I think I'd like to try. I think locally we have a number of pizza eating challenges and trying one of those would be fine.

11.Finish writing one of the books I have started. It is really just a matter of making the time, like so many other things in life.

12.Raise some Sea Monkeys. I always wanted Sea Monkeys. Remember how there use to be ads for them in all the comics when we were young?

13.Visit Mt. Rushmore. This is one of the big sites in our country I have not seen.

14.Remodel my basement. Now this will be a project.

15.Get a great value at a rummage sale. I have seen plenty of stories where people bought something at a rummage sale and it turns out to be a painting by Rembrandt or a piece from the Roman Empire. Once I would like to find something like this rather than just the usual New Kids on the Block cassettes or As Seen on TV piece that never really worked.

16.See a UFC fight in person. I like watching this stuff on television and I would like to see it live once.

17.Make a discovery. I have always secretly dreamed of being an archeologist. I would like to find some dinosaur bones or some lost relics.

18.Build a go-cart. I wanted a go-cart when I was younger. I would like to build one now for my own kids.

19.See a 3D movie on a big Imax screen. I guess the fifteen dollar price tag is the only thing that has stopped me from doing this so far.

20.Make an accurate and detailed family tree. I have started this but I would like to learn a lot more and have the tree continue to branch out.

21.Get a 1970's Batman and Robin alarm clock. My grandmother gave me one of these for Christmas when I was little and I don't know whatever happened to it.

22. Visit Canada. I have never been to a foreign country and this seems like it would be the easiest to get to.

23.Finish a Rubik's Cube. I have never done it. Even if I have to cheat and read the steps I would like to finish one.

24.Have a real garden. I have grown some little plants and vegetables out in the backyard but I would like to have a real garden of some size that I can tend.

25.Take up kickboxing. I don't want to fight but I need to find some kind of exercise program for myself. I would rather hit a bag than run around the block.

So there it is, for now. These will give me something to work on and hopefully I will be able to get a few of them done over the next few months. I will continue to add to my list as well because that's the point of a Life Checklist, to encourage one to keep living life.