3 Things To Do Before You Die

What do you think should be on a list of things which you simply must do before you die? Most people will think of things like traveling the world, running a marathon, write a book, climb a mountain, and the list goes on. I could probably make out a list of 50 to 100 items before I have to come up for air.

But if you are asked to pick just three? Out of so many choices, how in the world are you going to choose just 3 items? What is the criteria that you are going to use to make your selection? And in the first place, is it realistic to have a target of just 3 things to do before you die? Isn't that rather passive?

But then again, just coming up with a list of 50 or 100 things to do has been done to death. Just do a search on the web and you will see tons of articles with massive lists on what you should want to do. So, I decided to try to come up with a unique perspective on this issue, and maybe give my readers something to think about.

I gave some thought to what I would include on this list. I realized that the items has to be universal, and not cater to any age group, culture, race or religion. Given the diversity of the human race, that would be impossible. But then, if I was not to specifically name the item but just its character, I might just be able to come up with a list that can be relevant for everybody. And my list of 3 things might actually be better than a list of 50 or 100 things.

And, slowly, an idea began to form....

First Item
For your first item on the list, choose something that you would have fun doing, or maybe something that challenges you, and definitely something which you would want to do before you die. It can be something as simple as learning how to dance, or something a little more complicated like traveling the world. It should be something that you are planning to do, or can plan to do, in the near future. I would say that the time frame for achieving this item should not exceed a year.

If something you want to do takes a long time to plan and execute, like perhaps, climbing Mount Everest, split it up into smaller steps. Instead of saying that you want to climb Mount Everest, start off with taking climbing lessons.

Second Item
Living a great life is all about maintaining a good balance. You need to live life to the fullest but yet still be mindful to give something back. Your second item on the list should be a contribution to the people around you, or your friends, or the society at large. It doesn't have to be something big. You can give something to charity, or volunteer your time, or sign a petition to save the whales.

Like the first item, make sure your second item can be done within a reasonable time frame. If it is something big, split it up into smaller steps.

Third Item
Once your have done the first and second item, do take the time to reflect a little. Sometimes, when we take a step back, we would discover things about ourselves which we might not have known.

If you had wanted to travel the world, but during that short trip to South America, you might have found yourself rather bored during the trip. It seemed to be just an endless parade of sights, ceaseless shopping, and packing and unpacking of your suitcase. But what you did enjoy was the diversity of languages and how each region has its own dialect. So, perhaps you might discover that you don't want to travel the world after all. What you actually want might be closer to taking up foreign languages.

Anyway, having done that, you can proceed with the third item on your list, which would be to make another similar list of 3 things that you want to do.

Conclusion
There is some logic behind the idea of making many small lists instead of just one large list. Imagine a list of 50 things you want to do before you die which you made 10 years ago. Right now, 10 years on, if you were to look at the list, I'm quite sure that you are no longer interested in doing a lot of the stuff on your list.

The fact of the matter is that circumstances and people do change, and along with it, their needs, wants and desires. You are a different person now than you were 10 years ago, and what you want to do will also be different.

Making many lists constantly, instead of one large list, serves to keep your list up to date. You will definitely be doing what you want to do, instead of making a half-hearted attempt at something which you feel compelled to do because a list you made 10 years ago said so.

Resources

1. 150 Things To Do Before You Die