Second Cup: Try something bucket list adjacent

Experience parts of your big adventures as little adventures

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to try something bucket list adjacent. If you
have big dreams that are hard to pull off in

(00:24):
the near term, you can keep yourself dreaming by doing
things that are related. These little adventures can be fun
and are worth prioritizing over other things. So longtime listeners
know that I am always encouraging people to make lists
of dreams and goals. I also know that when many

(00:47):
people construct their bucket lists, the fun can be tinged
with some frustration. After all, you might like to visit Thailand,
or hike the Appalachian Trail, or singing Carnegie Hall, or
something along those lines, but most of those are not
easy to pull off in the near term. I, for instance,

(01:10):
keep putting on my bucket list that I want to
sing in a performance of Box B Minor Mass. But
while you can buy a plane ticket somewhere you would
like to go, it is a little harder to arrange
for the performance of a large scale choral work with
an orchestra. I have gotten close a few times, like
when the choir I regularly sing with was scheduled to

(01:33):
perform the B Minor Mass in the spring of twenty twenty,
but you can guess what happened with that. Anyway. I
am hoping to sing the Mass at some point, but
in the meantime, choirs and orchestras do perform the B
Minor Mass from time to time, and if those performances
happen within two hours or so of my house, I

(01:55):
can get a ticket and go. I went to one
performance a few weeks before this episode aired, and it
was a great way to stay familiar with the piece
As I followed along in my score. I wasn't singing
it myself, but I was experiencing the mass. It was
bucket list adjacent. Maybe you too have goals that are

(02:20):
hard to pull off in the near term. You'd like
to visit Thailand, but the travel budget isn't there, Or
you have little kids and don't relish the idea of
taking them on a twelve hour flight. But if you
are planning to go out for a date night dinner
with your partner at some point, maybe you could go
to a Thai restaurant if there's one within an hour

(02:40):
or so of your house. You could stream a movie
or documentary set in Thailand that night, and check out
some photo books about Thailand from your library. It's not
going to Thailand, for sure, but it's Thailand adjacent. I
don't think this is settling, really, it's more about helping

(03:01):
with the anticipation. If something is truly a life goal,
you may be able to pull it off at some point,
and the more you can do in the meantime, the
more excited you will be when it happens. You might
learn more about yourself and your dream too. For instance,
perhaps you've put hike the Appalachian Trail on your bucket list. Well,

(03:25):
it is a long trail going through lots of states,
but that means you could definitely hike two to three
days of it at some point in the next year
or two. Try it out, see how it goes. Talk
to some through hikers if you meet them on the way.
Maybe you will get more excited. Or maybe you will realize,

(03:46):
as it is rainy and you are hiking on some
really muddy and rocky terrain, that this isn't as great
as you thought it would be, and so you won't
need to waste energy thinking about this bucket list item
that you no longer want to have on your bucket list.
Who knows how it will all turn out. What I

(04:06):
do know is that doing things that our bucket list
adjacent can help you learn what you like and what
you don't like. We all want to have little adventures
in our lives from time to time. Things that are
pieces of big adventures can make excellent small adventures because
there are probably elements that are really appealing to you.

(04:30):
You can get some of the feeling of the big
adventure even as you are just living your normal life.
So make a bucket list and then look for little
adventures that our bucket list adjacent. You will make life
more interesting and maybe boost anticipation for future adventures. Or

(04:51):
you'll come to see which big adventures you'd truly enjoy
and which you wouldn't. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

(05:15):
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
before breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then
breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me an email at
Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast

(05:36):
is spelled out with all the letters thanks so much,
should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast
is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows. Dadda h