What's Your 2014 Bucket List?

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I turned 43 on New Year’s Eve, not that you really care, but it does convey a certain perspective to be ending your year in two different ways.

So, as a general rule there are two things for sure with me:

1st- I always work in the ER on my birthday (it’s far more interesting than any party I have ever attended and I get paid to show up!)

2nd- I never make New Year’s resolutions.

Now, I have nothing against New Years resolutions (or birthdays for that matter), I just believe they make you think too small….they encourage you to view your life in small yearly increments.

Let me break you out of this mindset by asking this question:

What if 2014 is your last year?

Voila! Your New Year’s Resolution (or your birthday wish) becomes transformed into your bucket list.

Bucket lists are about thinking BIG! Now that gets my attention! OK, so you don’t have to be dying to live like this, but living with your bucket list foremost in your mind invites you to think of your life from a vastly larger perspective- so that each moment and each choice is seen within the context of a whole- a whole life…now that’s thinking BIG!

Despite being turned on by the idea of bucket lists, my own list is very short and yet contains a big undertaking. The only significant item remaining on my bucket list is to safely deliver my children to adulthood with as much wisdom as I can awaken within them. Wish me luck!

So think BIG!

Instead of a measly old New Years resolution, I challenge you to create and  then begin to empty your bucket list today!

Don’t know where to start or need some ideas? Download my bucket list guide here!

 Oh, and…HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Monica Williams-Murphy, MD, an emergency physician, is an author and public speaker whose focus is empowering patients and families in critical and end-of-life decision-making. Her book, "It's OK to Die" and companion website are devoted to transforming the end of life into a time of peace, closure and healing. To buy the book and learn more about Dr. Williams-Murphy’s work, visit www.oktodie.com.