Love-filled Bucket List: Crafting Endless Adventures with Your Partner
Your relationship is one of the most important things in your life. So is your sense of adventure! Combining the two things is a no-brainer, and the best way to do this is to create and curate a love-filled bucket list.
Plan the things you want to do together so you always have something to look forward to, always have a new adventure to share, and continue to create lasting memories together. With these creative ideas and practical tips, you can brainstorm your perfect, personalized bucket list as a couple.
Shared experiences and interests keep a couple together.
Benefits of a Love-Filled Bucket List
What keeps a couple together? It's not sex...bluntly, finding somebody you have good sex with is easy. It's shared experiences and interests. Psychologists call this a shared reality. A shared reality supports all close relationships, not just romantic ones.
Already having one is why people click to start with. But building one is how you strengthen this shared reality. Once you have it established, you want to keep it. Planning shared experiences is how you build a shared reality.
A bucket list can also provide you with a roadmap and help you share goals and aspirations. If you are planning on having children, then they should be on the roadmap, too, with the understanding that that might not happen as or when planned. It helps get you "on the same page" with regard to major expenditures...including expensive vacations.
Create a love-filled bucket list today!
Brainstorming Your Bucket List
You need to start with a good brainstorming session...or several! Set aside time to sit down together to talk about your bucket list and remove distractions. Before you start, you should each write down a list of your interests, goals, and dream travel destinations. Add any things you have done or places you have been in the past that you want to experience again with your partner. This might mean taking your partner to see your childhood home and/or alma mater. It might mean a vacation destination, or it might be that you want to get your partner interested in a hobby.
Put your phones away for the first session. You can do research later. For right now, you are just making a list. You should be able to start your list just by comparing your lists. Let's say you both want to go to Greece...you've got a bucket list item right there!
Do you both have an interest in learning German? There's another list item, and it might breed more...once you've learned German, how about a trip to Munich or Frankfurt?
At this point, don't consider whether it's feasible, too expensive, etc. Don't think about that. You want as many items on your list as you can think of.
For example, your list might include:
Visiting each other's alma maters.
Going to Greece...how about an island hopping cruise?
Learning German, then taking a trip to Germany
Getting matching tattoos
Buy a dream home that has an outdoor kitchen and a craft studio
Trade TV shows - each picks a show you'd like to introduce the other to, then binge-watch them together
Go skydiving
Take a cruise to Antarctica
You get the picture! If you're struggling, use our digital workbook to help you create your shared vision.
Planning is important–do your research!
Curating Your Love-Filled Bucket List
Now, it's time to come back down to Earth. You will probably have more things on your list than you can ever manage. The next stage is to curate the list.
Don't ever take anything all the way off. You might never be able to afford that $20,000 Antarctic cruise...but you never know what might happen in life. But right now, you need to sit down and prioritize your list.
Do Your Research.
Research how much things cost, and look at your projected income. Pick out the things that are most important to you. Let's say learning German is really important. It's also time-consuming but money cheap...you can start right now by downloading language apps. But equally important is that dream home. Take time to look at your budget and see what kind of timeline you can manage, which might mean putting off the Greek cruise for a few years.
Balance Your Goals.
Balance short-term and long-term goals. If you want stuff that you can put together right now...trading TV shows might be an excellent start. Or putting together a list of awesome local date night options and challenging yourself to do all of them over the next year. Make sure that you mix adventurous and romantic.
Keep Your Goals SMART.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Specific means you have them well-defined; measurable means that you know when you have achieved them; achievable means not out of financial feasibility; relevant means important to your relationship; and time-bound means you have a timeline for achieving them.
Turning Dreams Into Reality.
Now you have your "final" list...which is never final! You may change over time, and your financial situation might improve or worsen. You might come up with a new awesome idea. But now you need to take action.
This might be as simple as downloading an app and promising to speak only German one night a week. Or it might be sitting down with a financial advisor to determine how much you need to save for that dream home.
Collaborate and Compromise
This might mean that you compromise on a destination...let's say Greece is too expensive, but the Caribbean has a lot of the stuff you wanted. Or it might mean that you have something on the list they don't want to do. But make sure you are compromising, not settling. There should always be something in it for both partners. Don't forget it's fine to have your own independent goals, too.
Deal With Obstacles
You will also face obstacles. Those can sometimes be devastating. You're staring at the brochure for Greek cruises, and it's right next to a pink slip. Suddenly, you're wondering if you can keep the dream home. You have to face these together and understand that, in most cases, it's a delay, not an end. Go back to your list and look for something else you can check off even if you have no money at all, like that hiking trail you've been wanting to check out, for example.
After you’ve come up with a plan, turn your dreams into reality!
Start Your Love-filled Bucket List Today!
Creating your love-filled bucket list will make you stronger as a couple and help you build your shared reality. Set aside time with your partner now to brainstorm and curate your personalized bucket list...look at the examples given and then see how they apply to your life.
Then, share something from it in the comments! Let's talk about our goals and experiences. Download our Couple Goal Workbook for an in depth guide to your shared goals!
