101 Things To Do Before You Die (9/10)

101 Things To Do Before You Die (9/10)


81. Do something completely crazy and out of character

Funny faces

Our daily lives can get repetitive and boring. You wake up around the same hour, take the same route going to work, grab the same cup of coffee, and get agitated by the same things over and over and over and over again. It’s easy to get lost in the endless loop of routines. But you can make tiny, out of character changes to spice up your day. Ditch your boring suits and wear something colourful and with crazy prints! Write jokes on Post-its and stick it to your office mates’ desks. Listen to a song you never really bothered with before and learn to appreciate it. Or go to the nearest park, run around like a kid and do cartwheels. Nothing is too crazy. 

82. Fly first class

Flying first class

83. Hit bullseye on a dartboard

Bullseye on a dartboard

Darts is a form of throwing game that involves throwing small arrows at a circular target called a dartboard. While considered as a professional sport, darts is often played recreationally often in pubs. If you are not familiar with this game, you shouldn’t worry. Your only objective is to hit the red dot at the center of the dartboard.

84. Visit a volcano

Volcano eruption

Do you know there is an estimated 6,000 volcanoes in the world? About three quarter of them are underwater volcanoes, which means they are inaccessible to humans. About 1,500 volcanoes are on land, and about 50 of them erupt every year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava into our ecosystem.

While volcanoes are dangerous, there are some volcanoes which are worth visiting such as the Mount Sakurajima in Japan, Mount Mayon in Philippines, and Mount Pelee in Martinique (more in the second link below) — just be sure to keep a distance, as there have been volcanoes that erupted while hikers were climbing the summit!

85. Fly in a helicopter

Helicopter cockpit

A helicopter has some advantages over an airplane such as hovering and taking-off/landing doesn’t require a runway. Hovering will allow you to enjoy the view more. Without the need of a runway, you will be able to take-off and land in more places such as on top of a building or on an empty area in the middle of a forest.  These two advantages should give you an enjoyable experience when flying in a helicopter.

86. Meet someone you can only dream of meeting

Barack Obama

If you can meet someone, anyone, living in this world, who will you choose? There are many inspirational people whom I want to meet, but tops on my list will be Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. They are an embodiment of what it means to be a strong, successful, authentic, and inspirational female in our modern world today, all values that I strive to achieve myself.

Rather than just dream about meeting someone, how about making it happen? Perhaps it may be difficult if that person is inaccessible like Barack Obama (president of U.S.) or Richard Branson (billionaire business magnate), but you can start off with other people who inspire you and are more accessible. Identify the events where they will be — conferences, public functions, and networking events will be a great start — and meet them in person. Talk to them, ask questions, and learn from them. It’ll undoubtedly be a consciousness-raising event.

87. Tell your parents and siblings that you love them

Family love

None of us choose the families we were born into, but that doesn’t change the fact that they love us unconditionally. From being there with us when we took our first step as a baby, to our first day at school, to going through puberty, to our graduation day, to our wedding day, our families have always been silently working behind the scenes to help us get through our lives in one piece.

Given that our families have always been there for us, it’s always easy to take their presence for granted. How many of us have neglected our family for work before? I know I have — and that’s because my thinking is, Work is urgent, but family will always be there tomorrow. After all, they’ve always been there — what’s to say that I can’t just spend time with them this weekend rather than today?

But that is precisely the wrong kind of thinking — a thinking that takes things for granted. Life is short — you will never know when things disappear, for the most unexpected reasons. No matter how busy you are, always make sure to set time for family every day. Drop your family a call just to say you love them (you’ll really surprise them). Give your mom and dad a peck on the cheek before you leave for work. Let them know that no matter how busy you are, family will always comes first to you.

88. Ride a roller coaster

Roller coaster

They say life is like a roller coaster; it has its ups and downs, and loop-de-loops. Some of us may be fearful of roller coaster rides (I personally love them but my husband doesn’t!) because of the way it twists and turns oh-so dangerously!

But don’t be, because a roller coaster ride can be very fun and exhilarating – it’s the one time when you’re defying earth’s gravity and “coasting” through the air! Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride — who knows, after the ride, you may find yourself at the end of the queue, waiting to get on the roller coaster again. (Of course, make sure the ride you’re taking is by a reputable vendor that does rigorous testing to make sure that it’s safe. You don’t need to put yourself in danger just to experience exhilaration.)

89. Go on a cruise

Cruise

Going on a cruise is an experience unlike any other. If you think you may get bored on board, then throw those thoughts off the deck because cruise companies offer various entertainment choices on board nowadays! From karaoke, to mini-concerts, to movie screenings, to arcades, to talks, to buffets, these are some of the many activities I’ve seen on cruises I’ve been to today.

90. Try frontline jobs for the experience

Waitress

We live in a service-oriented world today, with waitresses, waiters, cashiers, call center staff, and retail assistants at our beckoning. While service staff is everywhere, it’s certainly not an easy job. From unreasonable customers to weird customers, there are all kind of people in this world!

Yet, customer service can be fun and rewarding. I’m listing this down as a bucket list idea to consider because not only is it a tremendous personal growth experience, it puts you right at the intersection of people contact — where you interact with people face-to-face (or voice-to-voice if you’re in a call center) and have the power to impact them and change their lives. Consider doing this, even if for a short duration — and you may find yourself a changed person after that.