How to Create a Bucket List

With Real-Life Examples from Jeep Momma

A bucket list is more than just a wish list—it’s a personal inventory of meaningful experiences, challenges, and adventures you want to pursue in your lifetime.

Your list doesn’t need to be filled only with huge, once-in-a-lifetime goals. It should reflect your values, passions, and sense of adventure. That means small, everyday goals matter just as much as big travel dreams.

When I first started, I had no idea how to build a “real” list. So I began with a Mini-Bucket List—small, doable goals that helped me rediscover myself. Over time, I created my first bigger bucket list, and today I continue to expand and refine it as part of my personal growth journey.

👉 Related: My Mini-Bucket List | Starting My First Bucket List

Camping along the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon! 

Steps to Make a Thoughtful Bucket List

1. Reflect on Your Passions

Ask yourself: What makes me feel alive? What did I love as a child? What do I want to explore now? For me, adventure, family, my Jeep, and conquering fears kept showing up.

2. Dream Big, Start Small

Don’t be afraid to imagine bold adventures—hiking mountains, traveling abroad, tackling challenges. But balance those with smaller, meaningful experiences. My first list included “jump in a lake” right alongside “hike Old Rag.”

3. Prioritize

Not all goals are equal. Ask: What do I want most right now? What’s realistic financially or logistically? This keeps your list doable instead of overwhelming.

4. Set SMART Goals

Make them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Example: “Compete in a Warrior Dash by next summer” instead of “get fitter someday.”

5. Diversify Your List

Mix short-term wins (like trying karaoke) with long-term dreams (like overlanding to Alaska). Include adventure, personal growth, and giving back.

6. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Growth happens when we face fears. For me, that meant off-roading in a Jeep (which became a passion!) and later, tackling warrior races and public speaking.

7. Seek Inspiration

Read books, watch documentaries, or follow others on similar journeys. My Jeep community has been a constant source of inspiration.

8. Stay Flexible

Life changes, and so should your list. Update it often. I’ve added, removed, and reshaped mine over the past decade.

9. Create Milestones

Break big dreams into smaller steps. Instead of “overland to Alaska,” first plan shorter overland trips to build experience.

10. Take Action

A bucket list is more than a piece of paper—it’s a guide to how you live. I’ve created lists like 50 before 50 and now 60 before 60 to keep me moving forward.

My Ever-Evolving Bucket List

✨ Here are a few highlights:

• Adventure & Travel Goals: Overland across the U.S. to Alaska, visit Iceland & Scotland, camp in the Grand Canyon.

• Personal Growth Goals: Release my past, get healthy, love myself, make more time for family visits.

• Jeep Goals: Wheel the Rubicon Trail (done!), explore Moab, earn Jeep Badge of Honor trails, off-road in new parks.

• Completed Goals: Revisit Yellowstone, off-road Colorado, Warrior Dash, camping & hiking with my boys, multiple tattoos, and more.

FAQ: Creating a Bucket List

Q: What is the point of a bucket list?
A: A bucket list gives you direction, inspiration, and motivation. It reminds you to live intentionally instead of just drifting through the years.

Q: Should a bucket list only be big goals?
A: No—small, meaningful goals matter just as much. My first bucket list included “canoe with my boys” and “make a new friend.”

Q: Can I change my bucket list over time?
A: Absolutely. A bucket list should evolve as you do. Mine has grown for over a decade—and continues to shift as my life changes.

Q: How do I start if I feel stuck?
A: Begin with a Mini-Bucket List. Write down 3–5 small things you’ve always wanted to try. Achieving them builds momentum for bigger dreams.

Closing Thought

Your bucket list isn’t just about “someday.” It’s about creating a roadmap for the life you want—today, tomorrow, and beyond. Start small. Dream big. And most importantly, take action.

👉 Begin with inspiration Live Life to the Fullest 

Ever Evolving Bucket List

Release my Past (completed Spring 2025)
Get Healthy (currently working on it - lost 25lbs as of Sept 2025) 
Forgive Myself (completed Spring 2025)
Love Myself - I finally figured out how
Make time for family visits - (August 2025 moved back home where my sisters are)
Visit Iceland
Visit Scotland with my boys (there roots)
Overland across the US up thru Canada to Alaska
Visit My Family Farm in Norway 
New Orleans with my niece
Head back to Rausch Creek for last Jeep Badge of Honor Crawl Daddy/wheel Rock Creek 
Visit the Keys
Visit Crater Lake 
Visit a "Dude Ranch" in Wyoming (I ended up living in Wyoming for 3 years)
Attend a Murder Mystery Dinner (Completed 2024)
Go on a Treasure Hunt
Read More ➤➤ E-bike

Completed Goals

Become Lutheran again
Find a Job I love
Mesa Falls, Idaho - August 2023
Revisit Yellowstone - June 2023
Camp in the Grand Canyon - October 2022
Read More ➤➤ Jeep the Rubicon Trail - July 2020
Sturgis -December 2021
Wheel in Arizona -- 2019 & 2020
Visit Lake Tahoe - July 2020
Wheel Colorado -Still doing this to this day
Take a dip in the hot springs -  2020 & 2023
Read More ➤➤ Visit Bourbon Street in New Orleans
Read More ➤➤ Attend Bartender's School
Wheel in Uwharrie
Dickey Bell Badge of Honor
Peters Mill Jeep Badge of Honor 
Read More ➤➤ Jeep in Moab - 2017
Read More ➤➤ Visit Utah State Parks
Visit Zion National Park
Visit a Ghost Town
Ride a Mechanical Bull 
Complete my 50 Before 50 List 
Lift My Jeep with 35's May 2016
Read More ➤➤ Visit the San Francisco Area 
See the Redwood Trees
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge
Read More ➤➤ Visit Yosemite National Park
Read More ➤➤ Alcatraz
Read More ➤➤ Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco
Read More ➤➤ Visit Wells, Maine (my family settled that town)
Bar Harbor, Maine
Acadia National Park 
Sliders for My Jeep  
Tattoo #2   July 18, 2014
Tattoo #1  June 9, 2014
Read More ➤➤ Off Roadin' in a Jeep  May 27, 2014
Read More ➤➤ Warrior Dash Race May 13, 2014
Read More ➤➤ 10K Race - December 3, 2013
Read More ➤➤ Camping & Hiking with my Boys - August 13, 2013

As I reflect I take items off my list. I still would do them but they are not priority

Join a monthly Poker Game 
Climb a Volcano in Hawaii
Hike & Wheel Big Bend National Park
Visit Bond Falls Houghton, Michigan
Wheel Silver Lakes Sand Dunes
Canoe the Boundary Waters in Minnesota
Sturgis during bike week
Hike Old Rag
Hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail
Wheel the Kentucky Adventure Trail
OffRoad at Windrock Off-Road Park 
Visit San Diego to watch the Navy Seals Train