Top 5 Things to Check Off Your Bucket List

Top 5 Things to Check Off Your Bucket List

There’s nothing more empowering than writing a bucket list. But when it comes to setting life goals, there are many elements to consider – not only should the items on your list be fun to check-off, they should also provide you with the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of yourself and the world around you.

If you’re sitting down to write your own list, consider these five must-haves—and how building homes in countries around the world with Habitat for Humanity Canada Global Village can help you accomplish them.

1. LEARN TO SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE

If you’ve always wanted to learn a foreign language, there’s good news—it’s a fallacy that kids are better language learners. Adults actually learn more rapidly than children, owing to higher reading comprehension levels, bigger vocabularies and more complex thought processes.

Experts agree that immersive experiences, such as volunteering abroad, are the best way to adopt a new tongue. Volunteers with Habitat’s Global Village have ample opportunities to practice their skills, since they work directly with members of the local community to build homes for families in need of housing.

2. INVEST IN A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EXPERIENCE

Bucket lists are all about the pursuit of happiness, so it only makes sense to focus on activities. According to researchers at the University of Cornell, “experiential purchases (money spent on doing) tend to provide more enduring happiness than material purchases (money spent on having).”

Whether it’s finally going skydiving or travelling to an exotic destination, saving for a once-in-lifetime experience, like a Habitat Global Village trip, will provide you with more satisfaction than the latest tech device ever will.

3. CONQUER ONE OF YOUR FEARS

Whatever your fear is – public speaking, learning a new skill, spiders – the most important thing you can do is face it. “Even bite-sized fears can be difficult to swallow. But bit by bit, your fear will give way to confidence,” psychologist Ellen Hendriksen wrote in Psychology Today. …..

Although many first-time Global Village volunteers are initially nervous about the idea of building a home—something many have never done before—that apprehension soon fades with the training provided by Habitat’s on-site construction leaders. You may even discover that stepping outside of your comfort zone translates into more than just new skills—you may gain an entirely new sense of self.

4. TRAIN FOR SOMETHING

Much like road trips, bucket lists are as much about the journey as they are about the destination. That’s why training for a goal should top your bucket list. So sign-up for that marathon, commit to lose weight, prepare to volunteer abroad, or study to become a trivia master (hello, Jeopardy!). Regardless of the end result, the experience will forever leave a mark on your life.

5. GIVE BACK TO A CAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN

Everyone has a cause they feel passionate about, but if you’re looking for a more immersive way to give back than simply putting a cheque in the mail, explore Habitat Global Village. Since 2005, over 16,000 Canadians have volunteered abroad in 47 countries to help local families build a decent place to call home. If you join a trip like this, you can contribute to a cause you believe in, and check off a few bucket list items in the process.

To sign up for Habitat for Humanity Canada Global Village, visit habitat.ca/globalvillage or email us at [email protected].