#39 What are Your "Soft Aspirations"?

Expanding the concept of a bucket list

This is the last post of a four-part series of my favorite personal list ideas. See the end of the newsletter for the rest of the series.

My bucket list in post-its

One of the most interesting personal exercises I’ve done is this Life Audit by Ximena Vengoechea.

Life audit (n.): An exercise in self-reflection that helps you clear the cobwebs of noisy, external goals and current distractions, and revisit or uncover the real themes & core values that drive & inspire you. Also known as: spring-cleaning for the soul.

Obviously, it’s a lengthy process — Vengoechea suggests dedicating an afternoon to it — so I won’t be covering the whole of it here. But it starts, as you can surely count on, with making a list.

Here’s how it goes: Get some Post-its or slips of paper. Then write one wish per paper.

Perhaps you’re thinking: So basically, write a bucket list.

Well, yes. But as Vengoechea was brainstorming, she did something that struck me. Her entries weren’t restricted to hard goals like “Visit Philippine beaches that are unrivaled in beauty” (Okay, she didn’t actually write that, but I think it’s a fair entry). She also wrote intentions. Things or mantras she wanted to live by every day. One of her examples: “Share what I’ve learned, in life and professionally.”

I loved that. It never occurred to me to take stock of those “soft aspirations” whenever I think about what I want to do in life.

Vengoechea, I realized, expanded the concept of a bucket list. And it made me think about how, maybe, some of our most worthwhile desires aren’t marked by a finish line. They’re things we’ll always be working on. The point isn’t to finish, but rather to live our days more deliberately. To remember that this thing called life is a long, long game.

So now, on top of “Watch a Grand Prix” and “Write a book”, I also have these on my bucket list: “Cultivate a solid journaling habit”, “Read all the best memoirs”, and “Support my parents.”

This was my first time making my own bucket list! To see all my dreams and intentions written in my own hand and laid out in front of me was such a clarifying and centering experience. I hope to come back to this list more regularly — and remind myself of all the things that truly matter to me!

To end this series, a fair warning: after making these lists, they now haunt me daily.

Which is really helpful! I’m constantly nagged by questions like:

• Does this decision or opportunity align with my core values? (Top Values list)

• What particular detail of this day struck me? (Three Good Things list)

• Which interests/skills can I explore further? (Interest Bucket List) (An aside: Boredom, you’ll realize, is now a thing of the past. An impossibility considering all the things you want to try or consume.)

• Which thing/s on my bucket list can I start working towards? (Soft Aspirations list)

Happy listing!