“Moved Across The World”: 30 Times People Stopped Overthinking And Just Did What They Wanted

Forbes, reporting on a survey conducted by Choice Mutual Insurance, looked at what 2,000 Americans put on their bucket lists. The average respondent had 19 items on their list. And, somewhat surprisingly, many of these aspirations were related either to travel or to finances.

The most widespread aspiration was to visit specific landmarks in Europe, followed by that same goal, just in North America. In fifth place was traveling via cruise, followed by traveling by train.

Meanwhile, the eighth most common bucket list item was visiting all 50 states in the US. In thirteenth place was the desire to visit specific landmarks in Asia. The nineteenth spot was for plane travel. At the same time, the twentieth spot was for folks who wanted to see all US national parks.

The main reason why the respondents said they couldn't fulfill their bucket list goals was financial. Most people who participated in the survey also wanted to become millionaires, retire early, start a business, buy a vacation home, learn a new language, and try skydiving.

"The Roman philosopher Seneca was spot-on when he wrote, 'Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.' It can be stiflingly hard to press the 'Go' button on our dreams and goals and ideas, because they represent disruption to our current comfy way of living, and they activate fear that we might face rejection or failure or success or any other outcome that will require emotional agility to handle. It's just easier to do nothing!" Wellman, the founder of 'Four Thousand Mondays,' explained to Bored Panda via email.

If your goal is to live with more intention, Wellman suggested that one step you could take is to imagine how you'd feel on your deathbed. "Looking back on your life, and the paths you didn't take... what might you regret not doing? Research is clear that we most regret the things we didn't do, more so than the mistakes we made," she said.

"Would you rather feel proud that you pursued a goal, even if it didn't pan out, or would you rather feel like you had played it safe? Most people need this nudge to take action because we don't like the idea of what we might lose (the distinct feelings of pride, possible success, and happiness, the awareness that we cared enough about our lives to 'give it a go')."

The reality is that far from every risk is going to give you the results you intended. (Though if you've been on a non-stop winning streak, we're happy for you!) We asked Wellman how someone might bounce back from failure after putting in all of their effort toward a goal. She noted that it might be helpful to redefine what failure means.

"Failure isn't an indictment on our deeply flawed selves, it's an indication of something profoundly important. Failure is an indication that we've tried something new, that we've chosen the possibility of aliveness over stagnancy. Living a vitally alive life requires us to venture out into new territory, take risks, and sample what life has to offer," she told Bored Panda.

"Framed this way, failure is a litmus test of living like we mean it, and a lack of it is an indication that we're playing it maybe a bit too safe. Seeing a plan or goal or dream not pan out is a chance to learn, recalibrate, and celebrate that we cared enough to make an attempt at something that mattered."

Though your career doesn’t reveal everything about you as a person, it’s still an indication of the general things you value and how you’d like others to see you. And the professions that young people aspire to can tell a lot about society as a whole. According to a 2021 survey by YouGov, teenage boys and girls in the United States have different dream jobs, but there’s still a large overlap in some key areas. Wanting to entertain others is a very popular, unifying goal.

For example, 12% of American male teens want to be professional athletes in the future. Furthermore, 11% want to be online content creators, 6% see a future as musicians, 6% want to be professional gamers, and 5% hope to become doctors or nurses.

Meanwhile, 13% of female teens aspire to be doctors or nurses, 11% dream of being actresses, 9% want to be musicians, 7% want to be artists, and 6% think that being YouTubers or streamers would be cool as a job.

Being brave doesn’t mean acting recklessly or not feeling fear. Quite the opposite: it’s about doing what you want, need, or must despite feeling utterly terrified. Not every risk is going to work out well. However, if you’re optimistic about the future, feel confident in your skills, and generally have Hope (with a capital ‘H’), you can decide that something’s worth trying.

You’re essentially putting your time, energy, money, and health on the line for the sake of your dreams. And these aspirations can be incredibly personal. Some will naturally be easier to achieve than others.

One person might never have left their home town, so their goal is to expand their horizons with travel just a bit. Another might aim to live a bit healthier or they’ve always dreamed of playing the guitar well enough to amuse their friends. Someone else might want to travel the world, start a business, become a globally famous athlete, finally quit that soul-sucking job of theirs, publish a book, or go into space (hi!).

All of these aspirations lie in the realm of possibility. But they’ll require effort, research, and a lot of persistence to see them through. Courage, while necessary, might not be enough. It’s one thing to get things started. It’s another entirely to find the discipline, willpower, and mental fortitude to see them through to the end, despite any setbacks you encounter. So, courage has to become a habit where you find the energy to actively move closer to your dreams every day.

You have to believe, on a deeper level, that all the pain and self-doubt is going to be worth it in the end. Moreover, you have to genuinely enjoy the process. If you want to be a famous painter or writer, you can’t get there without being passionate about painting or writing. Meanwhile, if you don’t actually like those activities, you might be more after the prestige they offer and need to look for some other way to be authentically creative.

Which of these stories motivated you the most, Pandas? What are the biggest risks you’ve taken in life that have paid off? What are the biggest opportunities you’ve taken that you’re glad you didn’t ignore? On the flip side, are there any risks you took where you failed? How did move past that?

We’d love to hear all about your current and past dreams and aspirations, so if you have a moment, tell us all about them in the comments!