Assuming anything is dangerous, but from my experiences I feel like it would safe to say that a lot of people have goals that they want to accomplish before they are buried. At twenty years old, I am happy to say that I've been able to accomplish some things that I set out to do: I received my black belt in Tae Kwon Do, was accepted into Marquette University, and recorded/released an album all of which would allow me to check off major pieces of my bucket list, if I had one. In all honesty, while these things have made me happy, I can't revel in them and drag my feet in what I've done in the past: accomplishments included. There's more work to do.
As long as I live I will always have goals that I want to accomplish: I haven't earned my teacher's license, play a show outside of the United States, or successfully broken an egg without getting some of the shell in the pan. All of these things have made their way into my mindset to accomplish but once I do, there's always another step that can be taken. Of course fulfillment is the initial response to success but relief can only last so long once you cross things off of your list.
To me a bucket list only serves to illustrate the goals that we set for ourselves, which in itself, is actually really beautiful. But making a list, even if it's only mentally, forces my mind to rely on that list to designate my actions in the day to somehow accommodate the things that are on it. Consequently, when things are completed it is easy to fall into the trap of the past. I can and most likely will, miss the beauty of the spontaneous delights that life can deliver to me when all I think about are the things that I've done and the things that I still haven't. This is not to say that goals are pointless, otherwise we'd only meander rather than live, but it's important to keep your eyes peeled and your mind open to whatever life throws at you.
Go with the Flow isn't only the title of my favorite Queens of the Stone Age song, it is my general approach to life and I deviate from it very slightly. Devoid of any other term to describe all of the things that happen in this world, I will say that "life" doesn't give a crap about your plans: People will leave your life and might possibly turn around to take the opportunities that you reach for. It's the nature of life to continue moving on and all you can really do is to hold yourself back from dragging your feet in the ground.
Being realistic can hurt more than pessimism, but it keeps me aware of opportunity and pulls me away from ignorance. The likelihood that all of my dreams will come true is very low, but that fact has never brought me down. The hardest part about working hard for what you believe in is that hard work doesn't necessarily mean that you deserve anything in reward. But it is in this realization that I have been able to come to peace within myself and work harder than I ever have before. I've been able to keep myself exposed to all of the lows and all of the highs in a life where my accomplishments and goals aren't always present in my actions. I act with purpose but I live vulnerable to whatever happens and adapt accordingly so I can keep working and keep experiencing whatever life has.
