It's officially the first day of summer! There's something about summertime that sparks up the carefree and adventurous spirit in me. I already have some road trips and mini trips in the works that I'm really looking forward to and I'm also focusing on injecting adventure into my everyday life. Can't wait to see what the next few months have in store for me!

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Creating a bucket list or a life list can be a really fun and eye-opening exercise. It represents a visual manifestation of all of the exciting things you'd like to accomplish in your lifetime. But for some it can also be super stressful and can easily turn into yet another 'to do' list of things we just don't have the time to tackle. Creating a life list shouldn't send you into a shame spiral. If you're left feeling guilty or stressed about completing the things on your list then it's not doing anybody any good. Here are a few quick tips on crafting an awesome life list.

Start Small - Don't get overwhelmed by thinking you have to list everything you ever want to accomplish in life. You can take baby steps by creating a list for each year (20 Things To Do Before 2011) or listing what you'd like to do by a certain age (35 Things To Do Before my 35th Birthday!)

Baby Steps - Thinking of 20 things you'd like to do before the year is up may seem daunting. If it is, start the list and continue to add to it. Your life list should be a living, breathing thing that morphs and changes with you. It's fine if all you have are 5 things, keep adding to it as time goes on.

Categorize It - Some people like to break their list up into smaller themes. Maybe one of your themes is Travel. You can then list all travel related things under that heading.

Don't Forget the Small Stuff - Don't stress yourself out by thinking that everything on your list must be epic. Every item on your list does not have to rank up there with Climbing Mount Everest or Running an Ultra Marathon. Things like "go to a movie by yourself" or "re-read Homer's Odyssey" are perfectly good items for a life list.

Your List is Your List - Life Lists are personal things. Something that totally excites me may leave you feeling completely uninspired. Don't compare your list to others or get list envy. List things that speak to you and get you excited about completing them. No one else matters.

Summer is a great time for an adventure. A good way to get into life list writing is to think of all the fun things you'd like to do before fall rolls around. However you decide to craft it, a life list should be inspiring. Don't stress yourself out about it, have fun with it!

New on the Polka Dot Blog 

If you haven't been to the blog in a bit here's what you've been missing:

• Rock Star Squad members Divinity Matovu and Zoe Zeigler share how they overcame their 20-something crisis and started living their purpose
  
• Molly from Stratejoy unveils her exciting new Joy Equation Plan with her 'Pay What You Can Afford' plan
• I returned from getting married in the Bahamas with some lessons on Happiness
• Are you a graduating senior? Well then check out my Smooth Transition Sessions made especially for you

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