What’s in your bucket?

I recently added ‘movie club member’ to my list of hobbies. Every second Monday, a handful of my female relatives – aunts, cousins, mothers, friends – get together among snacks and wine to snuggle up and watch a movie of a members choice. This week someone brought “The Bucket List,” a story about two strangers who find themselves in similar devastating situations and make the most of it. Aside from the great acting and tear jerking moments, the message behind the movie was what I found to be the most profound.

The Bucket List is a list you make of things to do before you die – or kick the bucket, hence the title. The characters in the film did everything from skydiving to fine dining in Paris, all in a matter of months.

Following each movie, club members continue to munch and glug away while discussing aspects of the film we enjoyed, areas that needed improvement and whose looking good in Hollywood these days. Half way through this film, I had the perfect question (and perhaps most obvious) in mind and once we got through the usual talk I asked, “what would be on your bucket list?” I was surprised that no one could answer right away, but after a few minutes answers like ‘travel,’ ‘eat whatever I want’ and ’spend more time with family’ all came up.

Thinking back to our buckets a few days after the fact brought one thing to mind. No one in the room said anything remotely associated with jobs or careers. Why is that? Is it the obvious reason that people would rather do anything than work? Or is it that our careers don’t challenge or motivate us in ways that other aspects of life do. Then why is it that we work so hard and try to climb the corporate ladders while what we really want to be doing is seeing our family and friends?

So I beg to wonder – will our jobs as communicators ever make it on one of our bucket lists? If not, what do we have to do to get it on that list. Or should careers stay off of it entirely?