The phrase bucket list is modern, but the impulse behind it is as old as time. Long before anyone wrote lists of things to do before “kicking the bucket,” people grappled with the same basic issue: life is short with lots of things we want to accomplish - and most of what we want to do will never get done unless we do some prioritizing.
The bucket list, in its many forms across history, has always been a tool for confronting mortality and turning vague longing into a plan of action. That’s why it’s on my 2026 Guide to Dying Well. Let’s get started!
The phrase entered popular consciousness largely through the 2007 film “The Bucket List.” Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman starred in the movie as two terminally ill men compiling a list of experiences before they die. The movie gave us a great-sounding phrase, but the underlying idea is way older than Hollywood.
Ancient philosophers wrestled with how to live (and what to do with our remaining time) in the shadow of deat…
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