Okay, let’s all admit it – even most diehard Seahawks fans found last night’s championship football game boring. By halftime most of Twitter was alight with complaints of how much of a non-competition the game had become. I felt for Peyton Manning and the rest of his team, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the snooze factor. The yawns for me had started well before kickoff, during the pre-game video of players writing their big game wishes on a wall.
But that video didn’t have to be boring. And we can learn from what the pre-game producers got wrong. It boils down to how they wrecked what’s becoming an iconic image: The Before I Die wall.
Chances are you’ve seen Candy Chang’s wall or someone else’s installation of it. According to Chang over 400 Before I Die walls have been created in 60 countries. After a personal loss, Chang was inspired to create this wall on an abandoned home in her neighborhood in New Orleans as a daily reminder of what’s important and an opportunity for others to share their hopes. You can hear Chang explain about this project in her wonderful TED talk. Her idea is inspiring people to share their hopes and desires for the future. And that is building community and helping people make life more meaningful.
So the Big Game folks decided to play off Chang’s idea with their own version: “When I play in the [Big Game]… I will”. Then they had various members of the Seahawks and Broncos fill in their wishes for that night’s game.
<YAWN!> Big time, right? I mean, did you really care what these guys, who were about to live so many sports fans’ bucket list dreams just by playing in the big game, hoped would happen for them?
No. And that’s the problem – with that pre-game video and often with many of our own bucket lists. We just. don’t. care.
More than likely most of these guys’ pie-in-the-sky goals were not going to come true last night. I can’t even recall one of them being humble enough to just write “play my heart out” – but you can correct me on that one, since I kept zoning out during it (and I really wanted to like that segment).
Here’s the deal, and I say this in the Bucket List Life Manifesto: “Because I want to,” is a fine reason for pursuing a goal, but you’ll reach it even faster if you dig for a better “why.” We have to care about what we put on our own “before I die” walls (or lists).
That’s part of what makes Chang’s walls so compelling – each person puts down only one item, so most write their most meaningful goal.
We need to care, folks. About our own before death longings, and about what others around us hope for. If you’re bored by your own bucket list, maybe it’s time to pare it down. Don’t write down everything that sounds cool. Write down some things that sound cool and more things that will change your life if you do them.
Great thought about paring down the list to what truly moves you. I think we can all get caught up in wanting to do it all because there are so many great things to do. I will check out Candy’s Ted Talk, thanks for the tip.
Sue – it’s that balance, right? Recognizing all those great things we want to do, but keeping the list motivating by focusing on what matters. I do think we need to keep some of the light and fluffy on our lists (me especially) – for levity and being more easy to complete. But we need to make sure not to be overwhelmed by the superficial. Thanks for chiming in!