DAY 27: THE RETROSPECTIVE BUCKET LIST

I used to hate bucket lists. I used to think they represented all of the things I’d never get to do, all the places I’d never get to see and a life that I’d never get to live.

Yes, I had a pretty powerful propensity for negativity… But once you come to realize that it’s a blessing to have goals to aim for in life, you’ll realize that never will you be left without something to do. And as much as doing nothing sounds wonderful, it only lasts for about two weeks into our annual leave before we become restless – well, at least I become restless.

But rather than list the things still on my bucket list, as we tend to do, I thought I’d look at some of the things that I’ve already crossed off the list without even realising it.

Some of these bucket list entries may seem ordinary, but achieving them – or getting to do them – has made for some of my happiest moments. 

Introducing The Retrospective Bucket list of Karl Ryan Furlong:

MOVING INTO MY OWN APARTMENT

I genuinely had a few years when I wondered if this would ever happen for me. I waited and waited and waited, but either I couldn’t sustain myself, by myself, or I didn’t have the guts to finally make the move. I still wake up on some mornings and look around my little apartment in disbelief – the feeling to have finally gotten to this point and having worked rather hard for it has been hugely rewarding.

DRIVING A REALLY POWERFUL, REALLY WILD CAR

I’ve driven a BMW 335i and a Mercedes-Benz SLK350, and both experiences left me giggling like a complete freak. The feeling of driving a powerful car that actually responds when you put pedal to the metal is an unbelievable adrenalin rush.

But even driving those two fine Germans didn’t compare to taking a V8 AC Cobra Replica to the top of Signal Hill. It was a car that shook and vibrated like every coloured person does when trying to swim at Camps Bay.

It sounded evil.

And I’m sure that on about three of those twisty bends, the car actually tried to kill me – but what a way it would have been to go.

WATCHING VENUS & SERENA WILLIAMS PLAY AGAINST EACH OTHER

I’ve woken up at all hours of the night to watch Venus and Serena compete for grand slam titles. For about 14 years, I’ve watched all their best moments and their most painful, too.

To see them up close in Johannesburg a few years ago was a truly surreal experience, because I was convinced it would never happen. I’ve always said that their rise to world no.1 and no.2 remains the greatest sports story ever, let alone the greatest story in tennis.

SEEING MY NAME IN A MAGAZINE

It was about 10pm, soon after I interned at CAR Magazine for a week or so. I was reading the latest issue of the magazine in bed, when I started reading this buzz article on a new car release that sounded eerily familiar.

That’s when I unexpectedly spotted my name at the bottom of the article, and realised that something I had written for the CAR website also made it into the magazine. I was speechless, and I’m not too sure if I slept that night.

GUEST-SPEAKING AT A BIG EVENT

I’ve only stopped rejecting opportunities to make speeches in the last two or three years. Now, I say ‘yes’ – it may be through gritted teeth and with clenched fists, but it’s a yes nevertheless.

Last year, I attended the Marketing To Kids And Teens conference with a colleague, on behalf of Hectic Nine-9, up in Johannesburg. We were two of about seven ‘industry experts’ sharing our knowledge of a younger target audience with others who marketed to this age group. It all took place in a large and scary-looking auditorium. We had microphones. There was a PowerPoint presentation. And it all ended with a Q&A session whereby we answered some challenging questions (without the luxury of a dark, quiet room which I could use to unhurriedly craft perfectly produced and confident responses, whilst sipping on some calming camomile tea – I know, I couldn’t believe it either!).

Anyway, I was a nervous wreck until halfway through our presentation, when I suddenly realised I was actually doing it, and my listeners were not pointing and laughing, but in fact… listening! It represents one of my proudest personal and professional moments.

There is great value and personal gratification to be found in looking behind and not in front of you, at least some of the time. After all, you are more defined by your cast-in-stone past than that magnificent, hyped-up future we all seem to envision.

Much like a favourite book, your life story is one that should be relished and reminisced about more than just once or twice – and without wildly jumping ahead and trying to fill in chapters that ultimately have yet to be written.