Padilla 1

Jonathan Padilla

Professor Dagher
UWRT 1102
21 April 2015
The Bucket List
Like most adventurous teenagers, I have high ambitions and a fearless determination to
experience what the vast world has to offer. To explore the exotic Amazon Rainforest, participate
in Brazilian festivities like Carnival, enjoy a tasty lunch in Frances finest restaurants, soak in the
sun on Californias Sonoma beach, and overlook the horizon from the top of Mt. Everest are just
some of the items on my bucket list. In a 2007 comedy film called The Bucket List, starring
Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, the two disparate characters meet at a hospital where they
are given the diagnosis of terminal illness. During their company with each other, Edward
(Nicholson) stumbles upon Carters (Freeman) bucket list; a list of things to do before death,
where the two then decide to embark on a journey full of adventure to fulfill their dreams. Airing
only three years after the movie production of The Bucket List; The Buried Life is a documentary
reality television series featured on MTV where four life long friends document themselves
accomplishing one hundred wild tasks off of their bucket list while inspiring millions just like
them. Becoming more and more popular over the years, bucket lists are something very common
to have for many young adults and teenagers. I learned from the TV series as well as the Morgan
Freeman and Jack Nicholson movie, to simply appreciate life and to take advantage and explore
what is open to me in this beautiful world. Watching The Bucket List, and The Buried Life
changed my outlook on life and inspired me to create my very own list as well as encourage

Padilla 2
others to do the same; however, a stumping question remains. Can one find happiness through a
bucket list?
Happiness undoubtably can be found through a bucket list. A bucket list in simpler terms
can be defined as a list of significant personal goals to be achieved before death and those
personal goals are surprisingly essential to life itself. In Emmons' Striving for the Sacred:
Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and Religion, he believes that our lives revolve around our
personal goals and ultimately, are structured based from these personal goals. Goals bring a sense
of purpose, unique to our lives, and upon accomplishment, yields great personal reward and
satisfaction. To Emmons, without goals, life would lack structure and purpose (Emmons,
Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and Virtue: Wellsprings of a Positive Life). A bucket list, in a
way, could be viewed as a tool to organize these meaningful goals.
According to Rand, happiness is a measurement of our progress in the pursuit of our
significant personal goal accomplishment, and these goals are unique to each and every
individual. Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of
ones values (Rand, For the New Intellectual). In addition, Emmons believes that how we carry
ourselves, how we feel, and what we value, influences our life goals (Emmons, Striving for the
Sacred: Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and Religion). Essentially, what Emmons is saying is that
goals reflect our identity, who we are individually, and what we value as unique individuals.
Snyder would also agree because he firmly believes that goals are the way to fulfilling desires
and expressing values. To him, goals revolve around values, and expressed through action. "If a
person values good nutrition, the way to attain it is to set goals to eat specific types of food in
specific amounts at specific times of the day" (Snyder, Handbook of Positive Psychology 303).

Padilla 3
Discovering that our personal goals are essentially derived from values, made me wonder
how we come to determine our unique values. In Personal Values, Belief and Attitudes, the
central idea about this source revolves around learning about our individual values, beliefs, and
attitudes. Values are principles or qualities that provides significance and meaning to an
individual. Values are the foundation of who we are as individuals, what the premise of our
personal goals are established from, and ultimately what guides our lives in the direction we
choose. Interestingly, our values are influenced from a variety of sources including family,
peers/friends, school/work, religion, significant life events (death, major accidents, financial
struggles etc.), media, culture, and more (Personal values, belief and attitudes 1). I discovered
that pursuing our personal goals is a way of expressing our values and ultimately, who we are as
unique individuals.
After researching and reading different perspectives from different sources on my topic, I
found what Robert Emmons had to say to be the most persuading and intriguing. More
specifically, in Robert A. Emmons' Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and Virtue: Wellsprings of a
Positive Life, he ultimately argues that the achievement in personal goals lead to happiness and a
purposeful life. Emmons begins his document by examining the correlation between the
achievement in important personal goals and happiness, supported with evidence founded by
psychologists, researchers, and therapists. Life goals provide meaning and purpose to our lives
and essentially guide our lives. These life goals and dreams ultimately structure our lives making
every accomplishment off of a bucket list meaningful and significant. Through this
accomplishment can one find true happiness and contentment. Emmons really persuaded me by
his logic and thinking and what he had to say stood out the most in my research.

Padilla 4
During my inquiry journey, I was able to gain knowledge and new perspectives from
several important sources. Beginning my research only knowing that a bucket list is a list of
significant personal goals to complete before death, Ive learned that these goals are derived from
personal values and principles (Snyder, Handbook of Positive Psychology 303) and that many of
our values come from a variety of sources (Personal values, belief and attitudes 1). Because
goals are values expressed through action, they ultimately give us purpose and meaning while
also guiding our lives (Emmons, Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and Virtue: Wellsprings of a
Positive Life). Ayn Rand once said that happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds
from the achievement of ones values (Rand, For the New Intellectual). Because goals are
expressed values, accomplishing goals, especially those on ones bucket list, provide true
happiness and positivity to ones subjective well-being. Ultimately, having a bucket list provides
structure to ones life and is very beneficial to have. I enjoy having a list of my own because in
addition to the awesome and fun activities, its fascinating looking through the list and noticing
what I truly value. For instance, many of my dreams involve traveling around the world and
exploring which is something that I truly value. Although I learned a lot about my topic, there are
still pondering questions that remain unanswered. In my research I learned that not all goals are
equal and that three specific types of goal strivings tend to relate to subjective well-being and
those are intimacy, generativity, and spirituality (Emmons, Striving for the Sacred: Personal
Goals, Life Meaning, and Religion). If I were to continue my inquiry Id begin by researching
which kinds of goals are most important to ones subjective well-being starting with those
mentioned by Emmons.

Works Cited

The Science Behind Vacations: Why We Need a Break." International Business Times.

1.

N.p., 15 July 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.

2.

Emmons, Robert A. Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and Virtue: Wellsprings of a Positive
Life (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

3.

Snyder, C. R., and Shane J. Lopez. Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford: Oxford
UP, 2002. Print.
4.

Emmons, Robert A. "Striving for the Sacred: Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and
Religion." Journal of Social Issues 61.4 (2005): 731-45. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

5.

Koestner, Richard, Natasha Lekes, Theodore A. Powers, and Emanuel Chicoine.

"Attaining Personal Goals: Self-concordance plus Implementation Intentions Equals Success."

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83.1 (2002): 231-44. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
6.

Rand, Ayn. For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. New York: Random
House, 1961. Print.

7.

"Personal Values, Belief and Attitudes." -. State of New South Wales, Department of
Education and Training, 2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.