“Bucket list” sounds bold and inspiring—until you realize most people are just collecting places like social currency. They’re not chasing their own dream; they’re following someone else’s checklist, filtered through a highlight reel of influencers and travel shows.
The result? Overhyped destinations, overpriced experiences, and underwhelming memories.
Here’s the real toll of chasing the bucket list everyone else is chasing:
✘ Emotional burnout.
You cram five cities into eight days just to say you’ve been there—when you don’t even remember what city you woke up in.
✘ Missed connection.
You breeze past places that could’ve changed you because you were too busy checking off overrated “top 10” spots from a blog written by someone who spent 48 hours there.
✘ Inflated prices.
You pay peak prices to fight through peak crowds for a “bucket list” experience that’s been sanitized, over-commercialized, and sold to the masses as a spiritual awakening.
✘ Unoriginality disguised as ambition.
Let’s be real—some people aren’t travelers. They’re trend chasers. Their entire itinerary is just influencer bait, and their “dream trip” is whatever’s trending on TikTok this week.
✘ Influencer-captured travel.
It’s not just influencers being audience-captured. A lot of regular people are walking around “influencer-captured”—living out someone else’s fantasy, mistaking it for their own. No wonder so many travelers come home feeling unsatisfied, despite the photos.
Your trip should mean something. It should reflect you—your pace, your passions, your values—not just what looked good on someone else’s feed.
Let’s stop performing travel and start living it.
Even if it's simply a consult on an existing trip.
Let us see how I can help you.
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