"A bucket list requires a blueprint. You can’t just hope to succeed. You need to engineer the outcome." - Futurist Jim Carroll
Ok, I'm back to my spinal recovery thing, but I'm damned excited!
You don't often get these tee times in your account!
April.
Old Course, St. Andrews.
And so with that, it was 'rotation day' yesterday!
What is 'rotation day'? It's the first day of exercises designed specifically to get my previously injured spine ready for the mechanics of the golf swing.
I've done the cardio. I've done the work to get the core back in shape. I'm doing the heavy lifting. I've put in the work. Here's 30 days of effort. I don't do this to brag; I share it to say, "I've put in the work."
(The workouts include walking - if I exclude that, I still had 28 solid days at the gym out of the last 30).
Rotation day involves doing a series of exercises that twist your body, torso, and spine.
All the things you couldn't and shouldn't do in the early stages of an L1 to L3 spinal fracture.
As I was doing this routine yesterday, I kept reminding myself that to make a bucket list item work, you've got to put in the work. I can't hope to show up in early April, swing a golf club after this situation, and expect a great round. I've got to put to work the muscles that were not put to work, and some of which were battered and bruised in the fall, to work.
On April 6, I'll tee off at the Old Course.
Pure bucket list.
You can't get to a bucket list if the potential for the bucket has been interrupted by circumstances.
You've got to push through the circumstances.
Fore!
----
Futurist Jim Carroll hopes for 4 days of extraordinary golf at St. Andrews in early April.
**#BucketList** **#StAndrews** **#Golf** **#Recovery** **#Blueprint** **#Discipline** **#Goals** **#Effort** **#Fitness** **#Spine** **#Rotation** **#Milestone** **#Dreams** **#Engineering** **#Perseverance** **#Work** **#Preparation** **#Commitment** **#Progress** **#Achievement** **#Healing** **#Determination** **#Fore** **#April** **#Onwards**
Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2026/03/daily-inspiration-a-bucket-list-requires-a-blueprint-you-cant-just-hope-to-succeed-you-need-to-engineer-the-outcome/