Redefining success and happiness: The reverse bucket list

In our modern world, certain things define success and the most important of them is creating a list of things we want to do and meeting milestones. It's a tradition that makes us feel fulfilled and happy especially if we have achieved some of the listed items on the list. But this routine sometimes makes us see more needs to be fulfilled and gives us little room to appreciate the beauty of success. Let's say all we do through the year is setting and meeting milestones, with little time to truly appreciate success, the old success teaches us to keep asking and never appreciating and that's the need for redefining success and happiness.

I call this a "reverse bucket list". Yeah, imagine it as the reverse of everything you once did, and who knows, it might be the portal to the true happiness you seek. This is the idea behind the reverse bucket list- Instead of the list of things to do, create a reverse list of things you're glad you've already done or have no desire to do. Our year is often filled with resolutions that we forget to appreciate all we've achieved over the past years. Setting goals and making a bucket list is good, but sometimes we may not know how far we've grown if we keep making a list of things to do without making a reverse bucket list of things we are glad to have already done.

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Sometimes we can make a list of things we do not desire to do, this would caution our decision and give us a direction to work with. Earlier this year I had a lot going for me, it was a pressure I created for myself, the pressure to fulfil one task after another, while it felt like success, deep within me I only saw struggles. The constant pressure of breaking milestones and setting another, It was always about "I want to do this and that" and never "I'm grateful for this or that". Everything changed when I implemented the reverse bucket list. It helped me to see how far I've gone, the strength I never knew I had , and a heart of gratitude for the growth so far.

If you've ever achieved a thing, that's success. That's the idea behind redefining success, and if you're able to overcome something you don't want to do, that also is success. Success doesn't have to be the everyday big win, but the list of things you've already achieved or ability to abstain from certain things you don't want to do.