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Everyone knows what a bucket list is. You might even have one. But what is an Inverted Bucket List, and why do you need one? The term “Bucket List” came from a 2007 movie starring Jack Nickelson and Morgan Freeman. Two senior men are each dying, and one has a list of things he wants to do before he “kicks the bucket.” Now the phrase is as common in our lives as birthday cake.
There are entire books about figuring out what you want to do before you die. Discussing what we have on our Bucket List over coffee and croissants is part of our culture. Bucket Lists are a great way to inspire you to live life to the fullest. They make you think about your journey and where you want to go. Now with that in mind, let’s talk about something you may not have heard of, but it’s equally inspiring and helpful. It’s called an Inverted Bucket List.
So…What Is An Inverted Bucket List?
An Inverted Bucket List is a detailed list of what you have ALREADY done in your life. It doesn’t matter if you are 18 or 80. You have already done things that matter. Yeah, we mean you. Know that this isn’t an accomplishment list or a brag book. Sure, you can have stuff on there that are accomplishments and brag-worthy, but that isn’t the criteria to make the list.
An Inverted Bucket List is a collection of your little experiences, significant experiences, and meaningful moments. Many of the items on your list will matter to no one but you. There may be things that no one else cares about, much less knows about. This list is about you and what has happened in your life that was important to you. These may be big-deal things or very tiny things. It doesn’t matter. If they mattered to you…they make the list. 7 Clear and Easy Steps When You Feel Stuck In Life
So How Do You Start An Inverted Bucket List?
First, return to your earliest memories and work up to your now. Where did you go that was a big deal to you at the time? What did you learn to do that you still enjoy doing? Work through every decade of your life. Did you see the ocean for the first time when you were 10? Did you pet a baby kangaroo at a birthday party? Did a giraffe lick your hand at the zoo?
Keep going…work through your decades no matter what decade you are on. Did you walk barefoot in Vegas at midnight? Did you swim with dolphins in Mexico? Don’t forget the little things. Did you live in a one-bedroom apartment with the cutest calico tabby ever? It makes the list.
Did you plant marigolds in a row of cowboy boots, or can jelly from the strawberries you grew yourself? Did you come to the other side of a place you thought you were lost in forever? Did you learn a big lesson and live to tell the story? All those go on your Inverted Bucket List…big, small, and everything else.
This isn’t something you will do in one sitting. Start where you start and get to where you get. Then keep adding to it for the rest of your life. How high can you count? That’s how many things you can have on your list. 7 Clear and Easy Steps When You Feel Stuck In Life
Do you need help getting started? Here are 5 meaningful reasons to create your own Inverted Bucket List.
What Is An Inverted Bucket List? Meaningful Reason To Have One #1: It Helps You Know Where You Are.
Each of us had a seven-year-old self with dreams of what we wanted life to be like when we grew up. With years we added to the list. It contains all of the things we want to see, things we want to experience, and what we hoped life would be like. We’ve all made choices based on these thoughts.
Sometimes people are afraid to make their Inverted Bucket List because what if they haven’t done anything close to what they intended? We promise that once you start your list, you will find you have done more than you think. But if there is something you always meant to do and haven’t yet, isn’t it good to know now?
On another level, you have found things that matter to you that your seven-year-old self couldn’t have imagined. Only you know what has real meaning to you. There could be things that seemed simple when you did them, but looking back, you realize what a unique experience they were. Maybe things seemed like no big deal, which you now know took courage and deep breaths.
What Is An Inverted Bucket List? Meaningful Reason To Have One #2: It Helps You Know Where You’ve Been.
We’ve never had anyone do this little project that didn’t come back and say, “Wow…I’ve done some stuff.” Remember, this doesn’t have to be world-changing things. It only needs to be things that mattered to you, spoke to your heart, or was a lot of fun.
One day you may be in your elder years, wondering where the time went and wondering if you actually did have a life well lived. Keep your Inverted Bucket List updated. You will be able to remember an incredible sunset in your backyard or eating spaghetti and meatballs in an RV overlooking the lights of Albuquerque.
This list will lift you if you are ever having a down day. If you ever wonder if you did anything worth taking up space and oxygen, your Inverted Bucket List will help jog your memories. There have been a lot of powerful moments in your life. This list will help you hold on to them moment by moment as you keep adding them to your list. 7 Clear and Easy Steps When You Feel Stuck In Life
What Is An Inverted Bucket List? Meaningful Reason To Have One #3: It Helps You See The Patterns In What Gives You Joy.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day we forget what brings us joy. Another common effect that keeping an Inverted Bucket List creates is that it shows you your patterns. If many travel destinations have made your list, you will remember how much travel means to you.
Some might list things like watching fireflies in a sunflower field or doing a puppet show for ten-year-olds. Again, a reminder of what might pull you out of a slump or downward spiral. Your Inverted Bucket List is about what you have already done, but it might also send you in a new “forward.”
What Is An Inverted Bucket List? Meaningful Reason To Have One #4: It Will Inspire You To Watch For The Things That Matter To You.
It’s easy to lose yourself and get to a place where nothing feels…special. As you add to your Inverted Bucket List, one thing will make you think of something else. This list will help you reflect on who has mattered to you and what has mattered to you. Whose hand have you held? Whose heart have you touched, and who has touched yours?
Where have you been, and what have you seen that made you glad to be alive? What moments will forever be a sweet sigh of inspiration in your memory? Anything that inspires us to find more meaning and fire in life is worth the effort. 7 Clear and Easy Steps When You Feel Stuck In Life
What Is An Inverted Bucket List? Meaningful Reason To Have One #5: It Will Inspire You To Do More Things That Matter To You.
An inspired life that is well-lived consists of moments…lots and lots of moments. The cool thing is that one incredible moment makes you look for more that are wonderful. One simple moment of clarity leads to more clear moments.
Every time you put something on your Inverted Bucket List, it has an excellent chance to inspire something else that matters to you. The longer your list gets, the more you know what you seek in this life. “Oh Wow!” moments make you look for another opportunity to say…” Oh…. Wow!”
Get a buddy to start a list too. Share ideas and adventures. If you see something on their list that makes you think, “Aw, man…I want to do that too,” then get on it! You might find inspiration to fill your days with extraordinary moments of awesome stuff!
So Get To It!
It’s time to get your own Inverted Bucket List started. Know that everyone begins with things way back in the past. It’s where you have to start. Then work your way up through your years no matter how many or how few years you’ve lived. Now keep going! Keep adding to your list of what you did, what you saw, felt, and experienced. Keep adding…keep adding…keep living…and keep adding.
Pixi-Pebbles For Discovering What Is An Inverted Bucket List (and inspiration for creating yours!)
Pixi Pebbles are songs, quotes, videos, interviews, movie references, and books that we each personally pick for you.
We’ve used these little Pixi-Pebbles to move ourselves from a feeling we’re not enjoying very much…to a feeling that helps us discover our vision of intention, awareness, and direction.
They lead us to hope, possibilities, and a fire under our butt to live life by design instead of default.
In our blog, What Is An Inverted Bucket List And 5 Meaningful Reasons To Have One, these are the Pixi-Pebbles that came to mind.
Just a little inspiration to get you from here to there.
Its no secret around Enchanted Perspectives land that we love a good 80s tune. This one has a great line… “In this world we are just beginning to understand the miracle of living…” that gives us such motivation to keep seeking, finding and naming the amazingness of this life we have. We hope this song will be a great inspiration for helping you get started on creating your Inverted Bucket List (and understand your own miracles of living!) Thanks so much, Belinda Carlisle for the Inspiration… Click Here to take a listen to her song Heaven Is A Place On Earth.
