Why You Need a Reverse Bucket List

Last Updated on March 1, 2024 by Kirsten Raccuia

If you’ve read my F*CK-IT List you might remember how much I want to achieve in my lifetime. It’s a long list of 100 things. And I had to limit myself to 100. It was super fun to write, but it was also kind of overwhelming. Like a reminder to myself of all the things, I hadn’t done or achieved. So, when I learned about the reverse bucket list, I breathed a little sigh of relief.

Instead of thinking about all the things I have yet to do, I wrote down all the cool stuff I’ve already done. Things that make me feel proud.  To look back at my short 45 years on this magnificent globe and realize just how much I have done was pretty enlightening, not to mention good for the self-esteem!

Why bother writing a reverse bucket list?

Because it is not just an ego-booster, it’s an exercise in gratefulness. It’s easy to remember the bad stuff in life, and sometimes we just need to retrain the mind.

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”  Alphonse Karr

It’s so much healthier to think about all the positive memories, not the negative ones, that sometimes camp out in my small wrinkled brain.

When I look at all that I have achieved, I realize that my list won’t be so hard to accomplish. Of course, I might not fulfill all 100 things on my F*CK-IT List, but that’s because I will continually be adding more.  It will evolve as I do.

So, this is my very own gratefulness list to put myself into perspective when I need it the most. And to remind myself that I do, in fact, kick-ass.

Read on for my reverse bucket list.

Wildlife-related (favorite part of my reverse bucket list)

1. Saw the monarch butterfly migration in Mexico.
2. Pet a rhino at a Reserve in Zimbabwe
3. Hung out with monkeys at Monkeyland in South Africa
4. Played with a baby lion in a reserve in South Africa
5. Swam with whale sharks in Holbox Island, Mexico
6. Saw the last surviving, century-old land turtle in the Galapagos. Lonesome George who died in 2012.  He was the last of his species.

6. Trekked mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
7. Went to Jane Goodall’s Chimp island and played with baby chimps
8. Pet spider monkeys and baby sloths in a sanctuary in Costa Rica
9. Rode horses three different times and each time I’ve been “towed” by other horses because I couldn’t get my horse to walk (not actually proud of this one but I keep trying, and it makes me laugh)
10. Pet llamas in Ecuador
11. Saw Proboscis monkeys in the wild in Borneo

Travel related

1. Went to Carnival in Recife, Brazil
2. Traveled to the Amazon rainforest
3. Honeymooned in the Galapagos and saw blue-footed boobies
4. Stayed in a boathouse on Lake Kariba on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border
5. Floated down a river in Borneo and saw tens of thousands of fireflies light up the night like stars
6. Celebrated Thaipusam, the most significant Hindu festival in Penang

7. Hitchhiked in South Africa
8. Traveled through Europe in a VW van with three guys I met in a piazza in Italy. We wandered for three weeks together sleeping in their VW van. They became my big brothers and protectors.
9. Spent April 15-May 22 in Greece and Cyprus and most of it was through doing home exchanges so we didn’t pay for accommodation
10. Traveled to 43 countries
11. I went to school in Spain
12. Drank spit beer from the Achuar Indians in Ecuador
13. Spent New Year celebrating the toro y mula festival in a small village in Costa Rica
14. Traveled alone in Europe

Work related

1. Became a travel writer for International Living

2. Learned how to pull a proper pint while working illegally in London
3. Started my own wholesale clothing business called the Feisty Kitten Showroom. It was a booming biz for 10 years.
4. Taught English in Brazil and South Africa
5. Published a blog
6. Spoke on stage in front of over 100 people at a conference

7. Became a published author
8. Learned how to create a website
9. Was a successful real estate agent for two years
10. Volunteered in 2 archaeological digs; one in France and the other Mykonos
11. Wrote a book about retiring to Bali for International Living
12. Won an award for being in the top 100 expat blogs from Feedspot

Adventure related

7. 12. 12. 1. Went skydiving
           2. Shot machine guns in Cambodia
           3. Crawled through a cave with an underground river in Ipoh
           4. Surfed in Sri Lanka
           5. I’m a PADI certified, terrified scuba diver
           6. Micro lighted over Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe
           7. Micro lighted in Costa Rica

       Other random stuff that makes me feel good

       12. 7. 7. 1. Did an episode of House Hunters International on HGTV
                 2. Was an extra in Indian Summers
                 3. Learned how to Batik
                 4. Had a book club with award-winning author Vaddey Ratner
                 5. Acted as a nun in a Singaporean b&w film
              8. 7. 12. 6. Moved abroad many times; England for 9 months, Brazil for 3, South Africa for 2 years, Penang for 6 years and counting)
                        7. I walked over hot coals at an Anthony Robbins seminar
                        8. I married a really good man

                    So there you have it. If you want to know more about any of these, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll happily give you all the deets.

                    How to make your own reverse bucket list

                    The list doesn’t have to be full of big things.

                    “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” —Robert Brault

                    It can be anything from learning how to ride a bike or bake the best banana bread, to things like graduating from college, or dancing like no one was watching during a Zumba class.  Whatever you are proud of that makes you feel good. Write it down.

                    When you start beating yourself up for some dumb reason, and if you’re like me you will, read your reverse bucket list and remind yourself how freakin’ incredible you are.

                    Instead of ogling Instagram for all the dream-worthy trips I am not currently taking, this is like a kick in my own ass reminder that I have lived a pretty dream worthy life. Time to embrace just how fortunate I am.

                 What’s on your reverse bucket list? Tell me 3 of your proudest moments or coolest things you’ve done.