Episode 86: The Reverse Bucket List
The REverse Bucket List - Episode 86
“By managing what we want instead of what we have, we give ourselves a chance to lead more satisfied lives.” The reverse bucket list is a term that has at least two meanings, and in the episode I will explain both of them but mostly the one given by Arthur Brooks, who is an author and social scientist. In the episode I share how learning to manage your wants can increase your sense of satisfaction and happiness. I tell a story of me, HGTV shows and feeling a sense of dissatisfaction with my home. I also share how Mr. Brooks suggests you look at a bucket list in an entirely different way. An intriguing topic which hopefully gets you thinking about your own wants or bucket list items.
Show Notes: Hi Friends! I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode. Below are all the references.
The Reverse Bucket List was a fun topic to learn about this week. Here are the few things that I learned.
There are a few ways to think about a Reverse Bucket List.
The first way to do a reverse bucket list : You can do a reverse bucket list by writing down all of the things you have accomplished over your life. You can break it down by category, work, travel, experiences and so forth. This seems to be a practice of gratitude as well as a way to take a look at your life so far and see all the things you have done and experience on paper.
The second way is to make your bucket list but then sort of reverse engineer it and really look at the why of what you want to do. Then with that why make sure that all those items will truly give you a sense of happiness in your life. Take off the things that might lead you away and pursue the things that can lead you towards happiness and satisfaction.
The other points made by Arthur Brooks are :
We are more satisfied with our lives when we want what we have in our lives.
The formula given by Arthur Brooks is “satisfaction = getting what you want, leaves out one key component. To be more accurate, it should be: “Satisfaction = what you have ÷ what you want”
Instead of looking for happiness outside of us we should try to find it inside of ourselves. Like the idea of finding a sculpture within the raw jade of marble. The sculpture is already there, the artist simply takes away the unnecessary things to uncover it.
Below are the articles and podcast I mentioned in the episode.
