{"id":322,"date":"2025-12-27T23:23:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T04:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vishmith.com\/?p=322"},"modified":"2026-01-01T11:58:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T16:58:58","slug":"2026-but-backwards-creating-my-reverse-bucket-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vishmith.com\/sinhala\/2026-but-backwards-creating-my-reverse-bucket-list\/","title":{"rendered":"2026, But Backwards: Creating My Reverse Bucket List"},"content":{"rendered":"

My Reverse Bucket List for 2026<\/h1>\n

I finally finished a book I had restarted at least three times \u2014 a small victory, but a meaningful one.
\nThe funny part? I accidentally picked it up at a Toys\u201cR\u201dUs store when I first landed in Canada.<\/p>\n

I had always wanted this book. Something about it felt familiar \u2014 almost Buddhist.
\nThat book is From Strength to Strength<\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good book with a strong message, though the ideas are scattered across many stories.
\nMiss one story, and the ending of a chapter might not fully land.
\nStill, one chapter stayed with me long after I closed the book \u2014 the one about the bucket list.<\/p>\n

Why the Bucket List Never Sat Right With Me<\/h2>\n

Almost everyone has a bucket list.
\nFlying in a hot air balloon.
\nSeeing the Northern Lights.
\nDoing something once, just to say they did it.<\/p>\n

The author gives the bucket list a different tone \u2014 one that made me pause.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

I spent this chapter trashing the idea that the bucket list will bring you anything but dissatisfaction.
\nLet me say one good thing about the conventional bucket list, however: it makes us focus on the limits of time and thus on how to use time well.
\nThe idea of the bucket list is to make sure you don\u2019t get to the end and say,
\n\u201cI\u2019m not ready to die! I\u2019ve never ridden in a hot air balloon!\u201d
\n(I didn\u2019t just make up this example \u2013 that\u2019s number 6 on the average bucket list, according to a 2017 survey).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That hit harder than expected.<\/p>\n

The Reverse Bucket List<\/h2>\n

Instead of listing things to chase, the author introduces the idea of a reverse bucket list<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You write down your worldly desires \u2014 fame, money, recognition, status \u2014 and consciously cross them off.
\nNot because they don’t matter, but because clinging to them creates endless wanting.<\/p>\n

The goal isn\u2019t less ambition.
\nIt\u2019s less attachment.<\/p>\n

Less craving.
\nMore meaning.<\/p>\n

Bucket List vs Checklist (A Gentle Difference)<\/h2>\n

A bucket list is loud.
\nA checklist is gentle.<\/p>\n

A bucket list whispers urgency: do this before it\u2019s too late<\/em>.
\nA checklist quietly asks: does this still matter to me today?<\/em><\/p>\n

Bucket lists chase dopamine \u2014 the thrill of ticking something off just to move on to the next thrill.
\nChecklists are practical. They exist for the present, not for impressing the future version of yourself.<\/p>\n

A bucket list wants a lifetime commitment.
\nA checklist is happy to be erased, rewritten, or ignored.<\/p>\n

And maybe that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n

My 2026 Checklist (Not a Bucket List)<\/h2>\n