Get Inspired: Write Down Your Reverse Bucket List

For some reason I thought I'd never see the Grand Canyon. I thought wrong!

It starts when we're kids and haunts us well into adulthood: "What do you want to be when you grow up? "Where do you want to go to college?" "Have you set a wedding date yet?" The endless onslaught of questions about the future has left most of us overvaluing what's next. It's why we tend to rush through our days with this sense of urgency, our weeks blurring into an endless scramble for some unattainable "tomorrow." And it can be exhausting.

So when Rebecca of The Uncaged Life introduced the idea of The Reverse Bucket List, it was like I finally had an excuse to chill out and look away from that light at the end of the tunnel. The idea's pretty simple: Instead of listing your goals for the future, you list the accomplishments you've already had. It's a great exercise in being appreciative in the success and adventures you've experienced instead of stressing yourself out over ones you may or may not ever see come into fruition. After all, we explore and travel to make memories—why not look back and enjoy them once in a while? Here's a taste of what's on mine:

-Did my first lead climb.
-Learned how to surf.
-Moved across the country by myself.
-Tried deep-sea fishing (and baited my own hooks).
-Started a blog.
-Became a magazine editor just a few years out of college.
-Rode dirt bikes with Jolene from Nitro Circus.
-Went to the Billabong Big Wave awards.
-Flew in a two-man plane.
-Hiked in Yosemite and Zion.

My list goes on from there, but just that chunk made me both grateful for the past year and even more stoked for this one. Try it!