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The Beauty of 'Reverse Milestones.'
If you're undoing your goals, you're not alone…
The first time I wrote about ‘reverse milestones’ was 11 years ago. At the time, I had just left a marriage; I had just sold my apartment; I had just left my ‘dream’ job as the editor of a fashion magazine. I had quit marathon training; I had decided to stop going to yoga every day and, instead, I was spending my mornings idly walking. I was putting on weight, I was getting less ‘fit’—and it was one of the happiest periods of my life.
At the time, I was nearing my 30th birthday—a time when many of my piers were reaching, striving and saving. I remember, posting a happy photograph to Instagram. I can’t remember exactly what I doing in the photo, but I do remember adding the hashtag #reversemilestone.
One of my editors jumped on it and asked me to write an article about it. The phrase has stuck with me every since.
When it comes to the arch of life, we think we should always move in an upward trajectory—our career should get more ‘successful’; our income should increase; we should acquire more possessions and people in our Ariel-esque collection. But the truth is, for many of us that isn’t sustainable—or desirable.
In fact, we all have times in our lives, when we reverse many of our previous milestones—we end a relationship; we leave a job; we reduce our income to make space for our health and happiness. Often, we can see these reverse milestones as a failure but, in fact, they’re a vital part of our self exploration and personal evolution.
Here are some of the #reversemilestone happening in my life right now. I’d love you to take a few moments to celebrate your own.