Embracing Life Design: A Personal Journey Away from Resolutions
As the calendar turns and the promise of a new year unfolds, many of us find ourselves entangled in the web of New Year’s resolutions. In the past I tried myself only to be left disheartened as the months passed, and those ambitious goals slipped through my fingers like grains of sand.
I decided for a more nuanced approach — a synthesis of insights from James Clear’s Atomic Habits and the transformative philosophy outlined in Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett. Together, these frameworks have propelled me towards an approach that transcends traditional “laundry list” of rigid resolutions but on the identity I wanted to cultivate.
Consider the common resolution of career advancement. While commendable, traditional resolutions may lack the depth required for sustained growth. By integrating the principles of Designing Your Life, which emphasizes the application of design thinking to personal and professional development, I started crafting intentional, iterative prototypes for my career journey. This iterative process allowed me to experiment, prototype, and refine my professional path in alignment with my evolving identity.
By embracing this mindset, I discovered three unexpected reasons why life design is a far more potent approach than traditional resolutions.
1. Cultivating Lasting Change Through Identity
Resolutions often center around external goals, such as hitting the gym or saving money. However, life design invites us to identify with the person we aspire to be. By anchoring habits to our identity, the changes become a natural extension of who we are. For instance, instead of merely aiming to exercise regularly, I envisioned myself as someone who values and prioritizes physical well-being. This subtle shift transformed the act of exercising from a chore to a manifestation of my identity, leading to lasting change.
2. Eliminating the ‘All-or-Nothing’ Mentality
Resolutions often come with the baggage of an ‘all-or-nothing’ mentality. A single misstep can derail the entire resolution, leaving us feeling defeated. Life design, on the other hand, acknowledges that setbacks are inevitable. It’s not about perfection but about progress. By focusing on small, consistent changes aligned with our desired identity, we free ourselves from the paralyzing fear of failure. Each step, no matter how small, becomes a victory in the journey of personal growth.
3. Intrinsic Motivation through Design Prototypes
While traditional resolutions may rely on external motivators, the integrated life design approach taps into intrinsic motivation. Design thinking encourages the creation of prototypes — small, actionable experiments to test and refine professional hypotheses. Embracing this method fostered a sense of curiosity and a genuine enjoyment of the iterative process, propelling my professional development forward.
As the new year unfolds, consider embracing the life design approach over resolutions. It’s a shift from focusing on outcomes to nurturing a transformative identity.
See ya!
