The Life Design Workbook
During this past year, many of us have had to pivot in our work and lives, sometimes multiple times as circumstances change. We have practiced managing uncertainty, while striving for equanimity and responding to change as best we can. My life design work has shifted from primarily facilitating small in-person groups, to working with people individually online. As with many of our pandemic experiences, this shift has come with both losses and gains. While I miss the sense of community and collaboration that gathering brings, it was wonderful to be able to work with people who are geographically distant, and to focus exclusively on the needs and circumstances of each person in a way that is different when in a group. I’m grateful that I have been able to continue supporting people as they build their capacity for designing and building lives of purpose and meaning over the past year. I’ll continue to offer online sessions as well as in person groups when we are able to gather again.
As well, I have been creating a life design workbook that can be used both on it’s own, or as a complement to private life design sessions and groups. The workbook follows a step by step practical and interactive process, based on four foundational pillars. These pillars encompass the mindset and approach to designing and building a more purposeful and joyful life. Following is a short excerpt from the introduction to the The Life Design Workbook.
The Four Foundational Pillars
Curiosity ~ Design thinking ~ Appreciative inquiry ~ Storytelling
Curiosity: It’s the strength of our questions that shapes our lives
Curiosity creates change. The direction of our lives is influenced by the questions we ask ourselves and others. When we are curious about our insights, knowledge, mindset, and experiences, our curiosity becomes a useful and valuable part of life design. Learning to be curious, rather than fearful, helps us to courageously navigate our way forward.
Humans are born curious, and we can build our curiosity at any time in our lives. When we practice being curious, we begin to notice our curiosity grow. Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein, and Socrates were all known for being curious, and their creativity, insights, and innovation were driven primarily by asking questions rather than answering them.
Design Thinking: Our ability to creatively address complex problems and questions leads us to innovative solutions.
Design thinking is a human centered approach that comprises a set of ideas, principles, strategies, and tools. Design thinking is used in a range of disciplines including engineering, business, architecture, and computer science. We can also apply this approach to designing our lives. Brainstorming, mind mapping, prototyping, and iterating are a few of the effective design tools you will be using as your progress through this workbook.
Appreciative inquiry: We create valuable change when we focus on what’s working.
In appreciative inquiry, we seek to uncover and bring out the best in a person, a situation, or an organization. Focusing on past and present strengths, successes, and peak experiences can compensate for our ‘negativity bias’, while building greater creativity and confidence. In appreciative inquiry, we discover and build on what works best and the specific conditions and contexts that are most supportive and generative.
Storytelling: It’s our stories that allow us to connect, empathize, and make meaning of our experiences and our world.
Our stories provide a way for us to make meaning of our lives and the world we live in, to connect with others, and to discover and explore the many perspectives and lenses through which we experience our lives. Reframing our story can change our sense of what is possible, allowing us to take incremental steps in the direction of new possibilities. When we tell our stories, we are forming bridges between places, people, and disparate ideas that may not have previously seemed connected.