Prioritize working with others
Achieve lasting results through collaboration.
Do you try to achieve your goals alone?
Prioritizing working with others changes the game. Every goal, like designing your life, learning a new skill, or reaching a major personal achievement, becomes easier to achieve and more rewarding when you involve others. Ideas multiply, blind spots shrink, outcomes improve, and relationships deepen.
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This piece focuses on designing your life, but the mindset applies far beyond that. Any significant goal benefits from working with others.
Designing and building your life is rarely a solo act. Most meaningful outcomes, like a well-designed life, are shaped through working with others. People with different experiences, skills, and ways of thinking bring fresh ideas and solutions you might never discover on your own. Feedback sharpens your thinking. Accountability keeps you moving when motivation fades. Support helps you navigate uncertainty without getting stuck.
Engaging with others reinforces the mindset of relying on collaboration rather than staying in your own echo chamber. Being willing to ask for help is key. It serves as a bridge to stronger collaboration and deepens trust. Sharing doubts, uncertainties, and mistakes with others fosters more authentic interactions. Collaboration helps you achieve better outcomes, make stronger decisions, and maintain steady progress.
Keep your family, partner, close relatives, and close friends informed about your life design efforts. Designing and building your life is easier when the people closest to you understand what you are trying to do and why.
Working with others is like having spotters at the gym. Their support doesn’t lift the weight for you, but it makes you safer and more confident as you push your limits.
Use the following strategies to turn working with others into a habit.
👉 Start with small collaborations
Practice low-stakes interactions such as brainstorming with a friend, seeking advice from someone you trust, or making small plans together. Experiencing the benefits in small doses builds confidence in relying on others and reinforces the mindset that collaboration improves outcomes.
👉 Create a life design team
If possible, involve two to four people who are willing to invest time and provide constructive feedback. Work with them individually or in group sessions. Clarify roles, time commitments, and communication norms to prevent misunderstandings and make collaboration sustainable. Treat team members as co-creators of your life design: present your goals, ask for feedback, and brainstorm together to generate and prioritize ideas for solutions. You can create a similar team for any significant goal you are trying to reach.
👉 Be specific about the support you need
Instead of vague requests, clearly state the type of support you want, such as feedback, accountability, encouragement, or practical assistance. Clear requests make collaboration easier and more effective.
👉 Practice reciprocal support
Collaboration works best when it is mutual. Offer your time, advice, or encouragement to others. Giving support reinforces interdependence, deepens relationships, and meets the human need for connection.
👉 Celebrate collaborative wins and effort
Recognize shared achievements and the effort team members put in. Thank them, reflect on what went well, and acknowledge contributions with small gestures or public recognition. Celebrating in this way reinforces the mindset that working with others produces results and is rewarding.
👉 Reflect on your collaborative experiences
Regularly review how you work with others. Notice what went well, what could be improved, and adjust your approach. This practice reinforces a collaborative mindset and strengthens your ability to work effectively with others.
👉 Bring the mindset to life
Reinforce this mindset by consistently involving others whenever possible. Visualize yourself collaborating on your goals, plan for challenging situations, and use visual reminders to stay on track.
For more details, see Bring your desired mindset to life.
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Designing your life doesn’t have to be a solo journey. By involving others, sharing ideas, and embracing support, you achieve stronger results, make better decisions, and sustain meaningful progress.
