Think like a life designer
Adopt the mindset that shapes a meaningful, fulfilling life.
Designing your life starts with the way you think. What would a life designer think and do in your situation? How might seeing things differently change your next step?
✳️✳️✳️
Life design is about shaping your life through action and reflection as you move toward a future that does not exist yet. There is little reliable data and no proven path. Most steps are informed guesses, and some will fail. Progress comes from noticing what gives you energy and what drains it, adjusting your direction, and taking the next step. It is a messy, unpredictable process that calls for a small set of simple mindsets.
What is a mindset?
A mindset is a set of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that shape how you see the world and respond to it. Over time, it affects the goals you pursue, the choices you make, and how satisfied you feel with your life. A well-known example is the growth mindset: the belief that your physical and mental abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Its opposite is the fixed mindset, the belief that these abilities are fixed traits that cannot be changed.
Bringing a mindset to life starts with intellectual insight: understanding what it means and why it matters. But knowing isn’t enough, you also need to feel it and live it. Emotional insight is understanding that shows up automatically in how you feel and act. Moving from intellectual to emotional insight takes practice, patience, and intentional action. To learn how, see Bring your desired mindset to life.
The life design mindset
Reading and understanding the descriptions below gives you intellectual insight into the life design mindset. Designing and building your life gives you emotional insight. A simple way to strengthen this mindset is to ask yourself regularly:
🤔 What would a life designer do?
The life design mindset is a combination of the following mindsets.
🧠 Prioritize what matters
Life designers focus on what matters to them. They act in line with their needs, values, and purpose, even when they experience difficult feelings or limiting thoughts. This gives them a clear reference point when making choices.
For details, see Prioritize what matters
🧠 Prioritize action
Life designers are inclined to take action and build their way forward. This supports progress and the achievement of goals. They learn by trying things out and reflecting on the results. Doing informs thinking. Without action, there is little to reflect on.
For details, see Prioritize action
🧠 Prioritize the process
Life designers focus on the life design process rather than specific outcomes. Success rarely comes from obsessing over results. Focusing on the journey supports growth and learning, encourages exploration, and helps them stay present, resilient, and adaptable.
For details, see Prioritize the process
🧠 Prioritize working with others
Life designers work together with others. This brings fresh ideas and solutions, sharpens thinking, creates accountability, and provides support when challenges arise. Asking for help and sharing uncertainties strengthens trust and fosters genuine collaboration.
For details, see Prioritize working with others
🧠 Prioritize reframing your perspective
Life designers reframe situations and problems to get unstuck. Feeling stuck often has less to do with the situation itself and more to do with how it is viewed. Looking at a situation from a different perspective can reveal options that were previously hidden and help them move forward.
For details, see Prioritize reframing your perspective
🧠 Prioritize owning your choices
Life designers make the best choices they can and commit to them. They do not fixate on finding the perfect option, knowing the future is unpredictable. They also avoid dwelling on paths they did not take. Instead, they choose based on what they know and feel, and then make the most of that choice.
For details, see Prioritize owning your choices
🧠 Prioritize learning from failures
Life designers learn from failure. Setbacks are part of the journey and may result from circumstances beyond their control or from mistakes they have made. A learning mindset helps them see these moments as opportunities for growth rather than as personal shortcomings.
For details, see Prioritize learning from failures
🧠 Embrace curiosity
Life designers are curious and ask probing questions. They listen carefully, observe attentively, seek new information, and explore different perspectives. Curiosity leads them to challenge untested assumptions, investigate new possibilities, and find creative solutions. It also supports self-reflection and adaptation in new situations.
For details see: Embrace curiosity
You might also find this interesting: The art of asking good questions
🎉👏🎈
Thinking like a life designer shapes how you see, decide, and act. It helps you stay curious, resilient, and focused on what truly matters as you build your life.
References
Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
