Live By Design, Not By Default
My mentor Jim Bunch shared a line with me that has been tattooed into my brain ever since the moment he said it: “Live by design, not by default.”
As a species, one of our greatest assets is how adaptable we are. We can survive and succeed in so many different ways. But since we can make it by in so many different conditions, we forget to think about the conditions we want in life.
A life by default is the one that settles in based on natural rhythms. It’s allowing the environments we’re exposed to completely dictate the direction of our lives. We don’t have agency in this type of life and are tasked to react to what’s given.
A life by design is one that understands that we’re in control of our future and what happens to us. Rather than being at the whim of environments, we can make intentional adjustments to our environment so that they have a positive influence on us and support us in getting where we want to go.
A life by design is proactive in that you have a clear vision for what you want and you take action to make it so. There’s an infinite amount of possibilities available to us in our life, and we can hand select which ones we want to experience. We can choose the ones that give us the most joy, fulfillment, and life.
Taking the job that fell in your lap is life by default. Knocking on doors, putting yourself out there, improving your skills, and stating your value attracts your dream job by design.
Feeling like you’re overstressed, overworked, and inconsistent in your health habits is a life by default, reactive to what everyone else wants around you. Creating stronger routines, putting up boundaries, and enrolling yourself in a healthy vision for your life gets you in better shape while getting more work done, by design.
The realities of your life are not a reflection of you, they’re a reflection of your design. And if you know you’ve got more in the tank, aren’t you unhappy with just letting life run you?
Let’s change that! I’m leading a free, hour long workshop where I help you build out your Ideal Daily Design. You’ll be surprised to see how you’re just a few tweaks away from making your health a priority, having a personal life, excelling in your work, and feeling on fire with full and productive days!
