I was rushing to my morning meeting last week when I stopped cold in my tracks. The barista had scrawled “Breathe” on my coffee cup. How did she know I hadn’t taken a real breath in days?
We’ve all been there—drowning in deadlines, dreaming of vacation escapes, counting down to Friday. But what if we’re approaching life all wrong?
Seth Godin’s powerful perspective challenges our work-escape cycle: “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.“
This quote hit me hard, especially after watching colleagues burn out chasing the “hustle culture” dream. The relentless grind that once defined success is finally facing a meaningful backlash.
Living in Los Angeles, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the pandemic shifted priorities for many around me. My neighbor Mark, a former corporate lawyer, traded his 80-hour workweeks for a consulting practice that lets him coach his daughter’s soccer team.
“I realized I was designing my life around my job instead of designing my job around my life,” he told me during one of our morning dog walks.
This mindset shift isn’t about abandoning ambition or productivity. Rather, it’s about creating alignment between what we do and who we are. True success comes from building a life where Monday mornings don’t trigger dread.
Recent research supports this approach. A Gallup study found that employees who find meaning in their work are more engaged, productive, and less likely to burn out.
The question becomes: how do we design a life we don’t need regular escapes from?
Start by examining what truly energizes you. Make a quick list of activities that make you lose track of time. These flow states reveal what genuinely matters to you.
Then, look at your actual calendar. Does it reflect these priorities? If not, what small adjustments could bring more alignment?
For some, this means setting firm boundaries around work hours or saying no to projects that don’t serve their larger purpose. For others, it might mean pursuing a career pivot or creating a side project that feeds their soul.
My friend Elena found her solution in a four-day workweek, using Fridays for her painting practice. “I don’t need two-week vacations anymore,” she explained, “because I give myself mini-rejuvenations every week.”
Technology has opened unprecedented opportunities for lifestyle design. Remote work, flexible scheduling, and digital entrepreneurship let us shape work around life rather than the reverse.
This doesn’t mean every day feels like vacation. Purpose-driven living still includes challenges, difficulties, and tasks we might not love. The difference is these elements serve something meaningful to us.
The hustle mindset sells us on sacrificing today for tomorrow’s reward. Life design asks: what if the journey itself could be the reward?
Dr. Maya Richardson, wellbeing researcher at UCLA, explains: “Constantly deferring happiness creates a psychological pattern where we never feel we’ve earned the right to enjoy our lives.“
Take small steps toward alignment today. Could you block time for what matters most? Negotiate flexible hours? Or simply build ten-minute breaks into your day for activities that rejuvenate you?
When we design our lives intentionally, success takes on new meaning. It becomes less about external validation and more about creating days you don’t need to escape from.
As I sipped that coffee with “Breathe” written on it, I realized I had been postponing joy until my “real life” could begin. But this is my real life, happening right now.
What small change could you make today to create a life that feels less like something to endure and more like something to embrace? The answer might just redefine what success truly means for you.
