Dysfunctional belief: If you are successful, you will be happy.
Reframe thinking from Designing Your Life: True happiness comes from designing a life that works for you.
I've decided to start sharing one book at the beginning of each month that I've found inspiring, interesting, or anything I've just genuinely loved reading! I hope this new blog post series helps others find books they enjoy, but that it also helps me in my quest to read one book every month.
This months 'Book of the Month' is called, Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. These two authors are professors at Stanford University, and have tested their methods, and found them successful with many different individuals.
"Burnett and Evans believe that in order to change, people need a process - a design process - to help them figure out what they want and how to create it."
This book has definitely transformed the way I view my life, and has helped me answer questions about what I want and how can achieve it. In a few short chapters and lessons, I was able to answer what I want out of a job, how to get it, and what to do in order to stay on the path of happiness for myself. Every person that reads this books answers will be different. Ultimately, it helps you find the best way to design a life that you are happy in.
One of the lessons I found most helpful was in Chapter 3, when it discusses wayfinding. This lesson asks you to write down moments in your job, or life that make you feel energized and engaged. We can all relate to being in a position (whether it's in our job or a class in college or even our daily lives) that leave us feeling bored or unsatisfied. Since I am between jobs right now and trying to decide what career path I want to take, I decided to look at my life as a whole to find what energizes and excites me in a typical day. Through this thought process, I concluded that staying active and using my creativity are two things that keep me energized and engaged. This led me to the conclusion that I need to find a job that keeps me on my toes (never idle), and one that allows me to use my creative side on a daily basis.
Overall this is a great read whether your in college and trying to find the right career path, or your years into your career and just need a change. It allowed me to take a closer look into my life and helped answer questions that will no doubt be a constant for me in the future.
You can buy Designing Your Life here on Amazon.
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