Design Your Life: A Design Thinking Approach

An overview of the program, the design thinking process, and a visual roadmap to guide your journey. This module also addresses the potential for existential stress that Odyssey Planning can trigger and offer coping mechanisms.

Practice approaching situations with curiosity and a willingness to explore new possibilities. Use habit stacking: After you drink your morning coffee, spend 15 mins cultivating curiosity.

“You start with curiosity and you lean into what you're curious about.”

Write a 250-word reflection on your theory of work: Why do you work? What's it for? What's work in service of? Consider your 'identity-based habits': How does your work view reinforce your sense of self?

“Write a work view. What's your theory of work? Not the job you want, but why do you work? What's it for? What's work in service of?”

Write a reflection on the meaning of life: What's the big picture? Why are you here? What is your faith or your view of the world?

“What's the meaning of life? What's the big picture? Why are you here? What is your faith or your view of the world?”

Connect your life view and your work view in a coherent way.

“When you can connect your life view and your work view together, in a coherent way, you start to experience your life as meaningful.”

List any issues in your life you consider impossible to change (gravity problems)

“There's a class of problems that people get stuck on that are really, really bad problems. We call them gravity problems. Essentially, they're something you cannot change.”

For each gravity problem, decide whether to accept it as a circumstance or attempt to reframe it into a workable problem.

“The only thing we know to do with gravity problems is to accept.”

Imagine your current life continues for the next five years, and it goes well. Include bucket list items.

“The thing you're doing, the thing you're doing right now, whatever your career is, just do it. And you're going to do it for five years and it's going to come out great.”

Imagine your current job is automated or no longer needed. What do you do?

“I'm really sorry to tell you, but the robots and the AI stuff - that job doesn't exist anymore, the robots are doing it. We don't need you to do that anymore. Now, what are going to do?”

Imagine you have enough money and don't care what people think. What would you do?

“What would you do if you didn't have to worry about money? You've got enough. You're not fabulously wealthy, but you've got enough. And what would you do if you knew no one would laugh?”

Identify elements from Plans Two and Three that you can integrate into Plan One to make your life even better.

“A lot of times, the things that come up in the other plans were things that they left behind somehow. In the business of life, they forgot about those things. And so they bring them back and put them in plan one, then they make their lives even better.”

Identify people who are living aspects of your potential future (bartender in Ibiza, researcher in genetics, coder, etc.) and have conversations with them to gather insights. Consider the influence of your social network on your career vision.

“The future is already here. It's just unevenly distributed.”

Create small, low-stakes experiences to 'try on' different future possibilities (attend a class, volunteer in a new area, etc.).

“You just have to go try this, you know.”

Brainstorm and gather as many options as possible for a current decision you're facing.

“Once you get good at design you're really good at coming up with options. You've got narrow those down to a working list that you can work with.”

Cross off options until you have a manageable set (5 or fewer).

“When you have too many choices, you have no choice.”

Make your decision based on a combination of rational thought and your gut feeling.

“You cannot choose well if you choose only from your rational mind.”

Once you've made your decision, let go of FOMO and embrace your choice. Apply a specific reward schedule: If I stick with my decision for a month, I will treat myself to a massage.

“If you make decisions reversible, your chance of being happy goes down like 60 or 70 percent. So, let go and move on, make the decision reversible.”