Principles of modern lifestyle design

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Greg’s Lifestyle Design

While writing and thinking about how my weekly email could evolve, I came across this blog post by Michael Karnjanaprakorn.

Michael, a writer and entrepreneur, outlines his principles of lifestyle design below:

“The main principles behind Lifestyle Design are:

1. Freedom and Flexibility: control over how you spend your time, which often includes untethering from traditional schedules and routines.

2. Work-Life Integration: integrating your work and career in a sustainable way that provides fulfillment in both.

3. Purposeful Living: intentionally design your days and routines based on your own personal definitions of success.

4. Income Autonomy: generating income in a way that provides location freedom, time freedom, and financial freedom to support your ideal lifestyle.

The core idea is to proactively design and create a life optimized for your values.”

You can see that these principles reflect modern society’s focus on remote work and location independence.

These are things that I value, but I recognize that for others, there is an important comfort in familiarity.

And, in-person work can provide a great community when you get it right.

Though I agree with these principles, it is important to ask, “Why do these principles resonate with me? How can I make them more authentic to me?”

Weekly Write-up

I have a strange aversion to pride that borders on excessive.

It is a result of both my upbringing and my fear of ego. I never want to be perceived as even close to cocky.

This weekend, I completed my second Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition.

It was a big improvement from my first — I won my weight division and placed second in the open class.

On the way home, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride. I hadn’t hit my highest target (double gold), but I had gotten pretty damn close for my second competition.

I was impressed with myself and excited about my potential in the sport.

Later that evening as I was enjoying my accomplishments, that little voice spoke up, “The success is going to your head. It’s just one competition. Your opponents weren’t even that strong. It’s not that big of a deal.”

It’s a defense mechanism I’ve developed over the years to protect myself from hubris and potential disappointment.

The thing is, I don’t struggle with hubris or disappointment today. I struggle with self-confidence.

If I’m thwarting feelings of pride, I’m not helping myself in the self-confidence department.

Achievements and progress fuel the engine of self-confidence.

I earned my success this weekend. I worked hard for it, both in preparation and throughout the competition.

It is ok to relish in that success — at least for a little bit.

Content Recommendation

Lazy Work, Good Work

Morgan Housel is one of my favorite writers. This quick read is a contrarian perspective on “hustle culture.”

AI Art Piece of the Week

Cheers ‘til next week,

T.O.