When Life Refuses to Love You Back
A wise (and conveniently shareable) quote from the late actor, Heath Ledger: “Everyone you meet always asks if you have a career, are married, or own a house as if life was some kind of grocery list. But no one ever asks you if you are happy.”
Happiness is only one aspect of this life. A more important question you should be asking is: why are you still giving so much of yourselves to life when it refuses to love you back?
Simply answered, because you don’t let it.
For the majority of us, it’s been a life of following social norms－graduate high school, go to college, get married, have children, and so on and so forth. However, this life blueprint we’re taught to have in order to live a ‘normal,’ ‘happy,’ and ‘successful’ life is contributing to burnout, stress, and isolation. While some choose the red pill (and there’s nothing wrong with that!), many are left wondering if there’s more to life than the blissful ignorance of existing.
To that, Jon and Missy Butcher have something to say. In fact, they have founded Lifebook, a lifestyle design system that encourages you to consciously carve out the life you’ve always dreamed of living.
Who You Are Now Is Not Who You Can Become
Who were you before society shaped your world as you know it? Are you successful, happy, and fulfilled? Are you living your dream or merely existing in someone else’s? Do you ever feel that tug deep in your gut telling you that you were meant for something more?
These were some questions that the creators of Lifebook, Jon and Missy asked themselves before creating this I-live-the-best-life-ever program.
The good news is, there’s never a better time to start taking charge of your own life than now.
As the popular saying goes, you’re never too old to learn something new. And not just a new skill, like learning to play the guitar or doing yoga, but something so big that it could change how you see and understand yourself and the world around you.
Self-development is not age-sensitive and there are always advantages to nurturing your personal growth. Many people start off on their transformational journey with goals to improve their self, career, money, health, and relationships. However, Jon and Missy, recognized there are more dimensions of life. A total of 12 categories, in fact, that you can thrive in all at once to profoundly shape your success, happiness, and fulfillment, and bring a beautiful balance to your life.
Don’t Live Hard, Live Holistically
You might be thinking, “What’s the difference between goal setting and Lifebook?” Great question!
Traditional goal setting chases outcomes, but you won’t know if your goals will really improve your life. It also focuses only on certain aspects of your life. For example, a goal that you make regarding your financial growth may conflict with the time you spend and the relationship you have with your family.
When we set goals, we’re often not setting goals that come from our heart, but goals that society says we need to pursue.
— Vishen, Mindvalley’s CEO and founder, in an interview with Jon and Missy
Lifebook, on the other hand, allows you to look at life holistically and to respectfully disregard other people’s opinions about how to live your life. It takes away long-embedded faulty beliefs (e.g., money is the root of all evil) and helps you create new ones that align with the life you’ve always wanted to live. It gives you insight into who you really are, how you show up in the world, and how you see the reality that maybe you hadn’t been aware of before.
“When you take the time to define an overall vision for your life that takes into consideration all the important aspects of your life,… what that does is it aligns all of your goals,” says Jon.
“They’re all moving in the same direction. They’re all working toward the same thing. There are no contradictions anywhere. You get all your energy flowing in the same direction and the power that creates is just a different universe than traditional goal-setting.”
