What if the Life You’re Seeking Is Right in Front of You?
I want more meaning. I crave fulfillment. But I have no idea where to find it.
For the past several years, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans—the visionary professors behind Stanford’s Life Design Lab—kept hearing these concerns. People were desperate for deeper joy and a sense of purpose, especially amid all this social angst and isolation.
So, Burnett and Evans did what they do best: They took notes, put their “designer’s mindset” to work, and wrote a new book to address the issue: How to Live a Meaningful Life.
Their guidance is clarifying and freeing. And no matter what stage of life you’re in, the duo makes a compelling case that the essence of a joyful, more fulfilling life is within your reach—and you can start creating it today.
Two Designers and a Mission
Before we look ahead, let's take a look back. For the past 20 years, Burnett and Evans have been helping people design lives and careers through their teaching at Stanford and their bestselling books, Designing Your Life and Designing Your Career.
They help people employ a "designer's" approach to doing this. Before teaching at Stanford, the two creatives engineered products and technologies at global giants, including Apple. They took their designer chops and created one of the university’s most sought-after life courses—which sparked a movement, bestselling books, and a reframe of how to approach living.
That brings us to today. They kept noticing that while many had learned their "design" tools, but they still sought more meaning and connection. "[That's because] this is the loneliest generation we've ever educated at Stanford, but it's across Gen Z, Millennials, and everybody,” Burnett tells The Sunday Paper. “A lot of stuff broke after the pandemic, and we’re still working through it.”
In their new book, How to Live a Meaningful Life, the pair share accessible, simple tools for building more connection and joy.
“We’re not trying to boil the ocean and solve the meaning of life,” Evans tells us. “But if you start investing in designing and experiencing more meaning in life, the meaning of life thing actually starts getting easier. Because you really start living into your becoming.”
So how do you do that? Here are three things to consider:
#1: It's not About cramming more in, it’s about getting more out.
Have you ever thought, If I just do more... buy more... accomplish more... then I’ll have more purpose and fulfillment? That is a common human paradox today. We think we must add to our life to get more out of it.
Burnett and Evans suggest a hopeful reframe.
“It’s really about how do I get more joy out of the life I’m in now,” says Evans.
They call this the “scandal of particularity.” Our lives are full of particular, unique moments that are rich with opportunity. Adopting a designer’s mindset lets you reframe your current experience and see its potential—starting with the small moments right in front of us.
Evans uses the example of this Sunday Paper interview. At this moment, three people are gathering for a brief period. “That’s a particularity!” says Evans. “So let's not worry about what we're missing out on, and let’s not worry about the things we can't get to. Let’s get more out of the thing we’re in—right now.”
Adds Burnett, “Right here, today, is something amazing, something that you could pay attention to. So, instead of doom scrolling another 10 minutes on your phone, pay attention to something that's right there and available to you. Start experiencing some of the joy and meaning that you deserve.”
#2: There's a power (and a pricelessness) to wonder.
To help you get more meaning, Burnett and Evans offer specific mindset shifts—starting with wonder.
They define wonder as a mix of curiosity—a natural human motivation to learn about things—and mystery—the awe found in the unknown, such as the intricate process of a flower blooming.
What happens when we open ourselves to wonder in this very moment is that we tap into a unique sensation of being fully alive and of seeing that each of us is part of something bigger than we can even grasp, Burnett and Evans believe. Opening yourself to wonder helps us move from the transactional world—the world where we live in our heads and expect things to go a certain way—and move us to the flow world—a world where we accept and participate in the reality of our lives.
“If you start with wonder, and then you're available to what you see when you see it in the world, you’re on your way to a completely different experience,” says Burnett.
Moments of wonder are around you every second—so as Burnett and Evans say, “put on your wonder glasses.”
#3: For deeper presence, consider a "Choose Life" exercise.
At the start of each day, Burnett engages in a simple practice. He makes two statements:
- “I live in the best of all possible worlds.”
- “And everything I do today, I choose to do.”
These two practices shift the mind toward availability and acceptance, and away from a victim mindset.
“Once I decided that I’m choosing everything, including even the things I’m not going to do, it was a liberation,” Burnett tells us. “It actually did rewire my brain. I’m a pessimist and an introvert by nature, but by design, I’m an optimist and think the world’s a great place.”
So, at this moment, try Burnett’s exercise. Open your mind to what's true and all the agency you have.
Remember: You get to be the designer of your life.
There is no 1-2-3 method to this approach, say Burnett and Evans. Nor is there a right or wrong way. This is your life.
“We’re not the gurus that you have to please,” emphasizes Burnett. "These are just some tools to try, and a bunch of reframes to get rid of things that hold you back.”
Because as the professors say, life is hard, and circumstances can be tough. What's important to remember is that no matter, you can choose how you approach your days. You can gaze out the window, wishing things were different. Or you can engage with reality, tap into wonder, and pull more out of this life right now.
As Evans says, “It’s about how you can choose your way into finding the aliveness that's right in front of you.”
Bill Burnett is the executive director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University and an adjunct professor in mechanical engineering and design at Stanford. He is also the founder and managing director of the Designing Your Life Institute in Singapore.
Dave Evans is the co-founder of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University, adjunct lecturer, and co-founder of Electronic Arts.
Learn more at https://designingyour.life/.
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