Issue 8 - From Within

Hello and welcome to my weekly email newsletter, Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five.

Each Friday, I share five things I’m enjoying, thinking about, and find interesting, which you might also find useful. As highlighted last week, I’ve now built an archive section on my website for all Deep Life Reflections. So if you’re a new subscriber, or want to read previous issues, click here.

Here’s this week’s Friday Five.

1. What I’m Reading

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans.

This is the book I most recommend to the people I mentor, and I often dip back in myself. The authors show us how to design and build our way to a life that is meaningful. They do this by focusing on five specific mindsets (be curious; try stuff; reframe problems; know it’s a process; and ask for help) and breaking down dysfunctional beliefs and reframing them, such as:

Dysfunctional belief: “You should know where you’re going by now.” Reframe: “Start from wherever you are. There’s no such thing as being late to design a good life.”

I like the practical, step-by-step prototyping approach, which mirrors the designing of a product. They also have a great ‘ideate the future’ section where you create three different life plans because there is more than one version of you. When we think of what exactly is a well-designed life, it’s something like a rich portfolio of experiences, adventures, and failures that teaches us important lessons that build greater self-awareness, resiliency and wisdom.

2. What I’m Watching

Chariots of Fire (1981) Directed by Hugh Hudson.

A British film based on the true story of two athletes, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, who compete in the 1924 Paris Olympics. The film shows the challenges they faced, both from societal expectations and personal conflicts.

The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Music, Original Score (the iconic soundtrack has become synonymous with triumph and success). But it’s the story of Eric Liddell, ‘The Flying Scotsman’, that fascinates me the most. A devout Christian, Liddell refuses to complete in his best event in Paris, the 100-meter dash, on Sunday because of his religious beliefs. Despite enormous pressure, he holds true to his principles. Instead, he competes in the 400-meter race. This is the climax of the film, a brilliant piece of film-making (watch here) where we hear Liddell’s inner monologue as he storms to the gold medal ahead of the more favoured American runners:

“So where does the power come from to see the race to its end? From within.”

Liddell’s life was guided by his principles and he became a missionary in China. He was universally liked and respected for his humility, kindness, and dedication to his faith and sport. He died age 43 in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during the second world war, but his life and legacy continue to inspire.

3. What I’m Contemplating

How our lives aren’t linear, but move in a zig-zag fashion. On Monday I spoke with a large group of male pupils aged 16-18 at a local school in Dubai as part of their wellbeing week. I shared my story, focusing on a particular period of my life in 1998, when I was 22 years old and couldn’t get a job. It was one unsuccessful job interview after another. I had one last opportunity, and I told myself I was getting that job. And luckily for me I did. I later learned there were seven other people who interviewed for that job. Call it belief, call it preparation, call it desperation, but that started a journey that continues to move in a non-linear direction, marked by many experiences, adventures, and failures.

So that was my message to the pupils: there will be many versions of you. There’s no single or correct path. It will zig-zag. Learn from it and enjoy the journey.

4. A Quote to note

“Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards.”

Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher

5. A Question for you

What are the things within you that help you live a balanced and fulfilling life? Do you have that balance? My latest article looks at the role of work in our lives, and how, for many, work has become the cornerstone of one’s identity, yet often at the expense of regret.

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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

James