Write your Workview and Lifeview
Articulate what work is for and what life is for — then check whether they point the same way.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Articulate what work is for and what life is for — then check whether they point the same way.
- Why it works: Most direction-conflict is two unstated philosophies pulling against each other: a Workview (why you work, what good work is) and a Lifeview (what a life is for). Writing both makes the collision visible and gives you a stable yardstick to evaluate options against, so choices stop feeling like coin-flips and start being measured against something you actually believe.
- Evidence: Plausible mechanism, limited direct outcome data.
- Avoid: Writing what you think you should value (or what sounds noble) rather than what you actually do, so the yardstick measures a stranger’s life.
Why it works
Most direction-conflict is two unstated philosophies pulling against each other: a Workview (why you work, what good work is) and a Lifeview (what a life is for). Writing both makes the collision visible and gives you a stable yardstick to evaluate options against, so choices stop feeling like coin-flips and start being measured against something you actually believe.
How to do it
- 1Write a short Workview: what work means to you and what makes it worthwhile beyond money.
- 2Write a short Lifeview: what a meaningful life consists of and where work fits in it.
- 3Read them side by side and mark where they conflict — that tension is the thing to resolve.
What the evidence says
MechanisticThis is a values-clarification exercise, and clarifying and acting on personal values is a well-supported component of acceptance-based therapies. The Workview/Lifeview framing is Designing Your Life’s particular packaging of it.
Honest caveat: Values work has clinical support broadly; the specific two-document format is a teaching structure rather than a separately validated intervention.
Common mistake
Writing what you think you should value (or what sounds noble) rather than what you actually do, so the yardstick measures a stranger’s life.
IX Coach helps you put words to what work and life are actually for in your case, then uses that as the lens when you weigh real decisions.
Practice this with IX Coach →