What's a Life Redesign?

“Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.”

Charles Eames

I first heard the term ‘life redesign’ while reading an article on The Guardian. I was searching for articles on happiness, and I stumbled upon this Happiness by Design piece.

Katie McCroy wrote about how she decided her life was in need of a significant change. So, she moved from London to Copenhagen, the so-called happiest city in the world. She titles the article ‘How to design your life for happiness’.

Rather than focusing on one thing in your life – like happiness – a redesign looks at whole areas and your whole life, and how changing these areas or aspects can in the end increase your happiness.  For McCroy, that was moving out of the UK and starting her life over in Copenhagen.

Denmark is purportedly the happiest country in the world. The majority of the population cite social equality as the most important indicator of happiness in the country, but this didn’t happen by accident. An equal society was designed and built.

What's All This About Happiness?

The world is obsessed with attaining happiness. It’s become an over-hyped and commodifiable concept. Countless self-help books claim they can help you achieve it. But it always seems out of our reach.

But why are we so determined to have it?

And when did the search for fulfilling happiness begin?

The Pursuit of Happiness

“The pursuit of human happiness, it would seem, has been with us from the start.” 

Darrin M McMahon

Well, the search for happiness has been ongoing throughout history. In Greek Tragedies happiness was in the hands of chance, or with the gods. Not something achievable by our own hands. It wasn’t until Socrates insisted that happiness lies within our own reach that humans finally began to think
that they were responsible for their own fate.