Hacked Off With Life Hacks
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." ~ Aristotle
In our fast-paced, convenience-driven world, it's no surprise that we're constantly searching for shortcuts to happiness and success. Enter the era of life hacks – those bite-sized tips and tricks promising to revolutionise our daily routines and catapult us into a state of perpetual productivity and optimisation.
But I'm hacked off with life hacks.
The Persistent Quest for Happiness
The desire to live a fulfilled, meaningful, and largely happy life seems to be a persistent aspect of the human condition, at least in Western cultures. From ancient philosophers like Socrates and Marcus Aurelius to modern self-help gurus like Tim Ferriss and Brené Brown, millions of words have been written in service of this desire.
Interestingly, most of these thinkers describe a similar set of tools for achieving this coveted state of being. After all, there's nothing new under the sun when it comes to human happiness.
The Simplicity Paradox
These tools and practices aren't complex. In fact, they're often strikingly simple. The real challenge lies not in discovering some secret formula, but in undoing the habits and patterns that have taken us away from our inherent understanding of how to live well.
We come into this world implicitly knowing how to breathe well, how to love, how to be.
And we all experience situations in life where we take away the lesson that the world isn’t safe for us to be ourselves. That’s a completely normal and understandable reaction.
But learning how to manage your emails better or getting a hack to boost your productivity isn’t addressing the underlying issue. The reason you’re not achieving what you want in the way that you want it is not going to be solved with a fancy new planner or a bullet-proof coffee.We’re human beings, not machines. We can’t hack ourselves into fulfilment.
The practices and tools that make a difference might be simple but that doesn’t make them easy. And let’s face it, we’re increasingly living lives where making things easy is the default choice. Online shopping. Apps that tell us exactly what time the bus will arrive or that filter our photos so they look a little more perfect. Entertainment at the push of a button.
Outsource the problem - whether it’s a broken arm or a broken boiler, someone will fix it for you.
We want easy and interesting - enter the era of the life hack.
The Illusion of the Quick Fix
A hack, especially in computer science, is defined as an “effective but inelegant solution” to a problem. Life hacks then became about learning easier, niftier ways to do everything from cutting an onion to improving your focus. In 2005, the American Dialectic Society named ‘lifehack’ (now one word) as runner-up for its annual ‘most useful word’ award, second only to ‘podcast’.
Life hacks fool us into thinking there’s a shortcut. That we can bypass all the hard work of examining our habits, patterns and choices, of building new neural pathways and new ways of being slowly and often painfully. That there’s a quick fix and one clear answer. That fast is better than deep.
The very idea of a shortcut suggests there is somewhere to get to: some mythical land where we can be happy all the time or some far-off utopia that we can reach if we just spend a bit more money and get that latest hack.
The Journey, Not the Destination
There is no destination.
This is your life.
The only place to find the fulfilment, satisfaction and meaning you’re yearning for is inside you. And there’s no shortcut there.
Ironically, it’s always in us; we’ve just done such an amazing job at hiding ourselves from the world that we can’t find our way back to ourselves.
The Value of Consistency and Support
Real change requires showing up day after day, doing 'the work' even when it's repetitive or boring. It means committing to practices for the long haul – my mindfulness and embodiment practices, for instance, are lifelong commitments. The tools and practices don’t work if I don’t do them - sounds obvious but oh so true.
Moreover, it often requires reaching out for help. In a world that increasingly rejects experts, we've become reluctant to invest in guides, coaches, and mentors. We shy away from joining communities that could hold us accountable to our commitments and goals and ask difficult questions of us.
We want to think we can do this on our own. But that's just not how humans evolved. I think we're meant to be in community and connection, to be supported and loved, and to find ways through tough times together.
Hack Off
There's no mythical land where we'll be happy and productive all the time, no far-off utopia we can reach if we just find the right hack.
And even if there was, I’m much more interested in the journey.
I’m interested in doing the deep work so I can show up in the world and make a difference.
And nothing could interest me less than hacking my way to perfection.
What about you? Are you ready to move beyond quick fixes and embrace a more meaningful path to personal growth?
Reflection Questions
1. What "life hacks" have you tried? How effective were they in the long term?
2. What would it look like to commit to a practice for your personal growth over the next year?
3. Who could support you in your journey towards greater fulfilment?
If you're tired of surface-level solutions and want to explore a more profound approach to personal growth and fulfilment, I'm here to help. As a coach committed to deep, transformative work, I can guide you on a journey of self-discovery and lasting change.
Let's move beyond life hacks and start building the foundation for a truly fulfilling life. Schedule a free consultation and take the first step on your journey to a more authentic way of being.