“Life was great,” she says. “But I had this thought… if I wake up in five years and everything looks exactly the same, would I be okay with that?”
On a soft spring afternoon in Amsterdam, one year after the workshop she attended, Zuzka reflects that nothing big about her life seems to have changed from the outside, but everything is reshaped from within.
A self-employed real estate agent, a mother of a seven-year-old daughter, and a woman with a full life already in motion, Zuzka wasn’t searching for a dramatic reinvention. In fact, by most standards, her life was already “working.”
And yet, something didn’t sit right. There was no big crisis. No breaking point. Just a quiet awareness.
After nearly a decade of running her own business, Zuzka found herself in a rhythm that felt too familiar, predictable, and perhaps, limiting.
She didn’t lack motivation for changing. What she lacked was a structure to define how to take action.
Why Zuzka chose Designing Your Life
Zuzka wasn’t new to self-development. She had read the books, attended workshops, and explored ideas about growth and mindset.
The turning point came unexpectedly at an expat fair in Amsterdam, where she found herself in conversation with Adis Sophie, our Designing Your Life facilitator, about her next workshop.
“I remember thinking: this is exactly what I need. Not another concept. Something practical. Something that shows me how to change things.”
Being a very structured and practical person, the workshop format immediately resonated with Zuzka, and she signed up almost instantly.
What surprised her the most
What stood out most during the two-day experience was not just the content, but the structure. Unlike traditional learning formats, this wasn’t about absorbing information. It was about actively redesigning one’s life in real time.
“You don’t just get a framework and go home. You actually do the work there. When I left, I knew what I was going to change.”
One of the most powerful elements for Zuzka was the group dynamic.
“It’s difficult to see yourself clearly on your own. Being surrounded by others and receiving feedback helped me notice things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.”
A key realization emerged during one of the exercises of the Reframing Energy module, which focused not on what she wanted but on when she felt most alive.
“I thought I needed a big career change. But I realized it’s not about changing everything. It’s about aligning with your core values in what you already do.”
Life After the Workshop: Small Shifts, Big Impact
Zuzka didn’t revolutionize her life. She refined it.
One of the most practical tools she applied was about energy management: understanding what gives energy and what drains it.
“I started combining things I enjoy with things I don’t. For example, answering emails in the sun with a matcha instead of sitting in my office.”
It might seem a simple shift, but it was transformative for her life in the long term. And more importantly, she made harder decisions she had long postponed.
“When you remove what drains you, you suddenly have more space for what actually matters.”
Interestingly, Zuzka’s external life hasn’t dramatically changed. Her business is still running. Her daily structure still exists. Her change was not about doing more. It was about doing it differently. That’s the real transformation.
Is Designing Your Life Right for You?
Zuzka thinks suggests Designing Your Life to people who feel the urgency to change, but do not know how.
However, she makes clear that there is one condition: “You have to be willing to create space for it. Not just in your calendar, but in your mind.”
This is not a passive experience. It requires presence and commitment.
“Don’t squeeze it in. Don’t treat it like something you fit between lunch and laundry. Create real space: for the workshop and for what comes after.”
