“Comparing my views on work and life during the workshop was a wake-up call. I realized how much my perception of work needed to change for my life to truly move forward.”
Redesigning Your Life: Stepping Back Before Moving Forward
As Charlotte entered her thirties, she reached a familiar but often uncomfortable point: the moment when long-held assumptions about work and life no longer seemed to fit. These transitions can easily become internal dead ends, marked by overthinking rather than action. Charlotte’s experience suggests another way forward.
After seven years in a corporate environment, she realized that professional stability had not translated into personal fulfillment. The life she had built no longer reflected what she valued.
Rather than pushing through the dissatisfaction, she chose to pause. She searched for guidance within her company but found no role model who embodied the life she aspired to. Instead, she began looking elsewhere.
Why Charlotte Chose Designing Your Life
With a professional development budget available, Charlotte began exploring options for personal growth. She came across Designing Your Life, a framework developed at Stanford University. Already familiar with Design Thinking through her work, she noticed upcoming sessions in Europe.
Before committing, she looked up Adis Sophie on LinkedIn and listened to a podcast interview, where she sensed a rare balance of empathy and practicality.
The workshop appealed to her for its emphasis on experimentation and action rather than purely psychological introspection. What Charlotte was seeking was space to reflect—paired with concrete tools that could turn insight into decision-making.
What Surprised Her Most
The workshop setting immediately stood out: informal, welcoming, and designed for interaction. The facilitation style was energetic without being prescriptive. Personal experiences were shared not as instruction, but as illustration.
Charlotte found a careful balance between individual reflection, group discussion, and hands-on exercises. Just as important was the sense of psychological safety. Among participants facing similar transitions, she felt able to speak openly.
“It wasn’t just about reflection,” she said. “The community pushed me to think bigger, take braver steps, and let go of fears I hadn’t questioned before.”
Sharing ideas with others, she discovered, often reshaped her perspective in unexpected ways.
Life After the Workshop
The most tangible outcome came soon after. Charlotte bought a house in the mountains with her family, an intentional experiment rather than an escape.
“It became a real-life prototype,” she said, “a way to test a different rhythm of living.”
She is now renovating the house with her boyfriend while exploring alternative careers and applying the brainstorming techniques she learned during the workshop. Travel has also become part of her inquiry, helping her clarify what kind of life she wants to design beyond the city.
Is Designing Your Life Right for You?
Charlotte recommends the workshop to those, particularly in their thirties, who feel stalled in their careers, unsupported at work, or uncertain about their next step.
“If you’re at a crossroads,” she said, “this is a chance to pause, reassess, and start designing a direction that actually fits.”
Her story is a reminder that meaningful change often begins not with acceleration, but with the courage to stop, question, and redesign.
