Build a Lifestyle Instead of Chasing Goals

Gillian Forth
Jun 22
2 min read

Here’s how we begin to build a lifestyle instead of chasing goals, and how to step off the hedonic treadmill:

🌿 1. Shift from "What do I want to achieve?" to "How do I want to live?"

Ask yourself:

What do I want my days to feel like?
What’s worth being tired for?
What do I want to make space for, consistently and imperfectly?
What am I willing to do, even if it never earns me accolades or achievements?

This reframes life from being about “results” to being about the experience of being alive.

🔍 2. Identify Core Values, Not Goals

Instead of setting SMART goals like “Write a book in 6 months,” orient to values like:

Creativity over productivity
Curiosity over mastery
Presence over prestige

Then, build routines, rituals, and boundaries that make room for those values daily.

♻️ 3. Make Peace With Repetition

A lifestyle is built on loops, not ladders.

Watering your plants.
Having a slow morning.
Texting a friend every Thursday.
Taking breaks before you need them.

These aren’t things you “finish”—they’re ways of being that give your life texture and depth. The hedonic treadmill keeps us running toward novelty; lifestyle lets us savor the familiar.

⏳ 4. Use "Micro-Metrics" Instead of "Milestone Metrics"

Track:

How often you laughed.
How rested you feel.
Whether you made time to be gentle with yourself this week.

This de-centers external wins and re-centers internal states as valid indicators of a life well lived.

🧠 5. Interrogate Your Default Beliefs

Beliefs like:

“Rest must be earned.”
“I am only valuable when I'm achieving.”
“Success requires sacrifice.”

Unpack where these came from. Whose voice is that? What is it costing you? What might become possible if you believed something else?

🎭 6. Romanticize the Life You Already Have

This sounds fluffy but is deeply radical. It’s about finding joy without waiting to deserve it.

Eat dinner by candlelight on a Tuesday.
Dress up for your own reflection.
Let yourself feel proud after cleaning your kitchen or making a boundary.

This reclaims fulfillment now, instead of deferring it to some imagined future success.

🧘 7. Practice Disruption of Hustle Norms

This means actively resisting the pull to measure your life in outputs.

Take days off without justifying them.
Say no to things you’re good at but don’t want to do.
Protect unscheduled time like it’s sacred.

It’s not about doing nothing. It’s about choosing what truly matters, not what you’ve been taught should matter.

✨ Final Thought:

Getting off the hedonic treadmill isn't about stopping growth—it's about switching the fuel source. Instead of being powered by scarcity, fear, or social comparison, you get powered by meaning, connection, and self-trust.