Welcome back to Life Intelligence. This week, I start a new Human Flourishing Series — 5 Weeks Toward an Integrated Life. In a world full of stress and negativity, I am hoping to help you feel better
Week 1: From Survival Mode to Aliveness
Theme: Confuse safety with fulfillment and the implications of that.
Week 2: The Architecture of Meaning
Theme: How purpose, coherence, and contribution form the backbone of flourishing.
Week 3: The Art of Emotional Mastery
Theme: Emotional agility
Week 4: Connection as a Growth Engine
Theme: Relationships as mirrors and amplifiers of flourishing.
Week 5: Becoming the Artist of Your Life
Theme: Integration, creativity, and self-authorship.
There will be more, I am sure. I am working on some “big-picture” essays on the current situation in the USA because, as you know, I am bothered by so much lately. Even though I am away, I still keep track of what's happening and continue to worry about where things are headed.
Lulu and I are in Europe right now. Soon, we’ll be sharing travel stories. But first, it has to stop raining for us to go outside to make some stories. 😂😂😂
Some housekeeping:
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Onward…
It is natural, and often wise, to seek peace, stability, or safety when the world feels chaotic. In fact, doing so is a core part of emotional regulation and survival, especially in turbulent, uncertain times. But too many people often stop there and complain that they don’t feel alive, even after they get everything they thought was worth getting.
The human nervous system strives to return to equilibrium after surviving a threat or navigating a stressful period, naturally seeking homeostasis. But sometimes, what starts as self-preservation — surviving turmoil, loss, and burnout — quietly turns into self-limitation.
Remember, Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love? The book fired up a lot of women who felt emotionally flat and yearned for an adventure. Before her famous trip, Gilbert had everything that’s supposed to equal happiness — marriage, a house, a career. Yet she described feeling “like a ghost in my own life.” Her divorce and spiritual journey weren’t about rebellion so much as escaping the illusion of safety. She realized she’d been mistaking stability for connection to self, “I had actively participated in every moment of the creation of this life, yet I didn’t want it,” she confessed.
Elizabeth Gilbert is clearly not the only one. In their State of the Global Workplace reports, Gallup tracks two relevant metrics: engagement (how connected and invested people feel in their work) and well-being/thriving (how people evaluate their lives overall). In 2024, global employee engagement fell to 21%. At the same time, the percentage of employees who say they are “thriving” in their lives also declined to 33%.
Even in societies with relative economic security, the fraction of people who feel “alive, engaged, thriving” is shrinking. These trends offer real backing for the idea that many people aren’t flourishing despite having structural stability (jobs, predictable routines, economic order). It suggests that stability alone doesn’t produce psychological vibrancy.