There’s a fact I’ve been circling currently: I’m uninterested in attempting to be my “greatest self.” Someplace between the micro-habits, the stacks of self-help books, and the limitless speak of optimization, wellness began to really feel much less like care and extra like efficiency. I’ve caught myself questioning, nearly sheepishly: Has wellness gone too far? And the uncomfortable reply I hold coming again to is sure.
I don’t need to optimize my life anymore—I need to stay it. To really feel curious, expanded, and impressed, not continuously polished. As a substitute of perfecting my routine or hacking my habits, what I crave is one thing more true: enlargement, not effectivity. Depth over self-discipline. Studying not as a result of I ought to, however as a result of it makes me really feel awake once more.
A Private Curriculum for Residing Totally
That’s why, after I stumbled throughout the thought of a private curriculum, it felt like an exhale. Not one other system to overcome or observe to grasp, however a return to the best impulse: following what fascinates me. Exploring concepts, books, and abilities as a result of they spark one thing—not as a result of they promise to make me higher.
I’ve at all times believed curiosity is my best superpower. I don’t faux to have all the things discovered (removed from it), however my intuition to observe what lights up my thoughts has by no means led me improper. It’s saved me versatile, hopeful, and related by way of each chapter of my life.
Studying for pleasure—not perfection—expands us in methods achievement by no means can.
A New Option to Develop This Season
This winter, as a substitute of setting objectives, I’m designing a syllabus—one constructed not round productiveness, however round pleasure, curiosity, and aliveness. A private curriculum isn’t about turning into somebody new. It’s about returning to elements of your self that felt pushed apart below the load of self-optimization.
So should you’re feeling the identical pull, right here’s what a private curriculum actually is, and methods to create one which seems like a deep breath as a substitute of a guidelines.
What Is a Private Curriculum?
A private curriculum is precisely what it feels like: your personal self-directed “course” within the topics and concepts that spark one thing inside you. It’s a observe rooted in curiosity fairly than achievement—a return to studying for the pure, unpolished pleasure of it.
Perhaps this seems to be like a month immersed in poetry, a season spent studying to bake bread, or a quiet stretch finding out philosophy or images. No efficiency. No measuring. Simply the sluggish, regular thrill of following what feels nourishing proper now.
In a tradition obsessive about progress, a private curriculum lets us be college students of life once more—curious, playful, open. Not striving, however increasing. Not attaining, however awakening.
Why It’s the Antidote to Winter Burnout
Winter invitations a special tempo. The sunshine softens, routines blur, and our our bodies ask us to show inward. However as a substitute of honoring that, we regularly attempt to outrun it with plans, resolutions, and productiveness binges.
A private curriculum meets winter the place it’s. It offers us a approach to keep engaged—not by way of urgency, however by way of inspiration. Burnout comes from output with out replenishment. A private curriculum is replenishment, reminding us that development doesn’t must seem like striving. Generally it seems to be like paying consideration.
How you can Discover What You’re Curious About
Step one isn’t planning—it’s noticing. Curiosity exhibits up as a tug: a guide you retain choosing up, a recipe you’ve saved 3 times, a subject you analysis late at evening.
Ask your self:
- What am I drawn to, with out attempting?
- What concepts or subjects hold resurfacing?
- What seems like nourishment, not obligation?
- What would make me really feel extra alive to study?
Begin there. Your curiosity is already pointing someplace—your job is just to observe it.
How you can Create Your Personal Private Curriculum
As soon as you’re feeling that spark, give it construction—sufficient to assist it, however not a lot that it feels inflexible. Assume readability and rhythm, not guidelines.
1. Select 1–2 themes
Depth, not breadth. Let this season be about one or two significant threads. Examples may very well be: poetry, seasonal cooking, philosophy, images, artwork historical past, or nature research.
2. Choose your studying codecs
When you’ve chosen your themes, determine how you need to be taught. A significant private curriculum blends enter and expression—absorbing concepts, then partaking with them. Take into consideration selecting one format from every class:
Enter
- Learn (books, essays, Substacks)
- Watch/Hear (lectures, documentaries, podcasts, talks)
Motion
- Observe (writing, cooking, images, sketching, language)
- Expertise (museum visits, nature walks, workshops, courses, conversations)
Reflection
- Journal or voice memo
- Finish-of-week notes on what moved you or sparked one thing
The magic is within the steadiness: be taught ? do ? mirror. It retains your curiosity alive and helps your studying really stick. Let concepts are available, transfer by way of you, and rework you—that’s the place development actually lives.
3. Set a mild rhythm
A private curriculum involves life by way of rhythm. This seems to be like small, constant touchpoints that assist curiosity turn out to be a part of each day life. Select easy anchors you may stay up for, like:
- Sunday morning studying ritual
- One winter stroll every week to note mild, stillness, and seasonal change
- One new recipe on the weekend
- A month-to-month inventive or cultural outing (a museum go to, workshop, bookstore browse, movie, writer speak, and many others.)
The objective isn’t to fill your calendar—it’s to create moments you come back to.
4. Keep versatile
Your pursuits will shift as you discover. That’s not a failure, it’s a part of the method. If a theme stops inspiring you, pivot. If a brand new curiosity begins tugging, observe it. A private curriculum isn’t meant to lock you in; it’s meant to maneuver with you.
5. Replicate weekly
Take a while on the finish of every week to examine in with your self. You don’t want a spreadsheet or a journal routine — only a second of sincere noticing.
Ask your self:
- What sparked one thing in me this week?
- What felt nourishing or significant?
- What do I need to discover extra subsequent week?
Concepts to Discover
Consider these not as duties, however invites—small methods to observe your curiosity in on a regular basis life. Select one or two that really feel thrilling or just fascinating. Let inspiration, not strain, be the information.
Creativity: Research a brand new poet every month, annotate one poetry assortment, weekly free-writes or journaling
Meals: Deep dive into one delicacies, be taught foundational winter strategies (broth, braise, bread), host a comfortable dinner to share your studying
Philosophy and self-inquiry: Select one thinker or faculty of thought, learn one textual content slowly—a chapter at a time, hold a pocket book for questions + concepts
Artwork and visible research: Choose an artist or motion, go to a museum or gallery as soon as a month, sketch or {photograph} what evokes you
Nature and seasonal consideration: Be taught winter crops or constellations, stroll the identical route weekly to note modifications, hold a easy nature pocket book
Dwelling: Research one design philosophy or period, create small seasonal vignettes, discover and elevate one on a regular basis second (a candle at dinner, a bedside vase of flowers, thoughtfully plated meals)
The Fantastic thing about Studying for Studying’s Sake
Winter offers us the reward of slowness—an opportunity to ease off the accelerator and switch inward, not in retreat however in mushy enlargement. A private curriculum honors that rhythm. It reminds us that development doesn’t solely occur by way of achievement. It blooms in curiosity, play, and the act of paying consideration.
As you progress by way of the season, let your pursuits information you. Choose up the books that tug at you, observe a recipe that feels comforting, or stroll simply to note winter mild on the bushes. Let your studying be private and your tempo be type. There’s no end line—only a path ahead.
Right here’s to a winter of rediscovering the enjoyment of studying.
