There’s a reality I’ve been circling these days: I’m uninterested in attempting to be my “best self.” Someplace between the micro-habits, the stacks of self-help books, and the infinite 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 maintain coming again to is sure.
I don’t wish to optimize my life anymore—I wish to reside it. To really feel curious, expanded, and impressed, not continually polished. As an alternative of perfecting my routine or hacking my habits, what I crave is one thing more true: growth, 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 concept of a private curriculum, it felt like an exhale. Not one other system to overcome or observe to grasp, however a return to the only 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 biggest superpower. I don’t faux to have all the things discovered (removed from it), however my intuition to comply with what lights up my thoughts has by no means led me incorrect. It’s saved me versatile, hopeful, and related by 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 targets, I’m designing a syllabus—one constructed not round productiveness, however round pleasure, curiosity, and aliveness. A private curriculum isn’t about changing into somebody new. It’s about returning to elements of your self that felt pushed apart beneath the burden of self-optimization.
So in case you’re feeling the identical pull, right here’s what a private curriculum actually is, and learn how to create one which seems like a deep breath as a substitute of a guidelines.
What Is a Private Curriculum?
A private curriculum is strictly what it seems 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 appears like a month immersed in poetry, a season spent studying to bake bread, or a quiet stretch finding out philosophy or pictures. 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 distinct 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 provides us a approach to keep engaged—not by urgency, however by inspiration. Burnout comes from output with out replenishment. A private curriculum is replenishment, reminding us that progress doesn’t should seem like striving. Generally it appears like paying consideration.
Learn how to Discover What You’re Curious About
Step one isn’t planning—it’s noticing. Curiosity reveals up as a tug: a guide you retain selecting up, a recipe you’ve saved thrice, a subject you analysis late at night time.
Ask your self:
What am I drawn to, with out attempting?
What concepts or subjects maintain resurfacing?
What seems like nourishment, not obligation?
What would make me really feel extra alive to find out about?
Begin there. Your curiosity is already pointing someplace—your job is just to comply with it.
Learn how to Create Your Personal Private Curriculum
As soon as you are feeling that spark, give it construction—sufficient to help 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 could possibly be: poetry, seasonal cooking, philosophy, pictures, artwork historical past, or nature examine.
2. Decide your studying codecs
When you’ve chosen your themes, determine the way you wish to study. 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
Follow (writing, cooking, pictures, 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 stability: study ? do ? replicate. It retains your curiosity alive and helps your studying truly stick. Let concepts are available in, transfer by you, and rework you—that’s the place progress actually lives.
3. Set a mild rhythm
A private curriculum involves life by rhythm. This appears like small, constant touchpoints that assist curiosity develop into a part of every day life. Select easy anchors you possibly can 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 so on.)
The purpose 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, comply with 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 trustworthy noticing.
Ask your self:
What sparked one thing in me this week?
What felt nourishing or significant?
What do I wish to discover extra subsequent week?
Concepts to Discover
Consider these not as duties, however invites—small methods to comply with 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: Examine a brand new poet every month, annotate one poetry assortment, weekly free-writes or journaling
Meals: Deep dive into one delicacies, study foundational winter strategies (broth, braise, bread), host a comfy dinner to share your studying
Philosophy and self-inquiry: Select one thinker or college of thought, learn one textual content slowly—a chapter at a time, maintain a pocket book for questions + concepts
Artwork and visible examine: Decide 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 vegetation or constellations, stroll the identical route weekly to note modifications, maintain a easy nature pocket book
House: Examine 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 provides us the reward of slowness—an opportunity to ease off the accelerator and switch inward, not in retreat however in mushy growth. A private curriculum honors that rhythm. It reminds us that progress doesn’t solely occur by achievement. It blooms in curiosity, play, and the act of paying consideration.
As you progress by the season, let your pursuits information you. Decide up the books that tug at you, comply with a recipe that feels comforting, or stroll simply to note winter mild on the bushes. Let your studying be private and your tempo be sort. There’s no end line—only a path ahead.
Right here’s to a winter of rediscovering the enjoyment of studying.
