The 5 “Modes” You Need to Have a Truly Fulfilling Life

Hard work is perfectly fine in bursts. When the situation demands it:

Like if there is an emergency situation

If there is a battle.

If there is a medical emergency

If there is a crucial sports competition nearing its finale.

If there is a “truly urgent” career or business-related situation 

But CONSTANT “hustling” will, sooner or later, do much more harm than good.

Think about the natural courses of life – are animals always working hard or are they resting too? Is a Lion ALWAYS in attack mode?

What happens if it will be?  I will tell you what will happen, it will get exhausted and soon get killed by another animal.

Every period of intense activity needs to be complimented with periods of doing something totally different.

Similarly, our intellectual pursuits should be balanced with times of fun, worldly activity and just doing nothing, to keep you relatively sane

I myself have observed that anytime I get overly focused on one area, I eventually start experiencing lots of mental unease.

From experience, I have observed that there are five “modes” an average individual needs to have a fulfilling life.

 They are Career Mode, Hobby Mode, Learning Mode, Fun Mode and “Do Nothing” Mode. Let’s explore them.

Career Mode

• Purpose: Focusing on professional growth, achievements, and contributions to one’s field.
• Benefit: Provides a sense of accomplishment and financial stability.

For me, the career mode is the Business training/consulting/keynote speaking or any other business activities I will start to pursue a practical life where I can have a lifestyle I want for as long as possible, especially keeping in mind the rapidly changing world where nothing is certain.

Hobby Mode

• Purpose: Engaging in creative or other productive pursuits that genuinely fulfil you, mostly as a hobby
• Benefit: Fosters innovation, reduces stress, and enhances problem-solving skills.

The books I write and other active hobbies I pursue fall into this category, for me. It is primarily for fulfilment and channeling energy which would otherwise lead to frustration or channeling into destructive pursuits.

Learning Mode

• Purpose: Continuous personal or professional development through new skills and knowledge.
• Benefit: Keeps the mind active and adaptable, opening up new opportunities.

I am constantly reading, learning from experiences, learning from others’ experiences, and learning from life in general. If you are not learning, you really have nothing new to offer in the career and creative modes of your life. A caution though- Don’t rely on social media as a mode of learning. Most of the time, it’s manipulated NONSENSE based on what is popular at the time, not what is necessarily good for you.

Even learning how to cook or acquire any specific skill can be considered a part of learning mode. Once you have acquired the skill, if you are having fun doing it, it becomes a hobby

Fun Mode

• Purpose: Prioritizing activities that bring nothing but pure fun in themselves. There is no means to the end.
• Benefit: Improves mood, strengthens relationships, and prevents burnout

It could be vacations, watching Netflix or just basically anything you to do to loaf around. There is NO end goal for this except having fun. Although, ironically sometimes the best ideas I get for books or in my training is through things that are clearly entertainment.

Remember what Einstein said – “Play is the highest form of research!”

An additional note: You may engage in activities primarily for pleasure, as long as you don’t indulge in those that cause pain later.

Some examples “pain causing” activities to be avoided are consuming so much alcohol that you lose your senses the next day, indulging in narcotics, consuming excessive junk food and so on.

 Why is this avoiding pleasure that leads to pain later SO CRUCIAL? You will find out soon.

Do Nothing Mode

• Purpose: Allowing oneself time to rest, reflect, and not engage in any goal-directed activity.
• Benefit: Essential for mental health, creativity, and overall well-being. Helps in processing experiences and ideas.

Believe it or not, you are NOT always meant to be doing something. Sometimes the best thing you need to do to recharge yourself is to do NOTHING, not even “fun” activities, not even reading or anything else. You just sit, close your eyes and do nothing or you keep them open and do nothing.

Doing nothing can be surprisingly tough though especially with all the social pressure around.

A 2007 study showed that in the game of soccer, goalkeepers statistically might have a higher chance of stopping a penalty by standing still more often, but they frequently dive because of societal and psychological pressure to act—even when stillness could be more effective. And one cannot blame them.

After all, picture this: the goalkeeper chooses to stand still, making no move as the ball is kicked into the top corner of the net. The backlash would be immediate and intense. Teammates might criticize their lack of effort, fans might shout insults, and the media could scrutinize every aspect of that decision

The goalkeeper might feel embarrassed, guilty, and under immense pressure to justify their inaction in the post-match interviews, even if standing still might have been the statistically smarter move.

This scenario highlights a common dilemma: we often feel compelled to act, to do something, even when doing nothing might actually be more rational or yield better results. There’s a fear of being judged for inaction, a worry that it looks like we don’t care or aren’t trying hard enough.

This pressure to always “do something” can make the option of doing nothing one of the hardest decisions to defend.

If you choose to “do nothing” for a while, your mind will try to guilt trip you, that you are not being productive. Society will guilt trip you that you are not being productive when you choose to have idle periods.

It’s a trap thanks to conventional wisdom you have been brainwashed with. Don’t fall for it. An idle mind is NOT always the Devil’s workshop.

A somewhat idle mind is actually “God’s” workshop, not the Devil’s, because it gives you a chance to introspect and contemplate what you really want out of life.

 A somewhat idle mind gives nature a chance to “speak” to you. Those who say it is always the Devil’s workshop, want you to remain society’s slave and never discover “God.”

These modes—career, hobby, learning, fun, and do nothing—are not isolated experiences but interconnected aspects of a holistic life.

 By switching between these modes regularly, individuals can ensure they are nurturing all aspects of their being—intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual.

Moreover, this approach encourages resilience. Just as diversifying investments can reduce financial risk, diversifying life’s pursuits can safeguard against the shocks and changes inherent in each mode. For instance, if one’s career mode is in a lull, having a rich, creative, or fun mode can compensate, maintaining overall life satisfaction

Switching modes is as important as the changing cycles of the seasons and the changing cycle of day and night. Maintain any of the seasons or day/night for too long and the world will feel severe side effects very quickly!

Now, in the beginning you may have to consciously think about switching modes, but after a while it will start happening intuitively. The true nature of our body is anyway to enjoy all of this without thinking about modes and overcomplicating stuff. 

But sometimes to get rid of bad programming installed by the societal brainwashing you need to consciously add new programming!

One final clarification – Unlike seasons and the natural rhythm of day and night, these modes DO NOT have to equally distributed every single day.

You can have one mode for several days or even weeks at a time, when urgent, but eventually you need to balance it out, ESPECIALLY if you begin to be overwhelmed.

 If you don’t have all five of these modes in your life at least at some level, it is quite possible that at the end of your life, even if it is 100 years long, you could feel your life was “missing something.”