Borrowing a Normal Life
My Oura ring is finally pleased with me — it has three more days to stay happy.
If you’ve been here for a while, you already know I don’t struggle with productivity. If anything, I struggle with the opposite.
I have a nearly obsessive relationship with purpose. When I focus on a mission, I find it hard to stop. My thoughts are consumed by it, and I become fixated on it. Suddenly, it’s midnight, then 2 a.m.; I blink twice; my week has passed. During this period, I forget that most people eat dinner before nine, call friends for conversation, or relax without the pressure to create something.
Some of you might see yourselves in this. For those following my journey, you know I spent the past year mostly surviving rather than truly living. My days typically involved working until I was physically exhausted, then grabbing a pre-packaged salad if I remembered to eat, before returning to work. Even my nights followed a similar pattern.
But right now, it’s different. Life has placed me in a situation I never expected.
I’ve suddenly become part of a family’s everyday routine for a little while.
For me, every moment of this feels like discovering a whole new world. Every evening, we gather for a freshly prepared dinner. We enjoy each other’s company, talk, and follow a daily rhythm. No one expects me to check email at midnight, nor do they judge my worth by the number of chapters I write in a day. I’m truly thankful to be embraced in this small corner of everyday life.
The uncomfortable part is that I just don’t know how to slow down without feeling guilty.
This is likely the worst time for me to relax. I'm launching my company in America, writing another book, growing this community, finishing my PhD, working on my dissertation, and trying to make medicine and healthcare more human in the era of AI; I’m kind of sorry for every minute I spend sleeping and not creating. All my instincts urge me to work constantly.
Yet after only a week here in Ohio, something unexpected happened. My hair stopped falling out. I don’t wake up with swollen eyes anymore. My body appears to favor this version of life, unfortunately. She has three more days to enjoy it before we return to our busy New York hustle. Let them be the little anchors that remind me that a mission is meant to serve a life rather than replace one.
Well, if you’re someone whose greatest strength occasionally turns into their biggest weakness, welcome to my account. I believe we’re going to enjoy this journey together.
So my paid subscribers will receive this as a downloadable PDF. My lists are not typical to-do lists but rather curated sets of recommended habits, small experiments, reflections, and practices worth exploring. Some are supported by psychology, others by lifestyle medicine, futures thinking, or just life experience, but this one, the very first one, it’s actually inspired by my own life. Paid subscribers can download this as a PDF for their convenience, and this is only the start. As a paid subscriber, you’ll enjoy access to my expanding collection of useful resources—including printable planners, worksheets, workbooks, guides, ebooks, and other tools I personally rely on in my life and work.
These are the small reminders that have been helping me stay connected to a healthier rhythm of life. Now I’m temporarily borrowing it from the family of CarGuy—before I throw myself back into the beautifully obsessive, mission-driven life I’ve chosen.
But for a few more days, I’m giving myself permission to indulge in something rarely present in my adult life: family routines, hours of sleep, home-cooked meals, and social interactions. I’m temporarily embracing a normal life. This might hold a lesson, even for those driven by a relentless pursuit of a better future.
If it resonates with you, my paid subscribers can also download a printer-friendly PDF version. You can put it on your fridge, keep it on your desk, or tuck it into your journal—anywhere it can serve as a gentle reminder that creating an extraordinary future still involves staying human.
Printable Download
The printable PDF version of this checklist is available exclusively to paid subscribers and will remain accessible for as long as your membership is active. It’s part of an ever-growing library of practical tools, worksheets, guides, and resources designed to help you think more clearly, live more intentionally, and build futures worth fighting for.
If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, I’d love to have you join us.
About the Author
Nora Árvai is a clinical health psychologist, lifestyle medicine specialist, and PhD candidate in Medical Foresight. She investigates how psychology, healthcare, technology, and the future intersect, turning complex concepts into practical tools to help people navigate an increasingly uncertain world. Through Nora in New York, she shares essays, research, behind-the-scenes insights, and resources for curious minds who see the future as something we can actively influence, not just passively wait for.
