Tools

We have found various frameworks and tools very helpful, and in some cases essential, to understanding and pursuing the good life. Here we have listed some of the tools we refer to most often and sorted them into three categories: psychological tools, design tools, and other tools.

Psychological tools are those we use to understand personality, attitudes, and behavior.
Design tools are those which offer a framework and principles for designing various aspects of our life. Other Tools are miscellaneous resources we find useful and refer to with some frequency.

We have briefly described each tool and when and how you may want to use it. In addition, we have highlighted the top tools we find most powerful and/or versatile and therefore use most often.

In our effort not to reinvent the wheel, we listed a Wikipedia page as a source for more information when it offered a particularly good overview of a topic. We included other specific resources when possible.

( = our Top Ten. Tools are listed alphabetically.)

Psychological Tools

• Appreciative Inquiry - a positive way of eliciting information for change
• Behavioral Economics - the study of how we make choices
• Co-Counseling - a peer counseling method

• Enneagram - a system of personality types

• Integral Theory - a holistic approach to self development

• Non-Violent Communication - a conscious way of communicating

• Positive Psychology - the psychology of thriving and happiness

• Spiral Dynamics - a theory of human development

• Systemic Constellation (Family Constellation) - a practice based on embodied experiences of systems

• Time Studies - studies which address our attitudes towards time

Design Tools

• Ecological Footprint - an accounting system for measuring our resource use

• Feng Shui - an approach to designing physical space focusing on energy
• Open Space Technology - an approach to designing meetings and organizations based on passion and responsibility

• Permaculture - a holistic design approach

• Slow Living - a way of living more with less

• Your Money or Your Life - an approach to aligning personal finances with life goals

Other Tools

• Career/Work
• Creativity/Learning
• Health/Fitness/Diet
• Intuition
• Meditation
• Social Change
• Spirituality

• Sustainability/Green Living

Why so many? That's what we wondered when we started compiling the list. The more we work with people and change, including change in our own lives, the more aware we have become of the psychological and sociological factors at play. Fundamental to pursuing the good life for oneself and doing good for others is understanding ourselves and how we are in relation to others.