Coaching practices for The Examined Life at Work
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For The Examined Life at Work, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m living by a whole set of rules about how life should go, and it’s started to dawn on me that I never actually chose most of them
- There’s a "this is just how it’s done" rule everyone in my world treats as gospel
- I say family and health are what matter most to me, but if you looked at where my hours and attention actually went this month you’d never guess it
- All my attention goes to what I’m earning, achieving, and how I’m measuring up, and almost none of it to what kind of person all that striving is quietly turning me into
- When I talk to people in the field they give me the polished official version, and I walk away no clearer on what the day-to-day actually feels like
Practices that may help
- The Examined Life
Socrates’ claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Apology, 38a) means that a life lived without sustained reflection on one’s values, beliefs, and actions is a kind of sleepwalking. The Socratic method — elenchus — is a specific form of examination: honest questioning that surfaces inconsistencies and untested assumptions. As a practice, it overlaps with metacognition and reflective practice, which have genuine evidence bases, though Socrates’ philosophical claim is stronger than any psychological finding. - Conduct a regular examined-life audit
Periodically ask: which of the beliefs I am living by have I actually examined, and which am I just inheriting?
The Socratic Method, Made Practical - Question what everyone takes for granted
Choose one widely shared assumption — in your field, your culture, or your circle — and examine it honestly.
The Examined Life - Know thyself — map your actual values against your actions
Compare what you say you value with what your behavior reveals you actually value.
The Examined Life - Prioritize the health of your soul above external goods
Ask regularly whether you are attending to who you are becoming, not only to what you are acquiring.
The Examined Life - Listen for what isn’t in the job description
Focus on the texture of day-to-day work, not the official narrative.
Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network - Peak experience analysis
Study your life-line high points for the values and conditions they share — they reveal what fully alive looks like for you.
The Life Line Exercise - Audit work hours against your stated priorities
Compare how you actually spend your time this week against what you say matters most.
The Regret of the Dying - Audit your life against PERMA
Check well-being across all five pillars — emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment.
Positive Psychology, Made Practical - Map your Hot Spots to see where you invest your life
Define the key life areas (Hot Spots) that matter most and allocate attention across them intentionally.
Getting Results the Agile Way (AGS), Made Practical
Related concerns
- The Examined Life In A New Job
Socrates’ claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Apology, 38a) means that a life lived without sustained reflection on one’s values, beliefs, and actions is a kind of sleepwalking. The Socratic method — elenchus — is a specific form of examination: honest questioning that surfaces inconsistencies and untested assumptions. As a practice, it overlaps with metacognition and reflective practice, which have genuine evidence bases, though Socrates’ philosophical claim is stronger than any psychological finding.
- The Examined Life When Starting Out
Socrates’ claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Apology, 38a) means that a life lived without sustained reflection on one’s values, beliefs, and actions is a kind of sleepwalking. The Socratic method — elenchus — is a specific form of examination: honest questioning that surfaces inconsistencies and untested assumptions. As a practice, it overlaps with metacognition and reflective practice, which have genuine evidence bases, though Socrates’ philosophical claim is stronger than any psychological finding.
- Care Of The Soul Socrates
Ask regularly whether you are attending to who you are becoming, not only to what you are acquiring.
Prioritize the health of your soul above external goods
- Examined Life Socrates
Socrates’ claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Apology, 38a) means that a life lived without sustained reflection on one’s values, beliefs, and actions is a kind of sleepwalking. The Socratic method — elenchus — is a specific form of examination: honest questioning that surfaces inconsistencies and untested assumptions. As a practice, it overlaps with metacognition and reflective practice, which have genuine evidence bases, though Socrates’ philosophical claim is stronger than any psychological finding.
- Socrates Know Thyself
Compare what you say you value with what your behavior reveals you actually value.
Know thyself — map your actual values against your actions
- The Examined Life As A Caregiver
Socrates’ claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Apology, 38a) means that a life lived without sustained reflection on one’s values, beliefs, and actions is a kind of sleepwalking. The Socratic method — elenchus — is a specific form of examination: honest questioning that surfaces inconsistencies and untested assumptions. As a practice, it overlaps with metacognition and reflective practice, which have genuine evidence bases, though Socrates’ philosophical claim is stronger than any psychological finding.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.