Today, I’m laying out my thoughts on how antifragility can manifest in everyday life. Let me start by giving some context on my own growth journey and what got me to this point.
After graduating from business school, the world felt wide open.
I’d landed a role at a top Bay Street bank and moved to Toronto from the East Coast for the opportunity. My boyfriend at the time had also landed a role in the city. I was young, ambitious, and energized. My career was off to a promising start. My personal life was aligned. It felt like I was on a fast track.
But five years later, the shine had worn off.
The banking industry wasn’t my vibe. The relationship ended. And big-city life no longer felt exciting. I was ready for change, even if I didn’t yet know what that meant.
So I pivoted. I left my corporate job and took a role as an associate producer at a television network. I was drawn to writing, storytelling, and the creativity of the media world. It was a completely different lane—one I hoped would finally feel right.
It didn’t. I pivoted again. And again. Each change came with hope for clarity, but also with disruption.
Through this cycle of reinvention, I realized three truths:
I had been outsourcing my sense of fulfillment to external markers—titles, jobs, relationships.
I measured success by comparison, not alignment.
I missed the deeper growth that only emerges through uncertainty.
That’s when I discovered the mindset of antifragility—a way of living that doesn’t just survive challenges, but gets stronger because of them.
What Is Antifragile Living?
Antifragility goes beyond resilience.
Resilience: Withstands shocks and stays the same.
Antifragility: Uses shocks, disruption, and uncertainty to grow stronger.
It’s about designing a life that thrives on stress, adapts to disruption, and turns volatility into fuel for growth.
Through reflection, experiments, and trial by fire, I distilled nine principles of antifragile living—practical tools you can use to thrive in the face of uncertainty.
The Nine Principles of Antifragile Living
I’ve grouped these principles into three themes: Foundations, Growth Through Challenge, and System Enhancers.
Theme 1: Foundations
Start With What Matters
Know your values. Stay flexible in your methods.
Your core values are your internal compass. They help you make decisions under pressure and navigate chaos with purpose. But life evolves, so your strategies must, too.
🛠 How to apply:
- Define your top 3–5 values (e.g., freedom, integrity, kindness).
- Revisit them from time to time, and especially during big decisions or disruptions.
- When your strategy fails, adapt without abandoning your principles.
Example:
If you value connection but burn out from constant socializing, switch to deeper 1-on-1s or short walk-and-talks instead of big dinners.
Build a Safety Net
Create a space to breathe – emotionally, physically, financially
Antifragile systems have slack. They’re not maxed out. Redundancy and buffers aren’t waste—they’re wisdom.
🛠 How to apply:
- Financial: Build a 3–6 month emergency fund. Avoid debt traps.
- Schedule: Block out (i.e. protect) unscheduled time each week.
- Emotional: Cultivate multiple sources of support – not just one person.
Example:
Use only 80% of your weekly bandwidth. That extra 20% gives you room for surprise opportunities—or setbacks.
Create More Options
Give yourself more ways to win. Design a life with choices.
Optionality means having choices—paths that allow you to pivot, grow, or capitalize on upside without high risk.
🛠 How to apply:
- Learn transferable skills like writing, coding, or negotiation.
- Build side income streams, even if they start small.
- Grow a diverse network that opens doors beyond your current circle.
Example:
Keep your LinkedIn fresh, take a course for fun, and say “yes” to coffee chats. These create low-risk opportunities for career evolution.
Theme 2: Growth Through Challenge
Learn By Doing
Try small experiments. Fail fast. Learn rapidly.
Antifragility thrives on feedback. Get it from all around you. You can’t think your way into growth—you have to act, reflect, and adjust.
🛠 How to apply:
- Test ideas with “micro-experiments” (e.g., 7-day diet change, learn to meditate for 10 minutes a day).
- Treat failure as a tuition fee, not a dead end.
- Follow your curiosity instead of waiting for perfect clarity.
Example:
You’re interested in design. Instead of a full-time pivot, start with a weekend workshop and freelance one logo project.
Do Hard Things (On Purpose)
Train with challenge. Don’t hide from it. Recover.
Just like muscles need resistance, you need healthy challenges to grow. The key is deliberate discomfort, not chronic overwhelm. Take time to rest, reflect, and recover.
🛠 How to apply:
- Sign up for physical or mental challenges (races, fasts, speaking gigs).
- Say yes to something that scares you (but excites you).
- Rest and recover intentionally.
Example:
Practice saying “no” when it feels uncomfortable. It builds boundaries—and inner strength.
Welcome the Unknown
Your life is a bold new quest. Treat it that way.
Instead of fearing the unknown, lean into it. Volatility isn’t the enemy—it’s a feature of an interesting, meaningful life.
🛠 How to apply:
- Travel without overplanning. Try new hobbies. Talk to strangers.
- Take calculated career leaps (e.g., sabbatical, new industry).
- Keep asking “What’s possible here?” instead of “What’s safe?”
Example:
Say yes to an unusual opportunity that feels aligned, even if it doesn’t make total sense yet. That’s where growth hides.
Theme 3: System Enhancers
Subtract to Strengthen
Less clutter. More clarity. Greater simplicity.
Often, we grow not by adding—but by subtracting and avoiding. What you stop doing is as powerful as what you start. Avoiding or limiting exposure to the downside reduces harm and distraction.
🛠 How to apply:
- Say no to low-value commitments and draining social obligations.
- Cut debt, sugar, or digital clutter.
- Declutter your physical space to make room for focus and calm.
Example:
You leave a toxic group chat and find your mood and creativity spike within days.
Own Your Choices
Take responsibility. Don’t just play the game—bet on yourself.
Antifragile people take responsibility for their risks and outcomes. They don’t hide behind theory or blame.
🛠 How to apply:
- Don’t outsource major life decisions to people who won’t live with the results.
- Invest in what you believe (time, energy, money).
- Share what you’ve learned through lived experience.
Example:
Before recommending a life philosophy, live it. Let your results speak louder than your words.
Balance Your Life Like a Barbell
Protect the downside and open space for big wins.
Think of your life like a barbell. On one end, you protect what’s essential—your health, time, savings. On the other, you take calculated swings at bold opportunities. You avoid the fragile middle where everything feels busy but nothing feels meaningful.
🛠 How to apply:
- Keep a conservative core (emergency fund, stable income), but invest a small portion in high-upside opportunities—like a side hustle, creative project, or early-stage investment.
- Protect your sleep and recovery, while occasionally pushing your edge with bold challenges or adventures.
Antifragile Living: A Way of Life, Not a Formula
You can’t predict the future—but you can prepare for it. Antifragile living means designing a life that grows stronger with uncertainty, instead of being weakened by it.
I didn’t always navigate change intentionally. I stumbled, recalibrated, and learned through disruption. But over time, I’ve built tools, patterns, and principles that make me stronger in the face of unpredictability.
Antifragile living doesn’t mean life gets easier. It means you get better at navigating it. You learn to:
See opportunities in chaos.
Open windows when doors close.
Adapt, experiment, and rise forward—even when the path is uncertain
Call To Action
If this resonates, start small: choose one principle to apply this week. Maybe it’s subtracting clutter, saying yes to the unknown, or designing a micro-experiment.
If you’re ready to dive deeper, subscribe to Bold New Quests for practical strategies, experiments, and tools to help you thrive through change and uncertainty.
