7 Nov 2025
About Time
Your Mulligan Mindset: Living Like It’s Your Second Chance
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard
That line hit me like a bull’s-eye. The longer I sit with it, the more I realize our lives aren’t waiting in some future season — they’re being built right now, in how we spend our time and where we place our attention. Every hour — whether I’m writing, resting, walking my dogs, or even scrolling — is shaping who I’m becoming.
Burnout and Meaning Can’t Co-Exist
Over the years, I’ve learned that burnout and meaning are like matter and antimatter: they simply can’t occupy the same space. The more I focus on building a meaningful life, the less room there is for burnout to take hold.
That doesn’t mean you have to pack your bags and head to a mountaintop to find purpose. Meaning is something we create every day, through small choices. Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, outlined a simple, three-part path I’ve returned to over and over:
Define an aspiration. Choose something you can give to the world — big or small.
Seek out experiences. Let yourself be inspired by nature, art, or conversation.
Choose curiosity over judgment. Life won’t always go perfectly, but meaning lives in how we respond.
When I apply those three principles, I stop feeling like a victim of burnout and start feeling like the hero of my own story again.
Time Isn’t Money — It’s Life
I’ve never loved the phrase time is money, because time isn’t a currency — it’s our life. Every decision about how we spend it is a decision about who we’re becoming. Burnout isn’t the price of success; it’s a signal that we’ve lost touch with what matters.
That’s why I keep coming back to something from my childhood: the mulligan.
The Law of the Mulligan
When I was little, a “mulligan” meant a do-over. Miss the ball in kickball? You got to try again. Somewhere along the way, adulthood convinced us we don’t get second chances — but what if we lived as if we did?
Viktor Frankl once wrote, “Live as if you were living already for the second time and had acted wrongly the first time as you are about to act now.”
That’s become my favorite morning mindset. If today were my second chance, how would I live it differently? Would I scroll less and savor more? Would I throw a few extra balls for my dogs instead of checking emails?
This little thought experiment changes everything. It helps me see where my time disappears and how I can spend more of it on what actually fuels me.
My Gentle Reminders
My two old German Shepherds are slowing down. Their white faces and tired legs remind me daily that time moves fast — faster every year. Watching them has become its own quiet lesson in presence: take naps, play when you can, and greet every kind of weather with curiosity.
Life is fleeting, yes. But when we treat each day as our mulligan — our sacred do-over — it feels sacred again.
My Plan of Action for You
Embrace the Mulligan Mindset.
Each morning, before reaching for your phone, ask:
“If I were living this day for the second time, what would I do differently?”
Write down your answer — and do that one thing before noon.
Find Your Black Holes.
Notice where your energy drains away. Replace even one black hole (for me, it was doom-scrolling) with something that nourishes you.
Use the Decision Filter.
Before saying yes or no this week, pause:
“If I’d already lived this week once and regretted my choice, what would I choose now?”
That simple question brings intention back into every decision.
The Takeaway
As Annie Dillard reminds us, what we do with this hour and the next is what we’re doing with our lives. You don’t need to wait for a perfect moment to start living intentionally. You have everything you need — right now — to begin again.
This is your mulligan. Use it wisely.
Read more: Beyond Burnout: The Over-Achiever’s Guide to Beating Burnout for Good — available wherever books are sold.
Grab my free guide Before You Burn It All Down at beatburnoutforgood.com (https://beatburnoutforgood.com).
Connect with me on Instagram @beyondburnoutpodcast (https://instagram.com/beyondburnoutpodcast) or Facebook @BeyondBurnoutHQ.
