The Best Job I Ever Had Had No Stress and All the Power (What It Taught Me About Building a Life That Works)
When I tell people the best job I ever had was being a camp counselor, they usually laugh.
I'm not joking.
I was in college, spending my days with a paintbrush in one hand and a lifeguard whistle in the other. Teaching arts & crafts in the morning and overseeing lakefront activities in the afternoon (including teaching teenage boys how to pull each on skis other behind a boat - which is essentially inviting chaos into your life).
I carried real responsibility. Keeping kids safe. Teaching them new skills. Ensuring they had fun without, you know, drowning.
But here's what surprises most people: it was the least stressful job I've ever had.
That sounds impossible, right? That kind of responsibility should come with overwhelming pressure. But it didn't, because of one crucial element:
Clear Boundaries and Complete Trust
The camp directors gave us remarkably simple guidance:
Here's your job
Here are your boundaries
Now go do it - we trust you
They weren't hovering over our shoulders. They didn't micromanage our every move. They simply set clear expectations, empowered us to meet them, and let us get on with it.
The result was something magical: high responsibility, low stress, and deep fulfillment.
Rebuilding Life with Briks, Not Burnout
That summer job revealed something I've carried with me ever since: stress doesn't primarily come from responsibility; it comes from confusion, unclear expectations, and constantly feeling like you're failing someone else's invisible checklist.
What if we restructured our lives like that camp experience?
What if we:
Defined our own expectations
Named our responsibilities clearly
Chose the character we wanted to embody
Trusted ourselves to show up authentically
This is precisely what YouBrik is about.
It's not about eliminating goals, it's about redefining what success feels like from the inside out. You select your values (your Briks), define how they show up in your life, and check in on how fully you embodied them.
Not how much you produced, achieved, or proved to others. Just how well you showed up for yourself and your values.
Building Your First Brik
If this resonates with you, here's your invitation to start:
Pick one value that feels like home. Something that speaks to your core; perhaps compassion, courage, patience, gentleness, or creativity.
Then ask yourself:
What does this look like in my daily life?
What does it look like when I fully live this value?
What does it look like when I abandon it?
That's your first Brik. Set your boundaries. Define your expectations. Then trust yourself to do the job.
You've got this.
Reflect & Share
Think about a time when you felt empowered in a role with clear expectations and trust. How did that experience shape your approach to leadership or personal growth? Share your story in the comments or on social media using #YouBrikJourney.
📌 Next blog post: "How to Choose the Right Criteria for Your YouBrik" - coming next week