About 'A life that works'

I've thought a lot about what it means to have a life that works. Mazlow's Hierarchy of needs, the Five Ways to Wellbeing, finding a good 'Work-Life Balance'... there are lots of frameworks that can start to give some direction. But what does it feel like? What does it mean in a global sustainability sense? Can a life that works for me make your life not work? 

The way I figure it, a life that works stretches around the world and from here into the future. What works for me should also work for the globe, right? That's carbon, water, energy, politics, sociology/society... And it should work now, but also continue to work in the future. I guess that means that it's impossible to always 'be happy', because sometimes doing things that are good in the long run are a bit rubbish here and now.

If living in Christchurch has taught me one thing, it's that things change. Sometimes drastically and in ways you would never have imagined possible. A big part of my life has been consumed by bending and responding to this change, such that now I actually find it quite difficult to sit down and read a book for no reason other than to read a book. **Surely there must be something I should be doing right now? What else can I achieve doing this? Does it teach me something to fix a problem sometime soon?** I've felt guilty for watching movies with friends, but have thankfully stopped waking up at all hours thinking I need to check my emails. (I'm not a workaholic, have just had a very busy few years recently. It's ok, I'm in remission now).

Rather than making it overly complex, as I tend to do, I'm going to attempt to figure this one out as a basic concept. A life that works is full of whatever types of joy are most needed. It adds to the value of other lives around it, and leaves things tidier than when it arrived.

I'd love your thoughts.