New Strategies for You to Build Meaning in Life

However, the second variation of this question – how we find meaning in life – is psychological and of more interest to us. The philosophical question is aimed at understanding the meaning of life in general, as well as our role in that meaning. For the purposes of this article, we’re putting the philosophical perspective on this issue to the side.

Even if I believe that the meaning of life is a religious meaning, I still need to make it my meaning. So, it’s more of something I take on, I construct, and I develop. So, it’s not even searching for it because searching for it makes is sound like something outside you go out and find some place. And it’s within our power, within limitations because we all have limitations. But, it’s within our power to choose what our meaning is going to be. Help us continue to bring “the science of a meaningful life” to you and to millions around the globe.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

Meaning in life has become one of the most researched topics in all of positive psychology. Practicing mindfulness meditation can be a helpful way to recognize when we are getting lost in our thoughts and to learn to disengage from autopilot. Each time we catch our minds wandering away, it is an opportunity to come back to this present moment. While formal meditation practice is greatly beneficial, we can also practice informally by paying attention to the moments of our lives in a more awake and mindful way. This involves bringing greater mindful awareness into our day by purposefully paying attention and noticing what is happening in the present moment, in a non-judgmental way.

Despite the obvious upside of experiencing meaning in life and having life goals as described in this paper, many people have difficulty choosing between the seemingly endless number of possibilities. It seems that interventions of the kind we have described above may be particularly helpful when one is entering into a new phase of life, such as when starting one’s study or just before entering the job market (see Kashdan and Steger, 2007). As people are able to think about and fantasize a future (Oettingen et al., 2018), it is key that the future they envisage is one that is attractive to them. Likewise it is vital they formulate plans of how to achieve their desired future (implementation intentions) and contrast this in their minds with an undesired future (Oettingen and Gollwitzer, 2010; Oettingen et al., 2013). In a university context, and more generally in order to stay engaged, it is important that people choose goals that are self-concordant.

Set Goals

They should also be asked to identify potential obstacles and how to overcome them and monitor progress toward the goals they have set. Participants should be instructed to be specific and concrete—for instance, to write down things that they will do weekly or daily to further their goals (Morisano et al., 2010; Schippers et al., 2015). It may also be useful to get participants to make a concrete how to create meaning in life plan of action for the upcoming week and to make them specify for each day the hours they will spend working on the goal they have in mind. Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who had survived the holocaust, used his experience to formulate a theory on the meaning of life. He concluded that life can have meaning even in the most impoverished circumstances (Frankl, 1985, 2014).

For several reasons, it is important that people take matters into their own hands and reflect on and formulate their own goals in important areas of life (Williams et al., 2000). Indeed, people may have more influence on their own life than they think. A recent study by Demerouti et al. (2019) suggested that the beneficial implications of job crafting transcend life boundaries, which the authors state have also consequences in terms of experiencing meaning in life. These interventions address an important contemporary problem, as illustrated by the two anecdotes above, namely that, many people drift aimlessly through life or keep changing their goals, running around chasing “happiness” (Donaldson et al., 2015). Others, as in the example of Brian above, live the life that their parents or significant others have in mind for them (Kahl, 1953). In our society, education is highly valued, but less emphasis is placed on structured reflection about values, goals, and plans for what people want in life.

Write Your Life’s Story

We are natural sense makers, automatically comprehending most situations effortlessly. In fact, a likely reason we don’t think about meaning in life too much is that https://ecosoberhouse.com/ our lives simply feel right (that is, things simply make sense). Our lives are embedded in a natural world characterized by regularities—sunrises and sunsets.

Living a meaningful life and deciding what is meaningful are age-old questions (e.g., Marcus Aurelius wrestled with this question when he was Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD). Given that the universe is infinite and continually expanding, finding the meaning of life is a comically tall order. But finding the meaning of your life, specifically, can help you remain resilient through illness, trauma, and loss. Meaning acts as an internal compass on the twisting journey of life. Here are some more helpful strategies for finding meaning and purpose. “I really want younger people to understand the connection between their own earnings and their eventual Social Security benefits,” Floyd adds.

How to create meaning in your life

Maybe there is meaning in looking over rolling hills that seem to stretch on forever. There are all sorts of little things that can provide meaning if you take the time to notice them. The judge countered that argument, saying Crumbley has an “obsession with violence” and planned and researched the shooting extensively. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwamé Rowe said he hopes that by sentencing Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley to life in prison without parole, families of the victims can close this chapter of their lives. It’s a first step to healing for the community and for him moving forward and dealing with a lifetime that’s going to be extremely difficult,” she said.

• No matter where you are in your life–some of us have far more than others.
• When we aim for a life of meaningful pursuits, we are likely to feel more sustained happiness and life satisfaction—even if there is some discomfort, sadness, or stress along the way—than if we aim for a life of pleasure alone.
• If you’re surrounded by people who are making positive change, you might draw from their inspiration.
• And I think the thing is those existential questions are very difficult but that’s the golden time, that’s really the opportunity to stop and think and re-evaluate, is this the way I want to be spending my life?
• Her TEDx talk,  “The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong,” is one of the most viewed talks of all time.
• Others may have too many goals, or conflicting goals, which is also detrimental to health and well-being (Kelly et al., 2015).

So far, only one study did not find the positive effects of a goal-setting intervention on academic outcomes (Dobronyi et al., 2019). This might indicate that for some groups (in this case economy students) the (brief) intervention is not effective in bringing about behavioral change and increasing academic achievement. Other studies showed a positive effect among management students (Schippers et al., 2015) and self-nominated struggling students (Morisano et al., 2010). The problem so far has been that most interventions are not easily taken to scale (for an exception see Schippers et al., 2015).

How to Create Meaning and Purpose in Our Daily Lives

Negative passions, referred to as obsessive passions, are maladaptive and lead to unhealthy behaviors; these types of passions should be avoided. On the other hand, positive, harmonious passions improve our behavior and lead to optimal functioning. Goal direction and mattering  are both motivational components and synonymous with purpose and significance, respectively. The third component – one’s life making sense – is a cognitive component, akin to significance.

The overarching reason for existence can be found in “God’s plan” or a life calling, but a sense of the why of behaviors is not limited to such grand experiences. Taking time to reflect on your life dreams—to write the next chapters of your life story—can help to connect everyday life and daily goals to broader aspirations. Instead of wandering aimlessly, having “clear eyes” gives you a sense of direction and the motivation (a full heart) to help you achieve your goals and allow those accomplishments to imbue your life with meaning. One factor that facilitates purposeful action is possessing a clear reason for engaging in whatever you are doing.