6 Ways to Make Meaning of Life

Having a child, getting a job promotion, mastering a difficult skill, and experiencing cultural differences while traveling are all positive experiences that can add value to your life. For instance, if you desire to live a healthy lifestyle, routines such as going to the gym consistently or eating three meals per day are great predictable routines. Another example could be excelling in your career and working hard to your greatest potential. Although there’s a fine balance between achieving your greatest potential and burnout, working hard to add value and not just work for a paycheck gives value to both the organization and makes your life feel more worthwhile from a career perspective.

We shared many different strategies you can implement when looking for that ultimate answer, and we sincerely hope that when you have found your ikigai, you will make changes to actively live that life of meaning. If some of the strategies do not work for you, try another suggestion from the list. Each of us must become impassioned, finding meaning and self-fulfillment in our own life’s journey. For example, if you have a passion for painting, you will carve out time to paint, experience a great deal of happiness when you complete the activity, and may embody that passion in your understanding of your identity (e.g., you may consider yourself a ‘painter’). Embodying the activity into your understanding of your self-concept is one of the first steps toward laying habits (Clear, 2018).

The Key to Creating a Vibrant (And Magical Life) by Lee Cockerell

We are all faced with challenging, yet essential questions that help us understand meaning and purpose in life. We ask these questions because we have the inherent desire to make sense of ourselves, the world around us, and life in general. We also want to feel worthy and find some sort of significance and direction in our lives. 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. The good news is that it is in principle never too late to find a purpose in life, although recent research suggests that it may be most beneficial to find a direction in life earlier rather than later (see Steger et al., 2009; Bundick, 2011; Hill and Turiano, 2014). 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).

We end with various recommendations for to how to ensure that many people can profit from this intervention (see also Schippers et al., 2015). For most people, most of the time, understanding life isn’t a problem requiring a solution. We are natural sense makers, automatically comprehending most situations effortlessly.

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The relation of modernization and individualism to our sense of community and belonging is complex. Some forms of community might be declining while other forms seem to be increasing. We might have lost the lifelong proximal communities of our ancestors, but we’ve gained the chance to voluntarily join communities where our individuality is able to bloom with like-minded people. But we don’t need research to tell us that encounters with other people are a key source of meaning. Moments like these are intimate, caring and full of warmth and indeed are highly meaningful. Based on the theorizing above, it should be stressed that in the intervention students formulate goals that they find important, not ones that others (parents, peers, or friends) find important or that are pursued solely for reasons of status.

On the other hand, if the people around you are negative individuals who drag you down, you might want to make some changes. It’s hard to feel passionate and purposeful when you’re surrounded by people who aren’t interested in making positive https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-to-create-meaning-in-life-best-ways-and-practices/ contributions. Those who do think meaning can be discerned, however, fall into four groups, according to Thaddeus Metz, writing in the Stanford Dictionary of Philosophy. Some are god-centered and believe only a deity can provide purpose.

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In addition, the chatbot can remind students of their goals and objectives during the year. For many it is important to have a job that suits them, and a job which they feel passionate about and from which they can get energy (see Werner et al., 2016; Downes et al., 2017). However, research on mental illness prevails the literature in occupational health psychology, despite a call for a shift toward more research into positive psychology as antipode for work-related health problems such as job burnout.

Other research has shown that writing about the best possible self in three domains—personal, relational, and professional—leads to increased optimism (Meevissen et al., 2011). A meta-analysis showed that best possible self was a particularly powerful intervention in terms of enhancing optimism (Malouff and Schutte, 2017). If this optimism is also turned into concrete plans for the future, there is an increased chance that this positive envisioned future will become a reality (cf., Schippers et al., 2015). Although developed for students, this intervention could also be useful for people who wish to discover a meaning in life and write down their goals. In the first part of this intervention, people discover what is important to them in all areas of life and write about what they feel passionate about.

Of course, without a sense of purpose, it is hard to find meaning. Also, at times, whatever our purpose is, it may have no meaning at all. A 2010 study published in Applied Psychology found that individuals with high levels of eudemonic well-being—a sense of purpose and control control and a feeling like what you do is worthwhile—tend to live longer.

Vallerand (2012) found that people who had more harmonious relationships with their passions also had stronger relationships with the people who shared their passions. Here we will summarize the existing psychological research that examines this question and provide you with a starting point on your journey. At some stage of our time on Earth, we might wonder about the meaning of our life. A BetterUp coach can provide support while developing the skills you need to achieve whatever’s on your to-do list.

Life Crafting as a Way to Find Purpose and Meaning in Life

Meaning acts as an internal compass on the twisting journey of life. Some of the best ways to cultivate meaning and purpose are giving, being kind, being compassionate, and being generous. These things may help you feel like you are in greater alignment with your values. Meaning also often comes from experiencing challenges, while happiness does not. Doing things that are hard can often generate a sense of meaning—we feel like we’ve done something important or meaningful.

According to Schippers (2017, p. 21), “prior research has shown that altruistic goals may be particularly helpful in terms of optimizing happiness. A study by (Steger et al., 2008a) suggested that “doing good” may be an important avenue by which people create meaningful and satisfying lives. Also, it has been found that pursuing happiness through social engagement is related to higher well-being (Ford et al., 2015).