#Principle of life meaning how to#
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99) supported the notion that finding meaning is a unique journey when he wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning: However, this doesn’t mean that the techniques used to find meaning won’t be helpful. What brings me meaning might not bring you meaning. Finding meaning is ultimately a personal journey. How can we go about finding our meaning? First, there is no single panacea to the sense of living without meaning. Knowing that meaningfulness is derived from three distinct fields, let’s look at ways in which we can find our meaning. Together, these three components – coherence, purpose, and significance – result in feelings of meaningfulness. The third component – one’s life making sense – is a cognitive component, akin to significance. Goal direction and mattering are both motivational components and synonymous with purpose and significance, respectively. Specifically, Heintzelman and King (2014) suggest a model with three components: goal direction, mattering, and one’s life making sense. In some research, coherence, purpose, and significance have been reframed as motivational and cognitive processes. Together, these three constructs contribute to a sense of meaningfulness. Significance refers to the sense that our life is worth living and that life has inherent value. Reker and Wong (1988) argue that meaningfulness is better explained and understood using a three-dimensional model consisting of coherence, purpose, and a third construct: significance. Coherence refers to how we understand our life, whereas purpose relates to the goals that we have for our life. However, constructs first need to be defined before they can be measured.Īlthough ‘meaningfulness’ is often confounded with other constructs such as purpose, coherence, and happiness, some researchers argue that these constructs are not interchangeable, but instead form a complex relationship and exist separately.įor example, Steger, Frazier, Oishi, and Kaler (2006) posit that meaning consists of two separate dimensions: coherence and purpose. Psychological researchers conduct research and measure psychological constructs such as happiness, depression, and intelligence.

#Principle of life meaning how to#

These questions are easily repurposed for other spheres of our lives.īefore we can answer the question of how to find meaning, we first need to consider what is meant by ‘meaning.’ However, people who are unemployed or employed part time also ask questions such as these and seek a meaningful life.

#Principle of life meaning professional#

Observant readers might comment that these are questions typically asked about our vocations or professional activities. These questions are also repackaged in popular psychology and leadership self-help books, such as Find Your Why (Sinek, Mead, & Docker, 2017) and How to Find Your Passion and Purpose (Gaisford, 2017). However, the second variation of this question – how we find meaning in life – is psychological and of more interest to us.Īt some stage in our lives, we will be confronted with variations of the following questions:

As psychologists, we can’t contribute to this answer. For the purposes of this article, we’re putting the philosophical perspective on this issue to the side. The philosophical question is aimed at understanding the meaning of life in general, as well as our role in that meaning. The question of finding meaning in life has its roots in two fields: philosophy and psychology. The Big Questions: How to Find Meaning in Life 9 Inspiring Quotes About Finding Meaning.The Big Questions: How to Find Meaning in Life.These creative, science-based exercises will help you learn more about your values, motivations, and goals and will give you the tools to inspire a sense of meaning in the lives of your clients, students, or employees.

#Principle of life meaning download#

Here we will summarize the existing psychological research that examines this question and provide you with a starting point on your journey.īefore we get to the practical suggestions about how to live a meaningful life, we first define what ‘meaningful’ means, explore why living a meaningful life is worthwhile, and detail the benefits that are associated with this type of experience.īefore you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Meaning and Valued Living Exercises for free. Are there any practical suggestions for how to achieve a meaningful life? You might be wondering what we mean by ‘meaningful,’ and whether there are any benefits to striving toward such a way of living. If you are reading this article, then living a meaningful life must be of interest to you.

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). There is ample anecdotal evidence that people are looking for ways to live a more meaningful life. If you have ever had this thought, then take comfort that you are not alone. At some stage of our time on Earth, we might wonder about the meaning of our life.