The Good Life Campaign: What Do You Live For?- About Finding Meaning

“I have always believed, and still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come your way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”

Herman Hesse (Writer)

This week’s post is about one of the most central and essential aspects of well-being: having a sense of meaning and purpose in life, something which is worth living for.

The importance of meaning

It has been shown that experiencing meaning in life is one of the key factors of mental well-being; it gives us a worthwhile cause which motivates us, gives us direction and provides our lives with some depth- in other words it contributes to eudaimonic well-being.^1-9 Meaning can also provide hope,^4,6and there is strong evidence, that having a high level of meaning makes people resilient to adversity.^3,4,6 Without meaning, our lives may feel shallow and empty; in fact absence of meaning can lead to significant psychological distress.¹

Different definitions and levels of meaning

Meaning in life is a complex concept and can have different connotations:

Having a worthwhile purpose or goal in our life.^1-2
Belonging to and serving something bigger than ourself:³ The bigger entity may be other people (e.g. our family or other specific people that we know directly, or a wider community/group of people), religion, nature, an institution (e.g. a charity or club), or a value system/topic (e.g. political orientation, a specific occupation, animal welfare etc).^2-4,7 In this respect, meaning gives us not only a sense of belonging but it also allows us to experience transcendence (the perception that we rise beyond our ordinary limitations, evoking positive feelings of awe).
Meaning can also be understood as making sense of our life story: Forming a coherent narrative by understanding why which things have happened to us and why we do the things we do.^1,4,5 Meaning in this sense can also include our interpretation of a current specific situation or the sense we make out of that situation.

From this follows, that meaning is not only associated with our present situation, but also with our past and our anticipated future. It is also tightly associated with our values: what appears worthwhile to us depends on what we regard as important in our lives.^1,6 Importantly, experiencing meaning in life is not the same as searching for meaning: while presence of meaning in our lives significantly increases our well-being, there is evidence that a prolonged active pursuit of meaning has the opposite effect and is associated with poorer mental well-being.⁷ This is similar to the effect that people who are highly focused on achieving their individual happiness are often paradoxically less happy.¹⁰

How to find meaning

Meaning and purpose can be found in various ways. While experiencing meaning is thought to be an essential psychological need for humans, the specific thing which gives our life meaning is very different for each and everyone of us- we all have to identify the purpose/meaning in our life ourselves.^2-4,6 As a general rule, meaning can be found when engaging in activities, which serve others rather than serving yourself.

While trying to identify meaning, it is important to avoid over-analysis and rumination, which are associated with negative emotions.^2,3 You can remind yourself about how to avoid rumination in the post ‘Dealing with the Darker Days: Increase Your Control and Decrease Negativity.’ Also, when pursuing meaningful activities and long-term goals, it is important to realize that this may mean sacrificing short-term pleasant experiences: meaningful activities do not always feel great at the time, but make you feel content and satisfied in the long run.^3,8

Following suggestions may help to identify meaning:^2,4,8,9

Find a measure by which you would like your life to be judged and try to live according to it every day. Identify your personal preferences, values and preferred activities. It may help to do this in writing or with a friend, to make the process more systematical and avoid rumination. Remember that your signature strengths tend to resonate with your values. A Signature Strengths test may help to identify your core strengths: https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu or https://www.viacharacter.org (registration required for both).
Following on from above, try to find a specific meaningful life goal or worthwhile purpose, which is in-line with your values, but also reachable and flexible. This is very important, because life circumstances tend to change (for better or worse) and it is essential to be able to adjust your goals accordingly, rather than clinging onto goals, which have become unrealistic or meaningless.
Additionally, it is possible to find a positive meaning within our practical daily routines and activities. For example, even if you do not find your work enjoyable as such, you may regard it as meaningful as it enables you to support your family. Similarly, you can find meaning in doing a household chore for your partner, or making a random act of kindness to a neighbour.
Help other people (or animals!) who have difficulties or who are suffering. These may be people in a similar life situation as you are or in different circumstances.
Connect yourself to and work for something bigger than you are. As noted above, this bigger entity may be other people (e.g. family, friends or a community). Improve the relationships to people you really care about; being close to others and sharing experiences with them increases our sense of meaning. Meaning can also be found by joining and working for institutions (e.g. a club), a value system or specific topic (e.g. animal welfare, professional work, hobby). Depending on your preferences, you may also connect to religion/a spiritual practice or nature.

A truly amazing person- What can we learn from…:

Victor Frankl (1905-1997) was an Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist. His main professional interest was centered on exploring the role of meaning and personal values as a factor of mental well-being, and he is known as the founder of Logotherapy, a meaning-centered form of psychotherapy where the patient is re-orientated towards the meaning in his/her life.

After his graduation from the Vienna Medical School in 1930, Victor Frankl enjoyed a successful early career as a psychiatrist, working at the Psychiatric Hospital in Vienna and his own private practice. However, in the years following the invasion of Austria by German troops and the Austrian Anschluss to Germany in 1938, his circumstances changed dramatically due to his Jewish identity. Although he obtained an immigration visa to the USA he let it lapse, as he chose not to abandon his elderly parents. In 1942, Victor Frankl and his family were deported to the concentration camp Theresienstadt. Consecutively he was sent to Auschwitz and sub-camps of Dachau. Despite being forced to live through the most difficult circumstances, enduring starvation, forced labour and typhoid fever, Victor Frankl survived and was liberated in April 1945. However, he had lost almost his entire family, except for his sister who had immigrated to Australia; his wife, parents and brother were all murdered in concentration camps.

During his years of imprisonment, Victor Frankl made several important psychological observations, which re-inforced his previously formed theory on the significance of meaning. One observation was that while the prisoners had to live in the most horrific circumstances over which they had no control, they had control over how they thought and responded to these circumstances. Some prisoners managed to escape from the terrible external conditions by taking rescue in their thoughts, preserving their intellectual and spiritual freedom, and staying true to their values. Victor Frankl observed that these prisoners often adjusted better to the camp life, even if they were physically less robust. He concluded that these prisoners experienced their life as meaningful through this inner freedom, which also enabled them to make free moral choices despite the immense suffering they endured. Victor Frankl also observed that prisoners who experienced their life as meaningful, who still had future goals or aspirations (such as surviving in order to be re-united with family or to continue their professional work) were more likely to survive, because they were able to preserve some faith and hope for the future. Conversely, the prisoners who felt their life was insignificant and meaningless were likely to lose hope, and these prisoners tended to die sooner. As for Victor Frankl himself, he identified love to his wife and the ambition to publish his discoveries about resilience and to continue his work to advance Logotherapy as his main sources of meaning during his incarceration.

The observations that Victor Frankl made during imprisonment together with his underlying theory that life is primarily a quest for meaning formed the basis of his highly influential and world-renowned book Man’s Search for Meaning (see below), which he wrote shortly after his liberation. Victor Frankl was able to re-build his private and professional life. After his return to Vienna, he married again and continued his successful career, publishing many books and scientific studies, and becoming professor of Neurology and Psychiatry as well as being guest professor at several overseas universities.

We can learn many things from the remarkable life and work of Victor Frankl, but one of the core points is that it is not only possible to discover meaning under the most desperate conditions, but that striving for meaning also gives us strength. In line with Herman Hesse’s quote, Victor Frankl inspires us not to despair when life gets difficult but to continue looking for solutions. Or, to say it with the words of Victor Frankl: ‘We had to learn (…) that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us….Life ultimately means taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning in life, differ from man to man and from moment to moment. ’

Read more about this topic:

Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl has lost nothing of its significance since its first publication in 1946, and it continues to serve as a central reference for scientific publications on the topic of meaning. It is divided into two broad sections: A description of Victor Frankl’s experiences and observations during his imprisonment, and a short introduction into Logotherapy. Although it is of course not always a comfortable book to read due to the nature of its topic, it is nevertheless profoundly inspiring and encourages the reader to take a different look at life. Its original German title is revealing: Trotzdem ja zum Leben sagen meaning ‘Saying yes to life in spite of everything’. A truly remarkable book and thoroughly recommended!

The excellent Greater Good website has some practical tips about how to find meaning in work: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_ways_to_find_more_meaning_work

Preview: Next week, we explore one of the quickest way to improve our well-being: gratitude

References and further evidence-based reading:

1. Steger MF, Frazier P, Oishi S, Kaler M. The meaning in life questionnairs: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 2006;53(1):80-93.

2. Lyubomirsky S. The Myths of Happiness: What should make you happy but doesn’t, what shouldn’t make you happy but does. Penguin Books; New York. 2013.

3. Seligman MEP. Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being- and How to Achieve Them. Nicholas Brealey Publishing; London, UK. 2011.

4. Fredrickson B. Positivity: Groundbreaking Research to Release Your Inner Optimist and Thrive. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, England. 2010.

5. Siegel D. Mindsight: Transform Your Brain with the New Science of Kindness. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, UK. 2011.

6. Frankl VE. Man’s Search for Meaning. Rider Ebury Publishing, Random House, UK. 2004.

7. Steger MF, Kashdan TB, Sullivan BA, Lorentz D. Understanding the search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. Journal of Personality. 2008;76(2):199-228.

8. Diener E, Biswas-Diener R. Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth. Blackwell Publishing; Oxford, UK. 2008.

9. Seligman MEP. Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. Vintage Books; New York. 2006.

10. Layous K, Lyubomirsky S. The How, Why, What, When and Who of Happiness. In: Gruber J, Moskowitz JT (Ed.), Positive Emotion: Integrating the Light Sides and Dark Sides. Oxford University Press; New York. 2014.

11. References for the section truly amazing person: http://www.viktorfrankl.org, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-viktor-frankl-1237506.html, http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/04/world/dr-viktor-e-frankl-of-vienna-psychiatrist-of-the-search-for-meaning-dies-at-92.html

If you found this information helpful, please consider supporting the campaign under Just Giving. Of course it is also great if you choose to support another charity or do a practical good deed, but it would be nice if you could let me know that you have done this because you felt inspired by this campaign. Please also feel free to share this post and let me know if you have any constructive feedback- good or bad!

View and Save as PDF