The Complete Scientific Guide to Seeking out Meaning in Life
Practical exercises to intentionally build meaning.
In my early 20s, as I was grinding through the first few years of medical school, I could feel the unhappiness build deep inside my bones. I was finally on the path to becoming a doctor — a profession many consider one of the most meaningful.
But on some occasional nights, usually, after a hard day, I would start to question everything. “Why?” “Am I making a difference?”, and “What is the purpose?”
Climbing down these existential holes didn’t happen often, but when they did, they hit hard and fast. The questions I wanted to answer were near-impossible, but I’ve noticed the best way to crawl out of these holes is to create a sense of meaning in life. Being a positive psychology and positive psychiatry researcher, I began to look into what scientists think about this topic.
How do scientists conceptualize meaning in life?
What is a meaningful life? Does an investment banker live a more meaningful life than an entrepreneur? Does a homemaker live a more meaningful life than a Peace Corps volunteer?
These are hard, nearly impossible questions. Scientists, unwilling to assign objective markers to what…
