Being alive is a gift. And to make this precious gift worthy, finding out what makes our life meaningful is essential. 

Yes, living a meaningful life is a topic of interest to all of us. 

In fact, living a meaningful life is one of the most widely held goals in existence.

So, first of all, we need to understand what is meaningful life.

Concept of meaningful life

Being human, our purpose is not only to exist but to survive and evolve.

In order to survive and evolve, we need to grow in various areas of life i.e. health, family, career and social life. And here the importance of meaningful life comes into role. 

Meaningful life means living with certain purpose which acts as a driving force to complete activities that are significant to us or others. This sense of meaning help us to search for better comfort; to develop harmonious relationships; to foster social relationships or to develop professional excellence. 

In short, living a meaningful life means that we’re satisfied with ourselves, with our life, and with everyone around us. In simple words, we feel love, joy, contentment and freedom most of the days of our life.

Meaningful life doesn’t mean just to pursue something bigger in life. It could be doing small little things like taking care of children, cooking food for family, teaching to uneducated people, volunteering for social cause or simply pursuing our hobby.

Thus, in simple way a meaningful life means we feel connected to purpose and able to use our qualities for personal growth and betterment of society.

Above all else, experiencing a meaningful life means living in the moment.

Now the next question is, 

What does it take to achieve a meaningful life?

Exploring roots of meaningful life

We all want to live meaningful life even though we don’t say it or recognise it. Just how to do this is a challenge for people throughout the ages as there is no single answer to it.

While there are several factors that influence our ability to find meaning in life but the one that is important is having a sense of purpose. 

When we are purpose driven, we tend to feel more positive emotions- especially contentment, enthusiasm and joy. 

A sense of purpose can provide focus giving us a reason for our actions. We are living in a chaotic world with lot of information coming from so many sources that usually divert our attention. Despite all the noise, we can use purpose to remind ourselves about our work, our responsibilities and our presence to make a difference.

Living with purpose make us feel like the work we are doing matters to someone, and our small contribution has meaning and we’re empowered to act. We have a potential to make a difference in the life of others.

A sense of purpose is integral to the human experience. Purpose is a forward-looking directionality, an intention to do something in the world. Therefore, it brings clarity about life that reduces uncertainty and anxiety.

Being purposeful change our way to relate the world around us. In fact, it helps us to stay emotionally stable during the ups and downs of life. 

Purpose could be simple like giving our best for our family, workplace or society. Or it could be big like addressing issues such as world hunger, or climate crisis.

When we make time to nurture a sense of purpose, we have a much better chance of flourishing.

Finding meaning push us to think about our priorities and can even push us to make some changes in our life, because we start seeing things in a new light. When we have something to strive for, every moment that we live and work toward achieving it becomes a worthy experience.

A meaningful existence adds value, adds worth and gives us a sense of importance in the community. Life satisfaction can only be achieved when we positively influence the world.

As we engage ourselves in meaningful life, we get open to new ideas and the beauty around us. We are goal oriented beings and we need something to aim too.

So, the take-away massage is clear. It’s no great secret that living meaningfully doesn’t mean being happy all the time. Finding meaning in life is an ongoing journey, a process that takes time, patience, and resilience. It is not something that occurs magically and without efforts. It is not necessarily something that happens at a given point in our lives and is then fade. Neither does our sense of meaning need to remain fixed. What we find meaningful today may be replaced by a different meaning tomorrow. As life itself changes, so may be meaning we give to it.

While there is no secret formula that will help every single person find meaning.

What makes life meaningful might be different for each of us, but at the end, two factors seem to matter most – a sense of purpose and satisfaction. 

Disclaimer 

Mediclin Brain Health’s content is for informational and educational purposes only. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.