What Is The Meaning Of Life?

What Is The Meaning Of Life?

What’s the meaning of life? Why are you here? How do you find meaning or your purpose in life? What is the significance or value of life? What’s meaningful in life? What is the reason to live? These are questions that I’m sure we’ve all asked ourselves at least once at one point in our lives. They are also questions that the greatest philosophers and writers have tried to answer and explain for years.

For instance, the famous Austrian philosopher and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl defined the meaning of life as, “For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day, and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.”

And the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy defined the meaning of life as, “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” (1)

What’s the purpose of life? and Where do we find meaning in life” – are questions that are difficult to answer because the purpose and meaning of life are different for each and every one of us. For example, some believe that our purpose in life is to love and serve God because He created us and loves us. Others find meaning in the love of a family. You can also find meaning in the work you do. And you might also believe that contributing to your community is what gives your life the most meaning.

Wherever you find meaning and purpose in your life, it appears that it’s up to you to decide what’s most valuable in life and what gives your life the most meaning. 

In what follows, we’ve presented a list of some of the most impactful experiences in life you can find meaning in.  (2)

Positive Experiences

• The birth of a child or a grandchild
• Someone showing you the depth of their feelings for you
• Falling in love
• Expressing your love for someone
• The first time you make a crucial decision for yourself

You can also find meaning in the small and seemingly insignificant moments in life, such as:

• Realizing you’ve learned a difficult skill
• A loved one giving you a comforting hug
• A child calling you “mom” or “dad” for the first time
• Running into a relative or friend, you haven’t seen for years
• A close friend or family member telling you how grateful they are to you
• Breaking yourself of a habit that makes you unhappy
• Volunteering in a charity organization or care home
• Coming home to a pet
• Going on an unexpected, spontaneous trip

Negative Experiences

• A breakup or divorce
• Natural disaster (earthquake, flood)
• Loss of a job
• The death of a loved one
• Experiencing trauma
• Getting diagnosed with a serious disease

One important thing you need to remember is that you can find meaning in situations in which others would remain indifferent. What might be meaningful to you can be insignificant to others.

What Is The Purpose Of Life?

Our purpose in life is different for each and every one of us. What you perceive as your life purpose may differ from others. For some people, their purpose is related to their responsibilities to their loved ones. For others, their purpose is related to their work. And others try to find the purpose of their lives through religious and spiritual beliefs. Moreover, your purpose can change throughout life depending on your experiences and priorities.

Determining your life purpose requires reflection. And when you reflect on this, you may come up with the following questions:

• What makes me fulfilled?
• Who am I?
• Why do I exist?
• Where do I belong?

Of course, answering these questions can be hard, and no two people will have the same answers because each of us has a unique life purpose.

The Purpose Of Your Life Can Be Your Contribution

For some people, their life purpose is about identifying their skills, gifts, and talents and contributing to the lives of others – whether those gifts are helping loved ones deal with problems, playing beautiful music that can make others happy, or just bringing a sense of fulfillment and happiness into the lives of your loved ones and others.

How Do You Find Meaning In Your Life?

1. Make Strong And Meaningful Connections With Others

Spend quality time with the people that bring happiness and a sense of fulfillment into your life. The people who truly care about you and lift you up. This could be your friends, family, or even co-workers.

Be there for your loved ones and nurture your relationships with them. Only in this way will you make your connection with others deeper.

2. Find Happiness In The Little Things In Life

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Happiness is a choice.” No matter how clichéd it might sound, it really is a choice. You don’t need to fulfill your biggest dream or achieve a goal that’s unattainable for many to be happy. Happiness is everywhere around you. You just need to be willing to see it.

Happiness is in the little things in life, such as spending time with loved ones, enjoying the first-morning coffee, watching the sunset, reading a book, curled up in a cozy blanket, and drinking some tea. It is these little and seemingly insignificant things that can bring joy and a sense of fulfillment into your life.

3. Set Goals

If you want to find your purpose in life, set goals. This doesn’t mean that you have to sit down for a couple of hours, setting goals for every day that you most likely won’t achieve anyway.

What you should do instead is set realistic goals and create a plan for accomplishing them. Think about what you’d like to happen in your life and where you want to get in life, and design a plan that will help you achieve that.

4. Find Your Life Purpose

Finding your life purpose will add meaning to your life. Your purpose is what motivates you, what makes you feel energized, and what makes you want to get up in the morning. So, find out what that thing is and see how meaningful and happier your life will become.

5. Do Something You’ve Always Wanted To Do

Whether it’s going on holiday on an island, going camping alone in the wild, or trying bungee jumping, identify what’s the thing you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t because you didn’t have an opportunity or you didn’t have the courage to do it. Trust me, and you’ll thank me for this.

6. Help Others

You’ve probably heard the saying, “One must learn how to help others if one wants to be happy.” Indeed, helping others makes you feel happier, more content, and more satisfied with your life. In addition to making you happy, helping others face challenges or easing someone’s pain is probably something that gives your life the most meaning. 

7. Recognize Your Talents And Gifts

Identifying your talents and gifts can help you find your life purpose and give meaning to your life. To discover your talents and gifts, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are you good at?
• When do you feel your best, and what are you doing then?
• How do you help other people?

8. Do Something Different

Why not go hiking or camping alone deep into the mountains, have dinner with friends at an exclusive restaurant, or go to a science museum? You’re probably so used to doing the same things over and over again that you think you don’t have time for anything else.

Doing something different enables you to take a break from the mundane aspects of life and realize that you are missing out on some of the most precious experiences in life.

Is Love The Meaning Of Life?

Absolutely yes. The pursuit of love can bring out the best in you and give your life the most meaning.

What matters most in life is not how much money you made or where you stand in the social hierarchy, but how much you loved. How much you loved someone with all their weaknesses and imperfections.

Love is a complex feeling and experience. When we say, “I love you,” we can mean different things that can often lead to confusion and a misunderstanding.

To love someone means to recognize all the qualities in them. It means to respect them and be compassionate and considerate towards them. It means to be aware of and embrace their deepest insecurities and fears. It means to accept them the way they are.

To love and be loved is all that life comes down to. Without love, life is incomplete and imperfect. And just as you love the ones you’re close to, you have to accept and appreciate the love they give you just the way it is, unconditional and pure. You need to be thankful for the love your partner gives you. You need to appreciate the love your children give you. You need to be thankful for the love your parents give you. You need to accept and value the love your friends or co-workers give you. Because that’s the meaning of life – to love others and receive love.

By loving others or loving things, your pet, or your job, you find your life purpose. As long as you love, your life will not be empty, worthless, or wasted. And the more you love, the more you’ll grow spiritually, the more positive attitude you’ll have towards life, and the more love you’ll receive, and that – that’s the greatest blessing in life.

What Is The End Goal Of Life?

The end goal of life is different for each and every one of us. To determine what your ultimate goal in life is, you need to look deep into the core of your being. You need to ask yourself: What do I truly want from this life?

Your answer might be that you want to be happy. Or that you want to love and be loved. Or that you want to have a successful career. Or that you want to move to another city. Or that you want to travel around the world. Or that you want to leave a legacy when you leave this world and be able to touch other people’s lives. Whatever your answer might be, that’s okay. It’s up to you to decide what you want out of life. 

Your ultimate goal in life is a goal that you have set for your future. It’s a goal you’re determined to achieve. It’s a goal that motivates you to face any challenge and endure any hardship that you may come across to accomplish it. It’s a goal that gives you direction and purpose.

Your end goal in life should be something that will keep you focused and motivated to achieve it. It should be something that suits your desires and strengths. It should be something that will embody your whole life. It should be something meaningful so that when fate becomes merciless, you’re even more motivated and more driven to pursue it.

The most important thing you need to remember is that your ultimate goal in life is as meaningful as you, and only you decide it is. Whether it’s singular, grand, simple, complex, abstract, or something that leaves an impact on the world or changes only yourself, the fact that you’ve set an ultimate goal is what makes it meaningful and valuable.

Why Is Life So Hard?

Why is life so hard? How many times you’ve asked yourself this question? Undeniably, this is a difficult question since many people don’t know the answer to it.

I’m sure you’ve heard the sayings: “Life is not a smooth journey” and “Life is not a bed of roses,” and I couldn’t agree more. Life is not easy at all. Throughout life, we face different problems and challenges. Some problems we get to solve and some challenges we get to respond to, and others, unfortunately, we don’t.

If you ask yourself why life is so hard, many different thoughts may pop into your mind, and that’s okay because there are many reasons why life is hard, and in what follows, we’ve presented some of them.

Life is hard because ….

• That’s the only way we look at it.
• We have a hard time connecting with others.
• We don’t have a purpose in life.
• We’re full of needs, emotions, insecurities, fears, and desires.
• We’re hard on ourselves.
• We have low self-esteem.
• We compare ourselves with others.
• We’re afraid that we’re not fulfilling our potential.
• We blame ourselves for things that are not our fault.
• We let our happiness depend on other people.
• We perceive difficulties and failures as major setbacks rather than as valuable lessons we can learn a lot from or as opportunities to become more resilient and get mentally and emotionally stronger.
• We have trouble making time to do the things we want or need.
• We search for happiness in things, and things can’t provide genuine and lasting happiness.
• We’re afraid that we’re not living our dream.
• We form expectations on how things should occur, and when they don’t happen the way we want, we become disappointed and frustrated.
• We’re afraid of failure.
• We fail to accept that life, people, situations, and organizations are imperfect.
• We experience setbacks in life, such as the loss of a loved one, emotional pain, hardship as well as family, relationships, health, and financial problems.
• We try to change things that can’t be changed.
• We’re under stress every day.
• We tend to think that our obstacles are impossible to overcome.

How Can I Be Happy?

Happiness has a different meaning for each and every one of us. For you, perhaps it has loyal friends that accept and love you unconditionally. Or accepting yourself just the way you are. Or being able to fulfill your deepest dreams.

No matter what happiness means for you, living a happier and more meaningful life is possible if you make certain changes in your behavior and relationships and make positive habits a part of your everyday life.

In what follows, we’ve presented 21 positive habits that can help set you on course for a more satisfied and happier life.

1. Be grateful for everything you have in life and the people who love you unconditionally.

2. Smile more often.

3. Exercise regularly. This can help decrease your stress levels, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as improve your self-esteem and make you feel happier.

4. Perform random acts of kindness.

5. Get plenty of sleep.

6. Accept the unhappy moments the way they are.

7. Spend more quality time with your friends and family.

8. Tackle stressors head-on.

9. Practice meditation.

10. Spend less time on your phone.

11. Look after your health.

12. Reevaluate your goals.

13. Spend time in nature as often as you can.

14. Don’t hold grudges against others.

15. Learn to tame negative thoughts.

16. Surround yourself with positive people.

17. Declutter your home. Get rid of anything that doesn’t make you happy.

18. Keep a pet.

19. Find purpose at work.

20. Be kind to yourself and others as well.

21. Accept yourself for who you are, with all your weaknesses and imperfections.