WHAT’S BETTER THAN HAPPINESS?

What makes life worth living? Is it having fun? Is it comfort, safety, or security? Is it eating, drinking, and sleeping?

These experiences are certainly nice, because they are enjoyable, but do they instill pride or a sense of accomplishment? Probably not.

The core of living life to its fullest is the creation of meaning.  I believe that every person, by virtue of simply being alive, has the opportunity and the challenge to imbue their days with meaning. The person who has a deep sense that their life has meaning can withstand the hardships of life much better than the person who is adrift.   But how does one acquire this sense of meaning?!  The recipe is simply this:

Create meaning by always growing!

Fortunately, many avenues exist for accomplishing this growth. They need not be epic in scale. You do not have to build a skyscraper or win an Olympic medal.  A lady once told me that her meaning came from being one more person to love her grandchildren.

If you can’t think of any ways to create meaning by growing, here are my top nine suggestions for you.

1. LEARNING: exploring and discovering, since curiosity cures boredom, and there is thankfully no cure for curiosity;
2. HELPING: giving to others from one’s own resources such as time, money, or work;
3. CREATING: inventing, artistic achievement;
4. PRODUCING: earning money, or supplying yourself and others with necessary goods or services;
5. EXPERIENCING: laughter, movement, travel, participation;
6. LOVING: creating healthy connections with others;
7. SELF-AWARENESS: gaining greater clarity of one’s values and goals, and greater alignment of these with one’s actions and choices;
8. SELF-MANAGEMENT: refining one’s character, improving one’s mood regulation and relationship skills; and
9. SPIRITUALITY: nourishing one’s soul with enhanced appreciation of powers above oneself.

​So, what is better than happiness? It is meaningfulness!  How is meaning created in our lives? It is by always growing.  You can do it!