What is Meaningful? And Why Knowing Matters?
What is Meaningful?
And why knowing matters?
In my previous blog I wrote: “After many years of research, including reading what seemed like an endless list of psychology books and journals by some very smart researchers (by the way, I am still reading and researching…..), I concluded that successful living is doing meaningful things. So it begs the question: What is meaningful? In short, the meaningful builds, improves and edifies. On the other hand, meaning-less behaviors and actions harm, deflate, demean, and subtract. So a life that builds, improves and edifies people and things is meaningful and leads to successful living. Meaningful Purpose Psychology encourages people to live successfully by doing meaningful things and to reject the meaningless.”
I will get more specific here answering how to do meaningful things in order to build, improve, and edify people, and explain why it matters. Based on some sound psychological research, I discovered that humans long for the meaningful. People can satisfy such longing through what I call “The Five Meaningful Life Strivings”. According to Meaningful Purpose Psychology (MPP), these are worthwhile goals and existential states that life calls us to pursue and achieve individually and collectively. These existential states are:
1. To love and be loved by others.
2. To have peace of mind
3. To experience a state of happiness
4. To be challenged with interesting experiences
5. To grow and prosper
In accordance with MPP findings, acting in ways that are congruent with the Five Meaningful Strivings leads to harmony or the meaningful. On the other hand, going against the Five Meaningful Strivings leads to misery or the meaningless. It is generally easy to see the outcomes of each, and it is generally easy to make a choice: either to do the meaningful or do the meaningless. There are consequences for each.
I also concluded that there is a natural and conditional path for the meaningful. The Five Meaningful Strivings
And why knowing matters?
In my previous blog I wrote: “After many years of research, including reading what seemed like an endless list of psychology books and journals by some very smart researchers (by the way, I am still reading and researching…..), I concluded that successful living is doing meaningful things. So it begs the question: What is meaningful? In short, the meaningful builds, improves and edifies. On the other hand, meaning-less behaviors and actions harm, deflate, demean, and subtract. So a life that builds, improves and edifies people and things is meaningful and leads to successful living. Meaningful Purpose Psychology encourages people to live successfully by doing meaningful things and to reject the meaningless.”
I will get more specific here answering how to do meaningful things in order to build, improve, and edify people, and explain why it matters. Based on some sound psychological research, I discovered that humans long for the meaningful. People can satisfy such longing through what I call “The Five Meaningful Life Strivings”. According to Meaningful Purpose Psychology (MPP), these are worthwhile goals and existential states that life calls us to pursue and achieve individually and collectively. These existential states are:
1. To love and be loved by others.
2. To have peace of mind
3. To experience a state of happiness
4. To be challenged with interesting experiences
5. To grow and prosper
In accordance with MPP findings, acting in ways that are congruent with the Five Meaningful Strivings leads to harmony or the meaningful. On the other hand, going against the Five Meaningful Strivings leads to misery or the meaningless. It is generally easy to see the outcomes of each, and it is generally easy to make a choice: either to do the meaningful or do the meaningless. There are consequences for each.
I also concluded that there is a natural and conditional path for the meaningful. The Five Meaningful Strivings