How To Find The Meaning Of Your Life

June 27th, 2009

by John R. Sedivy

In “The Meaning Of Life” we had discussed how the meaning of life cannot be answered in general terms. It is the responsibility of each individual to answer this question based upon their unique abilities and situation at a given moment in time. But how does one go about answering this question? That is the subject of today’s discussion.

Where To Look
Viktor Frankl, the author of “Man’s Search For Meaning” offers guidance on how to find your life’s meaning:

“By declaring that man is responsible and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. I have termed this constitutive characteristic “the self transcendence of human existence.” It denotes the fact that being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself-be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself-by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love-the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.”

So it appears that the key to bettering yourself and grasping your life’s meaning or purpose lies in someone or something else. It is achieved by having a service orientation or mentality and assisting others. By being truly selfless and helping others your abilities and therefore purpose, will shine and become apparent to yourself and others.

No Contradiction
This may appear contradictory at first glance, but it is not. If you isolate yourself from your community and use your abilities for only selfish gain others will not witness your abilities, or you may not have the opportunity to use your abilities in new ways, and therefore possibly miss your life’s meaning. On the other hand, by helping others, making the world a better place, it will become increasingly apparent to yourself and to others where your strengths lie. Further, you may miss your life’s meaning and someone else may pick up upon it and help nudge you in the right direction.

How To Find Meaning
According to Frankl, we can find our meaning in three different ways:

1. By creating a work or doing a deed
2. By experiencing something or encountering someone
3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering

I will elaborate on each briefly. First, one can enhance the environment around them by creating something beautiful or doing good deeds, we had discussed this in the preceding section. Second, through our experience with the world, we can determine meaning. I personally view this as the environment we take in – everything including but not limited to – individuals, books, movies, music, art, architecture, magazines, and the list goes on. The more you experience in as short amount of time as possible, the more you discover about yourself. Finally, the attitude we take towards unavoidable suffering addresses how we deal with pain in our lives. Do we give up? Run away? Complain? Or do you attempt to find some meaning in your suffering? Finding meaning, and some silver lining helps determine purpose.

Now that you know where to look – get out there and find your life’s meaning!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding