Pillar of Happiness: A Simple Guide To Find Happiness In Your Life And Career

And yet, despite millions of dollars invested in the happiness industry, many of us feel aimless, alienated, even despairing.

Well, what if we've been chasing the wrong thing? Psychological research shows that the pursuit of happiness can actually make us less happy—that the key to a richer, more satisfying life is the pursuit of meaning. So, how do you live a meaningful life? And what are its effects? To answer those questions, I interviewed dozens of meaning-seekers, immersed myself in classic works of philosophy and literature, went stargazing in Texas, and attended an ancient monastic service in Seattle.

The 5 Powerful Pillars for Creating True Happiness

In the end, I turned my findings into a book: The Power of Meaning. The foundation for a meaningful life—the principles upon which everything else is built—is what I've come to call the four pillars of meaning: Here are the basics of each pillar:.

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• 2. Purpose.

We all need to find our tribe, to feel understood, recognized, and valued—we need to feel that we matter to others. The way we satisfy our need to belong transforms over the course of our lives. In our early years, the love of a caregiver is essential; later we find belonging in our relationships with friends, family, colleagues, and romantic partners. We also join communities of like-minded people to satisfy our need to belong—whether it's a group of yoga enthusiasts, bereaved parents, or a book club.

Purpose is a far-reaching goal that motivates our behavior, serves as the organizing principle of our lives, and allows us to make a contribution to the world. People who have such a purpose are more resilient and motivated, with the drive to muddle through the good and the bad of life in order to accomplish their goals. Purpose sounds big— ending world hunger big or eliminating nuclear weapons big.

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But it doesn't have to be. Living with purpose can also mean mentoring children, creating a more welcoming environment at your office, or tending a community garden. We are all storytellers whether we realize it or not; we take our disparate experiences and assemble them into a narrative that allows us to understand our lives as coherent. This storytelling process helps us to form an identity and to make sense of the world: Reflecting on childhood experiences, on pivotal moments in our lives, and reading or listening to other people's stories can help us make meaning.

According to researchers, being able to tell stories defined by themes of redemption, growth, and love is associated with more meaning in life. During a transcendent or mystical experience, we feel that we have risen above the everyday world to a higher reality.

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Whether these moments take place beneath the stars, in front of a gorgeous work of art, during a religious ritual, or in the hospital delivery room, they wash away our sense of self and leave us feeling connected to something vast and meaningful. You get angry, roll down your window, and shout at the other driver. Then record your beliefs and this is how you interpret the adversity — what are your thoughts at the time. I just blew my diet and I feel incompetent are beliefs. Then record the your feelings and what you did. Did you feel sad, guilty or anxious? Write them down and also what did you then do?

We all have experienced those moments where time just stops. It maybe for hours or it maybe just for a few brief minutes. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. And this is what science has revealed. In at Harvard College they tracked the lives of men. And every year they asked about their work, home lives and their health.

The place where we need to arrive at and sustain is one where life has meaning beyond yourself. Contributing to making the world a better place. Especially when our security is threatened. That can happen we experience loss. Ideas are one thing but sharing your creation to the waiting world is where the magic starts, happens and continues.

1. Belonging

But I am not talking about sharing cat videos. It is the concept that we bring meaning to our lives by knowing you are making a difference that transcends our mortality. Continuing a life journey that continues to produce and gives to humanity. It should be about continuing to create, publishing and sharing your creation.

But there is another benefit that achieving in even small ways that is motivating and produces a feeling and a glow of success. You do not have to appear on television or be feted by the paparazzi. It is the small pats on the back online, the affirmation that what you has shared matters.

The 5 Powerful Pillars for Creating A Life of True Happiness

The social web has provided those moments when people interact online and validate your revelations. Are you able to take those moments of joy and glue them together to a create a flourishing life. To experience well being. Join over 25 million other readers that have been educated and inspired to transform their life and business.

We are all seeking one thing. We know when we feel those joyful moments. Experiencing a beautiful sunrise. Having your work affirmed. A time spent with friends connecting and laughing. But joy can be fleeting. The darkness But for many once that fleeting moment is past, familiar feelings of dread show up. Often it turns up as we awake. Fears both real and imagined knock on our front door. Fears about money, relationships and life that challenge our security.

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Beware of the thoughts that linger. Winding up inside your head. The hopelessness around you. Is it a series of life habits? How do you achieve that? It is an ecosystem and process that becomes a series of habits. It is a big project and it is the work of a lifetime. The big question is how do you nourish each step?

What activities are needed to have that foundational feeling of well being? To arrive at flourishing. Can you learn optimism? The darkness of internal chatter But for all of us there is a monster in the room. It sits on our shoulder. This a Wolf in sheeps clothing. We need to label this chatter and conversation for what it is. As the uninvited guest.