Health Benefits of Meaning and Purpose
A rich sense of life purpose and meaning has other benefits. Recent research shows that people who feel that their life has meaning experience substantially higher sense of well-being and even physical health. For example, Michael F. Steger, a psychologist and Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Meaning and Quality of Life at Colorado State University, found that many people gain a great deal of psychological benefit from understanding what their lives are about and how they fit within the world around them. His research demonstrated that people who have a sense of life meaning and purpose feel in general more happy as well as more satisfied on a daily level, and also feel less depressed, anxious, and are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. Additionally, the research on life meaning and purpose shows that it does not matter how you get this sense of meaning and purpose in life. What most important is that you experience your life as having a meaning and purpose. The key question is not “What is the meaning of life?” In fact, research seems to show that there is no exact answer to this question. The only question that matters is “What is the meaning of life for you?” Each of us is free to have her or his own answer to this question. By doing so, you get a personal sense of life meaning and purpose, and thus gain a sense of agency and choice by and through understanding your own personal life goals.
Journaling for Meaning and Purpose
Scientific evidence revealed that such self-reflection contributes greatly to develop that personal sense of meaning and purpose. For instance, one study used functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to show that it is really important to infuse meaning and purpose into the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. Journaling is a great tool for self-reflection. This video describes 5 specific journaling prompts to develop a rich and deep sense of life purpose and help you live a meaningful life, and how you can adapt them to your own personal search for meaning and purpose. They are also listed below. First, take 5 minutes to think about how actively you reflect on your own sense of purpose and meaning in life. Next, reflect about your life purpose and meaning by taking 5 to 10 minutes to journal about each of the following questions for yourself.
5 Journaling Prompts
Why these 5 prompts? Because they are specifically formulated to help you reflecting on your recent memories and create a personal narrative in a way that helps impart meaning and purpose into your life. However, you should feel free to adapt these prompts to your personal preferences if these questions do not resonate with the way you prefer to formulate your thoughts. The key is to have questions that help you engage in self-reflection and instill meaning and purpose into your experience of daily life. Try such journaling every day for the upcoming week. Then, at the end of the week, review your journal and note bigger takeaways that you gained from writing down your reflections. I would encourage you to integrate journaling and regular reviews of your journaling into your everyday life practice, as a way of gaining the research-based benefits of journaling, including a greater sense of life meaning and purpose.
Additional Resources You Can Check At
For additional resources, check out this workbook with exercises on finding meaning and purpose using science-based strategies; this free science-based web app to evaluate your current sense of meaning and purpose; this is a free online class on finding meaning and purpose using science; and the wide variety of other resources on meaning and purpose available at Intentional Insights. Featured photo credit: Woman journaling via abundantmama.com
