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enchanting.
renounce the self and to constantly remember and love God at every turn.
The question of how to live, after all, requires a discussion of abstract, personal, and moral values.
help them master the content and methodology of a given discipline and learn critical thinking.”
Though the happiness industry continues to grow, as a society, we’re more miserable than ever.
chasing happiness actually makes people unhappy.
“There is more to life than feeling happy.”
there is a distinction between a happy life and a meaningful life.
two paths to the good life.
hedonia,
happi...
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Meaning is the other path to the good life,
eudaimonia,
requires cultivating the best qualities within you both morally and intellectually and living up to your potential.
hedonia is defined as “feeling good,”
eudaimonia is defined as “being and doing good”—and
when people say that their lives have meaning, it’s because three conditions have been satisfied: they evaluate their lives as significant and worthwhile—as part of something bigger; they believe their lives make sense; and they feel their lives are driven by a sense of purpose.
Leading a meaningful life, by contrast, corresponded with being a “giver,” and its defining feature was connecting and contributing to something beyond the self.
pursuing meaning actually boosted psychological health.
faith ties an individual to something larger or even “infinite” that lies beyond the self.
For Tolstoy, the meaning of life was found in faith.
we must learn to live significant lives “without appeal” to God or faith.
living a meaningful life requires adopting an attitude of defiance toward the absurd,
three qualities that define a worthwhile life: revolt, passion, and freedom.
sense of accomplishment and contentment that results from devoting yourself to a difficult but worthwhile task.
The Little Prince,
it is special because of what the prince gave to the flower: “It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important…You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.”
when we put effort into building something, we tend to value it more—a
our lives feel more significant.
Only by facing challenges head-on can we truly find meaning in our lives.
meaning arises from transcending the self.
“The only certainty is that we are here, in this moment, in this now.
what makes their lives meaningful, they describe connecting to and bonding with other people in positive ways.
finding something worthwhile to do with their time.
creating narratives that help them understand themsel...
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mystical experiences of ...
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meaning arises from our relationships to others,
having a mission tied to contributing to society,
They are the four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence.
meaning came from loving others and connecting to them with compassion and empathy.
doing some kind of good in the world so that others could...
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understanding life as...
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losing themselves in something bigger, whether a spiritual reality or the mystery of ...
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not to be afraid to tell other people that he was from an island
“Don’t shy away from where you’re from,”
We all need to feel understood, recognized, and affirmed by our friends, family members, and romantic partners. We all need to give and receive affection. We all need to find our tribe. In other words, we all need to feel that we belong.
sense of belonging clocks in as the most important driver of meaning.
First, they are in relationships with others based on mutual care:
Second, they have frequent pleasant interactions with other people.
my job is to love others even when they are bringing me down or being annoying.”
