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Seven ways to find your purpose in life, having a meaningful, long-term goal is good for your well-being. here’s how to find one..

Many of the people I know seem to have a deep sense of purpose. Whether working for racial justice, teaching children to read, making inspiring art, or collecting donations of masks and face shields for hospitals during the pandemic, they’ve found ways to blend their passion, talents, and care for the world in a way that infuses their lives with meaning.

Luckily for them, having a purpose in life is associated with all kinds of benefits. Research suggests that purpose is tied to having better health , longevity , and even economic success . It feels good to have a sense of purpose, knowing that you are using your skills to help others in a way that matters to you.

But how do you go about finding your purpose if it’s not obvious to you? Is it something you develop naturally over the course of a lifetime ? Or are there steps you can take to encourage more purpose in your life?


Likely both, says Kendall Bronk , a researcher who directs the Adolescent Moral Development Lab at Claremont Graduate University. People can find a sense of purpose organically—or through deliberate exercises and self-reflection. Sometimes, just having someone talk to you about what matters to you makes you think more intentionally about your life and your purpose, says Bronk.

In her work with adolescents, she’s found that some teens find purpose after experiencing hardship. Maybe a kid who has experienced racism decides to become a civil rights advocate. Or one who’s suffered severe illness decides to study medicine. Of course, experiences like poverty and illness are extremely hard to overcome without help from others. But Bronk’s research suggests that having a supportive social network—caring family members, like-minded friends, or mentors, for example—helps youth to reframe hardship as a challenge they can play a role in changing for the better. That might be true of adults, too.

While hardship can lead to purpose, most people probably find purpose in a more meandering way, says Bronk—through a combination of education, experience, and self-reflection, often helped along by encouragement from others . But finding your purpose can be jump-started, too, given the right tools. She and her colleagues have found that exercises aimed at uncovering your values, interests, and skills, as well as practicing positive emotions like gratitude, can help point you toward your purpose in life.

Here are some of her recommendations based on her research on purpose.

1. Identify the things you care about


Purpose is all about applying your skills toward contributing to the greater good in a way that matters to you. So, identifying what you care about is an important first step.

In Greater Good’s Purpose Challenge , designed by Bronk and her team, high school seniors were asked to think about the world around them—their homes, communities, the world at large—and visualize what they would do if they had a magic wand and could change anything they wanted to change (and why). Afterward, they could use that reflection to consider more concrete steps they might take to contribute toward moving the world a little closer to that ideal.

A similar process is recommended for older adults by Jim Emerman of Encore.org, an organization that helps seniors find new purpose in life. Instead of envisioning an ideal future world, though, he suggests posing three questions to yourself:

• What are you good at?
• What have you done that gave you a skill that can be used for a cause?
• What do you care about in your community?

By reflecting on these questions, he says, older adults can brainstorm ideas for repurposing skills and pursuing interests developed over a lifetime toward helping the world.

2. Reflect on what matters most

Sometimes it can be hard to single out one or two things that matter most to you because your circle of care and concern is far-ranging. Understanding what you value most may help you narrow down your purpose in life to something manageable that also truly resonates with you.

There are several good values surveys to choose from, including these three recommended by PositivePsychology.com: the Valued Living Questionnaire , the Portrait Values Questionnaire , and the Personal Values Questionnaire . All have been used in research studies and may be helpful to those who feel overwhelmed by all they want to change.

Bronk found that helping people prioritize their values is useful for finding purpose. The survey used in Greater Good’s purpose challenge—where students were asked to look at common values and rank which were most important, least important, and in between—has been shown to be effective in helping people clarify their purpose.

Once you’re clearer on your deepest values, Bronk recommends asking yourself: What do these values say about you as a person? How do these values influence your daily life? How might they relate to what you want to do with the rest of your life? Doing this exercise can help you discover how you can put your values to use.

3. Recognize your strengths and talents

We all have strengths and skills that we’ve developed over our lifetimes, which help make up our unique personalities. Yet some of us may be unsure of what we have to offer.

If we need help, a survey like the VIA Character Strengths Survey can be useful in identifying our personal strengths and embracing them more fully. Then, you can take the results and think about how you can apply them toward something you really care about.

But it can also be helpful to ask others—teachers, friends, family, colleagues, mentors—for input. In the Purpose Challenge, students were asked to send emails to five people who knew them well and to pose questions like:

• What do you think I’m particularly good at?
• What do you think I really enjoy?
• How do you think I’ll leave my mark on the world?

Adults can do this if they need feedback, too—either formally or informally in conversation with trusted others. People who know you well may be able to see things in you that you don’t recognize in yourself, which can point you in unexpected directions. On the other hand, there is no need to overly rely on that feedback if it doesn’t resonate. Getting input is useful if it clarifies your strengths—not if it’s way off base.

4. Try volunteering

Finding purpose involves more than just self-reflection. According to Bronk, it’s also about trying out new things and seeing how those activities enable you to use your skills to make a meaningful difference in the world. Volunteering in a community organization focused on something of interest to you could provide you with some experience and do good at the same time.

Working with an organization serving others can put you in touch with people who share your passions and inspire you. In fact, it’s easier to find and sustain purpose with others’ support —and a do-gooder network can introduce you to opportunities and a community that shares your concern. Volunteering has the added benefit of improving our health and longevity, at least for some people.

However, not all volunteer activities will lead to a sense of purpose. “Sometimes volunteering can be deadening,” warns Stanford University researcher Anne Colby. “It needs to be engaging. You have to feel you’re accomplishing something.” When you find a good match for you, volunteering will likely “feel right” in some way—not draining, but invigorating.

5. Imagine your best possible self

This exercise if particularly useful in conjunction with the magic-wand exercise described above. In Greater Good’s Purpose Challenge, high school students were asked to imagine themselves at 40 years of age if everything had gone as well as it could have in their lives. Then, they answered questions, like:

• What are you doing?
• What is important to you?
• What do you really care about, and why?

The why part is particularly important, because purposes usually emerges from our reasons for caring, says Bronk.

Of course, those of us who are a bit older can still find these questions valuable. However, says Bronk, older folks may want to reflect back rather than look ahead. She suggests we think about what we’ve always wanted to do but maybe couldn’t because of other obligations (like raising kids or pursuing a career). There seems to be something about seeing what you truly want for yourself and the world that can help bring you closer to achieving it, perhaps by focusing your attention on the people and experiences you encounter that may help you get there.

6. Cultivate positive emotions like gratitude and awe

To find purpose, it helps to foster positive emotions , like awe and gratitude. That’s because each of these emotions is tied to well-being, caring about others, and finding meaning in life, which all help us focus on how we can contribute to the world.

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In her study with young adults, Bronk found that practicing gratitude was particularly helpful in pointing students toward purpose. Reflecting on the blessings of their lives often leads young people to “ pay it forward ” in some way, which is how gratitude can lead to purpose.

There are many ways to cultivate awe and gratitude. Awe can be inspired by seeing the beauty in nature or recalling an inspirational moment . Gratitude can be practiced by keeping a gratitude journal or writing a gratitude letter to someone who helped you in life. Whatever tools you use, developing gratitude and awe has the added benefit of being good for your emotional well-being, which can give you the energy and motivation you need to carry out your purposeful goals.

7. Look to the people you admire

Sometimes the people we admire most in life give us a clue to how we might want to contribute to a better world ourselves. Reading about the work of civil rights leaders or climate activists can give us a moral uplift that can serve as motivation for working toward the greater good.

However, sometimes looking at these larger-than-life examples can be too intimidating , says Bronk. If so, you can look for everyday people who are doing good in smaller ways. Maybe you have a friend who volunteers to collect food for the homeless or a colleague whose work in promoting social justice inspires you.

You don’t need fame to fulfill your purpose in life. You just need to look to your inner compass—and start taking small steps in the direction that means the most to you.

This article is part of a GGSC initiative on “ Finding Purpose Across the Lifespan ,” supported by the John Templeton Foundation. In a series of articles, podcast episodes, and other resources, we’ll be exploring why and how to deepen your sense of purpose at different stages of life.

About the Author

Jill Suttie

Jill Suttie, Psy.D. , is Greater Good ’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good .

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Purpose in Life: A Reconceptualization for Very Late Life

• Research Paper
• Published: 14 February 2022
• Volume 23 , pages 2337–2348, ( 2022 )

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• Keith A. Anderson 1 ,
• Noelle L. Fields 1 ,
• Jessica Cassidy 1 &
• Lisa Peters-Beumer 2  

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Purpose in life has been defined as having goals, aims, objectives, and a sense of directedness that give meaning to one’s life and existence. Scales that measure purpose in life reflect this future-oriented conceptualization and research using these measures has consistently found that purpose in life tends to be lower for older adults than for those in earlier stages of life. In this article, we use an illustrative case study to explore the concept of purpose in life in very late life and critically challenge existing conceptualizations and measures of purpose in life. We examine the two most commonly used measures of purpose in life, the Purpose in Life Test and the Ryff Purpose Subscale and identify specific items that should be reconsidered for use with older adults in very late life. Guided by Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, we then reconceptualize purpose in life in very late life and posit that it consists of three domains—the retrospective past, the near present, and the transcendental post-mortem. We conclude with suggestions on the development of new measures of purpose in life in very late life that are reflective of this shift in time horizons and the specific characteristics of this unique time in life.

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Anderson, K.A., Fields, N.L., Cassidy, J. et al. Purpose in Life: A Reconceptualization for Very Late Life. J Happiness Stud 23 , 2337–2348 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-022-00512-7

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Reviewing six decades of research into the meaning, development, and benefits of purpose in life

Modern scientific research on human purpose has its origins in, of all places, a Holocaust survivor’s experiences in a series of Nazi concentration camps. While a prisoner at Theresienstadt, Auschwitz and two satellite camps of Dachau, Viennese psychologist Viktor Frankl noticed that fellow prisoners who had a sense of purpose showed greater resilience to the torture, slave labor, and starvation rations to which they were subjected. Writing of his experience later, he found a partial explanation in a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear almost any ‘how.’” Frankl’s 1959 book Man’s Search for Meaning , a book which proved to be seminal in the field, crystallized his convictions about the crucial role of meaning and purpose. A decade later, Frankl would assist in the development of the first and most widely used standardized survey of purpose, the 21-item “Purpose in Life” test.

As part of its ongoing interest in increasing understanding of character and virtue, the John Templeton Foundation commissioned a review of more than six decades of the literature surrounding the nature of human purpose. Covering more than 120 publications tracing back to Frankl’s work, the review examines six core questions relating to the definition, measurement, benefits, and development of purpose.

Psychology of Purpose: What Is Purpose and How Do You Measure It?

In psychological terms, a consensus definition for purpose has emerged in the literature according to which purpose is a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once personally meaningful and at the same time leads to productive engagement with some aspect of the world beyond the self. Not all goals or personally meaningful experiences contribute to purpose, but in the intersection of goal orientation, personal meaningfulness, and a focus beyond the self, a distinct conception of purpose emerges.

Studies and surveys investigating individual sources of purpose in life cite examples ranging from personal experience (being inspired by a caring teacher) to concerns affairs far removed from our current circumstance (becoming an activist after learning about sweatshop conditions in another country). Most world religions, as well as many secular systems of thought, also offer their adherents well-developed guidelines for developing purpose in life. Love of friends and family, and desire for meaningful work are common sources of purpose.

Over the past few decades, psychologists and sociologists have developed a host of assessments that touch on people’s senses of purpose including the Life Regard Index, the Purpose in Life subscale of the Psychological Scales of Well-being, the Meaning in Life questionnaire, the Existence Subscale of the Purpose in Life Test, the Revised Youth Purpose Survey, the Claremont Purpose Scale and the Life Purpose Questionnaire, among others.

The conclusion that emerges from work these tests and surveys, interviews, definitions, and meta-analyses is, roughly, that Frankl’s observation was correct — having a purpose in life is associated with a tremendous number of benefits, ranging from a subjective sense of happiness to lower levels of stress hormones. A 2004 study found that highly purposeful older women had lower cholesterol, were less likely to be overweight, and had lower levels of inflammatory response, while another from 2010 found that individuals who reported higher purpose scores were less likely to be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and even Alzheimer’s Disease. The vast majority of those noted benefits, however, are currently only correlations — in many cases it is not clear whether having a strong sense of purpose in life causes the benefits or whether people experiencing the benefits are simply better positioned to develop a sense of purpose.

Psychology of Purpose: Interventions

Potential interventions to increase purpose and its benefits have focused on the formative years of late youth, where studies have looked at the benefits of supportive mentors and of practices such as gratitude journaling on purpose in life. A 2009 study followed 89 children and adolescents who were assigned to write and deliver gratitude letters to people they felt had blessed them. Participants who had lower initial levels of positive affect and gratitude, compared to a control group, had significantly higher gratitude and positive affect after delivering the letter for as long as two months later.

This result becomes even more promising in light of a series of four studies in 2014 which concluded that even inducing a temporary purpose-mindset improved academic outcomes, including self-regulation, persistence, grade point average, and the amount of time students were willing to spend studying for tests and completing homework.

Psychology of Purpose: The Arc of Purpose

About one in five high school students and one in three college students report having a clear purpose in life. Those rates drop slightly into midlife and more precipitously into later adulthood. Some of these changes make sense in light of the future-oriented nature of purpose. For young people from late childhood onward, a sense of searching for a purpose is associated with a sense of life satisfaction — but only until middle age, when unending purpose-seeking may carry connotations of immaturity. One study, however, explored an interesting exception to the general decline of purpose-seeking: compared to other adults, “9-enders” (individuals ending a decade of life, at ages 29, 39, 49, etc.) tend to focus more on aging and meaning, and consequently, they are more likely to report searching for purpose or experiencing a crisis of meaning.

In mid-life, parenting and other forms of caregiving become a clear source of purpose and meaning for many. Interestingly, studies in 2006 and 1989 showed that, although parents had a stronger sense of meaning in their lives than non-parents, they reported feeling less happy — a reflection of the ways that pursuing one’s purpose, especially in highly demanding seasons, can still be difficult, discouraging, and stressful.

A sense of purpose in one’s career is correlated with both greater satisfaction at work as well as better work-related outputs. In a 2001 study of service workers, researchers indicated that some hospital cleaning staff considered themselves “mere janitors” while others thought of themselves as part of the overall team that brought healing to patients. These groups of individuals performed the same basic tasks, but they thought very differently about their sense of purpose in the organizations where they worked. Not surprisingly, the workers who viewed their role as having a healing function were more satisfied with their jobs, spent more time with patients, worked more closely with doctors and nurses, and found more meaning in their jobs.

In the later stages of life, common adult sources of purpose like fulfillment in one’s career or caregiving for others are less accessible — but maintaining a strong sense of purpose is associated with a host of positive attributes at these ages. Compared to others, older adults with purpose are more likely to be employed, have better health, have a higher level of education, and be married.

Psychology of Purpose Around the Globe

Although the majority of sociological work on purpose in life has focused on people in western, affluent societies, the literature contains a few interesting cross-cultural results that hint at how approaches to and benefits from purpose in life might differ around the world. In Korea, for instance, youth were shown to view purpose as less an individual pursuit and more as a collective matter, while explorations of Chinese concepts of purpose indicates that one’s sense of purpose is divided into senses of professional, moral, and social purpose.

Research in the psychology of purpose among people of different socioeconomic backgrounds suggests that those in challenging circumstances are likely to have a difficult time discovering and pursuing personally meaningful aims. This finding fit well with psychologist A.H. Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs, which suggests that people must meet basic needs for things like food, shelter, and safety before they are easily motivated to pursue aims like self-actualization.

However several studies also suggest that purpose can emerge in difficult circumstances and that it may serve as an important form of protection, as in a study that showed that having a sense of life purpose buffered African-American youth from the negative experiences associated with growing up in more challenging environments.

Indeed, as Viktor Frankl argued — based in part on what he had observed first-hand — experiencing adversity might actually contribute to the development of a purpose in life.

STILL CURIOUS?

Download the full research review on the psychology of purpose.

Discover our other research papers on discoveries. Explore topics such as:

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• benefits of forgiveness
• science of free will
• science of generosity

Q&A with Samuel Wilkinson, author of Purpose: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of our Existence

The pursuit of meaningful work, happiness at half moon bay.

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Colorado State University

Vice president for research.

The psychology of purpose in life

• July 13, 2021

My mama always told me that miracles happen every day. Some people don’t think so, but they do.

—Forrest Gump

The human mind is one of the most fascinating things in the universe; it can understand its environment, it can solve the toughest problems, and it can create its own reality. However, there are a few age-old questions that the majority of people have grappled with at some point in their lives: Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose? These questions have been explored through a variety of avenues such as religion, music, art, and philosophy. But does meaning in life always have to be about the grand questions, or can it be something else? First, what is “meaning in life?”

Meaning in life can be difficult to define as it may be a highly personal experience. Researchers have defined meaning in life as a feeling that one’s life is significant, purposeful, and coherent; in other words, having a direction that makes sense and has a feeling of worth. From where one derives meaning is directly tied to values. Your values are beliefs of what is important, and they serve as guiding principles to your actions. Understanding how your individual values fit into your life and the world around you provides a sense of meaning. 

An individual may find meaning in various domains of life, including work, relationships, hobbies, and interests. Researchers actually consider meaning in life as a core component to living a successful and happy life. Having meaning in life has been associated with a  wide range of benefits . For example, people who consider themselves to have higher levels of meaning in life are much happier in general. Living a meaningful life is associated with  better health, greater achievement in life, and stronger personal relationships . Meaning in life is also associated with  higher income . Overall, having meaning in life is a great thing! However, for those who are struggling to find meaning, we have some suggestions that could be helpful.

Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. —Viktor Frankl

Finding meaning is as subjective as can be, which can be a great thing! We can all derive meaning from very different places. For instance, some people may find a great deal of purpose by giving back to their community and  volunteering for a greater cause . Others may find purpose by challenging themselves to do something they haven’t ever done, such as cooking new recipes or attempting a fitness goal. One of the best ways to find meaning is to spend quality time with your family, so invite them over for a delicious dinner! Even just writing down your thoughts in a journal and reflecting on your day can help you attain a strong sense of meaning. Whatever is important to you and aligns with your personal values can bring a deep sense of meaning. Remember, finding meaning does not have to be a complicated process, you can find it in the simplest of life’s joys.

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

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About the authors.

Wenceslao (Wen) Martinez is a master’s student in the Translational Research on Aging and Chronic Disease Laboratory in CSU’s Department of Health and Exercise Science — and he finds a lot of purpose in doing science.

Allie Alayan is a Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology at CSU. She finds purpose in researching how people find purpose in their lives.

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10 Powerful Benefits of Living With Purpose

Wealth, health, longevity, and more..

Posted August 23, 2021 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

• What Is Motivation?
• Find a therapist near me
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• "Purpose" offers a variety of other benefits as well, including better sleep.
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Do you have a purpose in life? The answer to that question might be a key to your health and happiness , according to an ever-increasing body of research.

The concept of "purpose in life" is sometimes abbreviated PIL by researchers. "PIL" is not at all a bitter pill, despite the negative connotations of "pill." In fact, the more I read about the many benefits of “purpose,” the more convinced I am of its importance to health and happiness as well as to a sense of your own unique identity . This blog will summarize recent key studies on the relationship between purpose and flourishing.

But what is “purpose in life,” exactly? To put it simply, “purpose” can mean a feeling that the things you do in life are worthwhile. When you have a sense of purpose, you feel that you’ve made a deliberate choice to act in accordance with your values and goals. It can work the other way around, too. Your PIL can lead to further goal-setting . Either way, your purpose gives you a sense of being in charge of your own life.

Your purpose does not need to be grandiose; it only needs to be something meaningful to you (and, obviously, not anti-social). Work. A hobby that you love. Devotion to someone you care about. Creative expression. Travel. Treating everyone you meet with kindness. Keeping up your house. Writing a video or book. Starting or expanding a business. Connecting with friends, colleagues, children, and grandchildren.

Whatever your purpose, you can reap a harvest of benefits.

Here, in brief, are 10 benefits that are highly correlated to having a purpose in life, according to recent research. Most studies cited in this blog involve people over 50; other studies suggest that identifying your purpose contributes to life satisfaction for younger people, too.

The first five benefits come from a 2019 survey by British researchers Andrew Steptoe and Daisy Fancourt of over 7,300 men and women aged 50 and older living in the United Kingdom. The average age of participants was 67, with an age range from 50 to 90.

1. Happiness

The researchers found that a sense of purpose promoted happiness and well-being among adults 50-90. “Happiness” included a range of positive feelings from pleasure to life satisfaction to the sense of contribution to a larger purpose.

2. Healthy habits

Older adults with a sense of purpose were more likely to practice healthy habits, according to the study. For example, participants with high rankings on PIL were more likely to exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, watch less TV, participate in the arts, and avoid sedentary behaviors. Along the same lines, a recent survey of more than 500 adult participants showed that those with a strong sense of purpose were more likely to engage in protective health behaviors during COVID isolation.

3. Stronger personal relationships

Higher ratings for the belief that life is worthwhile were correlated to the likelihood of having a life partner, less risk of divorce , more contact with friends, membership in various organizations, volunteering, and a greater number of close relationships. Not surprisingly, those with strong PIL also experienced less loneliness .

In addition to a wealth of benefits of purpose in life, PIL also brought wealth itself. Sense of purpose was associated with greater prosperity, including income, paid employment, and assets, even after taking baseline wealth into account.

High “Life is worthwhile” rankings were correlated with better self-rated health, a lower incidence of chronic illness , less chronic pain , lower incidence of depression , and higher functional fitness.

As if that weren’t enough, other studies have heaped more onto the already full plate of purpose benefits, including these:

6. Longevity

A study of almost 7,000 U.S. adults over 50 published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2019 concluded that individuals with stronger purpose in life had lower all-cause mortality. Having a purpose also decreased the chance of premature death. Even after controlling for such factors as depression and chronic illness, those with a low score on sense-of-purpose rankings were almost twice as likely to die during the four years of the study (2006-2010).

7. Better sleep

In a study of older adults, 428 Black and 397 White, researchers discovered that those with a higher level of meaning and purpose in life had better sleep quality. Moreover, they had fewer problems with sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.

8. Reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease

In a seven-year study of more than 900 residents in senior housing facilities, researchers discovered that greater purpose in life was associated with a substantially lower rate of incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Even when some study participants were afflicted with AD, higher levels of purpose in life seemed to have a protective effect on cognition , according to this follow-up study .

9. Better mental health

A small study of 77 people in treatment for addictions found that those who had a sense of existential purpose and meaning in life had fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety , as described here . This result jibes with the U.K. study above, which also discovered that PIL was correlated with fewer depressive symptoms.

10. Better heart health

Reviewing the data on heart health and purpose in life from 10 studies of 136,000 people, cardiologist Randy Cohen concluded that "people with a low sense of purpose... were more likely to have a stroke, heart attack, or coronary artery disease requiring a stent or bypass surgery." By contrast, those with a strong PIL had a 19 percent reduction in cardiovascular events. The research is described by Dr. Sanjay Gupta in this article .

The Power of Purpose: The "Why"

Why does a sense of purpose have so many benefits? I'd speculate that if you feel you have a mission in life, you will take better care of your health so you can accomplish that mission. But the positive effects of a sense of purpose may go deeper than that, even to the cellular level.

A stronger sense of purpose may counter the negative effects of the stress hormone cortisol, a hormone that can wreak havoc on numerous body systems. "Purpose" may undo the negative effects of stress, repairing the immune system, calming the heart rate, and lowering blood sugar.

Finding Purpose as You Age

"Purpose in life" may be even more important as we age. According to British researchers Steptoe and Fancourt, “Maintaining a sense that life is worthwhile may be particularly important at older ages when social and emotional ties often fragment, social engagement is reduced, and health problems may limit personal options.”

Defining your unique purpose can be a challenge. One simple way to help yourself is to write down a tentative statement of your purpose; try it on and revise it as you evolve. Other options: Construct a purpose from these six building blocks of self-knowledge here , or follow one of these nine paths to purpose here . Seeing a career counselor or therapist can also be extremely helpful.

Knowing your purpose strengthens your sense of self; it gives you a way to explain who you are both to other people and to yourself.

(c) Meg Selig, 2021. All rights reserved.

LinkedIn image: Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock. Facebook image: Tomoharu photography/Shutterstock

Steptoe, A. and Fancourt, D. "Leading a meaningful life at older ages and its relationship with social engagement, prosperity, health, biology, and time use." PNAS, January 22, 2019 116 (4) 1207-1212.

Alimujiang, A. et al. "Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years." JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(5):e194270. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270.

Gupta, S. "Purpose in Life is Good for Your Health." Dec. 7, 2015, Everyday Health .

Meg Selig is the author of Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success .

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7 Tips for Finding Your Purpose in Life

Discover What Brings You Fullfillment

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Carly Snyder, MD is a reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist who combines traditional psychiatry with integrative medicine-based treatments.

Why Do You Need a Sense of Purpose?

Donate time, money, or talent, listen to feedback, surround yourself with positive people, start conversations with new people, explore your interests, consider injustices that bother you, discover what you love to do.

• How Do You Know You've Found Your Purpose?

A Word From Verywell

Finding your purpose in living is more than a cliché: Learning how to live your life with purpose can lead to a sense of control, satisfaction, and general contentment. Feeling like what you do is worthwhile is, arguably, a significant key to a happy life. But what this means is different for each person. This article touches on a few helpful strategies for finding and steering your rudder in a sometimes turbulent sea.

Only around 25% of American adults say they have a clear sense of what makes their lives meaningful, according to one analysis in The New York Times . Another 40% either claim neutrality on the subject or say they don't.

A 2010 study published in Applied Psychology found that individuals with high levels of eudemonic well-being—a sense of purpose and control control and a feeling like what you do is worthwhile—tend to live longer. Other researchers found that well-being might be protective for health maintenance. In that research, people with the strongest well-being were 30% less likely to die during the eight-and-a-half-year follow-up period.

There’s also research that links feeling as if you have a sense of purpose to positive health outcomes such as fewer strokes and heart attacks, better sleep, and a lower risk of dementia and disabilities.

A 2016 study published in the Journal of Research and Personality found that individuals who feel a sense of purpose make more money than individuals who feel as though their work lacks meaning .

So the good news is, you don’t have to choose between having wealth and living a meaningful life. You might find that the more purpose you feel, the more money you’ll earn.

With all of those benefits, finding purpose and meaning in your life is clearly central to fulfillment--but it's likely to take time and patience.

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Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of  The Verywell Mind Podcast , featuring activist Erin Brockovich, shares tips on standing up for what’s right, taking care of yourself, and tackling things that seem impossible. Click below to listen now.

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The process requires plenty of self-reflection, listening to others, and finding where your passions lie. These seven strategies can help you reveal or find your purpose so you can begin living a more meaningful life. 

Hero Images / Getty Images

If you can cultivate just one helpful habit in your search for purpose, it would be helping others.

Researchers at Florida State University and Stanford found that happiness and meaningfulness overlapped somewhat but were different: Happiness was linked to the person being a taker before a giver, whereas meaningfulness went along with being more of a giver than a taker. The givers in relationships reported having a purposeful life more often than takers did.

Altruistic behaviors could include volunteering   for a nonprofit organization, donating money to causes you care about, or simply helping out the people around you on a day-to-day basis.

Whether you decide to spend two Saturdays a month serving meals in a soup kitchen, or you volunteer to drive your elderly neighbor to the grocery store once a week, doing something kind for others can make you feel as though your life has meaning.

It can be hard to recognize the things you feel passionate about sometimes. After all, you probably like to do many different things and the things you love to do may have become so ingrained in your life that you don’t realize how important those things are.

Fortunately, other people might be able to give you some insight. There’s a good chance you’re already displaying your passion and purpose to those around you without even realizing it.

You might choose to reach out to people and ask what reminds them of you or what they think of when you enter their mind. Or you might take note when someone pays you a compliment or makes an observation about you. Write those observations down and look for patterns.

Whether people think of you as “a great entertainer” or they say “you have a passion for helping the elderly,” hearing others say what they notice about you might reinforce some of the passions you’ve already been engaging in.

As the saying goes, you are the company you keep. What do you have in common with the people who you choose to be around?

Don’t think about co-workers or family members you feel obligated to see. Think about the people you choose to spend time with outside of work and outside of family functions.

The people you surround yourself with say something about you. If you’re surrounded by people who are making positive change, you might draw from their inspiration.

On the other hand, if the people around you are negative individuals who drag you down, you might want to make some changes. It’s hard to feel passionate and purposeful when you’re surrounded by people who aren’t interested in making positive contributions.

It’s easy to browse social media while you’re alone on the subway or sitting at a bar waiting for a friend. Resist that urge. Instead, take the time to talk to the people around you.

Ask them if they are working on any projects or what they like to do for fun. Talk to them about organizations with which they are involved or if they like to donate to any particular cause.

Even though striking up conversations with strangers may feel awkward at first , talking to people outside of your immediate social circle can open your eyes to activities, causes or career opportunities that you never even knew existed. 

You might discover new activities to explore or different places to visit. And those activities might be key to helping you find your purpose.

Is there a topic that you are regularly talking about in a Facebook status update or in a Tweet? Are you regularly sharing articles about climate change or refugees? 

Are there pictures on Instagram of you engaging in a particular activity over and over, such as gardening or performing?

Consider the conversations you enjoy holding with people the most when you’re meeting face-to-face. Do you like talking about history? Or do you prefer sharing the latest money-saving tips you discovered?

The things you like to talk about and the things you enjoy sharing on social media may reveal the things that give you purpose in life.

Many people have their pet causes or passion projects that surround an injustice in the world. Is there anything that makes you so deeply unhappy to think about that it bothers you to the core?

It might be animal welfare, a particular civil rights issue or childhood obesity organizations. Perhaps the idea of senior citizens spending the holidays alone makes you weepy or you think that substance abusers need more rehabilitation opportunities—the organizations are out there, and they need your help.

You don’t necessarily have to engage in your purpose full-time. You might find your career gives you the ability to afford to help a cause you feel passionate about. Or, you might find that you are able to donate time—as opposed to money—to give to a cause that you believe in.

On the other end of the spectrum, simply thinking about what you truly love to do can help you find your purpose as well.

Do you absolutely love musical theater? Your skills might be best put to use in a way that brings live performances to children who can benefit from exposure to the arts. 

Is analyzing data something that you actually find fun? Any number of groups could find that skill to be an invaluable asset.

Consider what type of skills, talents, and passions you bring to the table. Then, brainstorm how you might turn your passion into something meaningful to you. 

How Do You Know You've Found Your Purpose?

Like the notion of purpose itself, the answer to that is subjective--and there are as many signs that someone's found their purpose as there are people.

Perhaps you feel fully connected to the universe and that you know your place in it. Maybe you've found your meaning in religion. Or you sense a strong connection with others. The feeling might arise from activities that benefit others, such as volunteering.

Ultimately, you've likely found your purpose if you've stopped asking whether you have.

Finding your purpose isn’t something you can do in a few days, weeks, or months. It can be a lifelong journey , and you must do it only one step at a time.

You also might find that your purpose changes over time. Perhaps you liked working with animals in your youth, but now you want to join forces with a cause that fights human trafficking. Or, maybe you want to do both, being among the lucky who find more than one purpose to drive their lives. 

Keep in mind your purpose doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change what you’re doing already. If you cut hair, you might decide your purpose in life is to help others feel beautiful.

 If you work as a school custodian, you might find your purpose is creating an environment that helps children learn.

Occasionally, consider pausing what you’re doing to reflect on your path: Is it taking you in the direction you want to go? If not, you can change course. Sometimes, that road to finding your purpose has a few curves, forks, and stop lights.

Khullar D. Finding Purpose for a Good Life. But Also a Healthy One. The New York Times. The Upshot. Jan. 1, 2018:1. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/upshot/finding-purpose-for-a-good-life-but-also-a-healthy-one.html

Kobau, R, Sniezek, J, Zack, M M, Lucas, RE, Burns, A. Well‐Being Assessment: An Evaluation of Well‐Being Scales for Public Health and Population Estimates of Well‐Being among US Adults . Applied Psychology : 2010: 2: 272-297. doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01035.x

Steptoe A, Deaton A, Stone AA. Subjective wellbeing, health, and ageing.   Lancet . 2015;385(9968):640–648. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61489-0

Musich S, Wang SS, Kraemer S, Hawkins K, Wicker E. Purpose in Life and Positive Health Outcomes Among Older Adults.   Popul Health Manag . 2018;21(2):139–147. doi:10.1089/pop.2017.0063

Schippers MC, Ziegler N. Life Crafting as a Way to Find Purpose and Meaning in Life. Front Psychol. 2019;10:2778. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02778

Baumeister RF, Vohs KD, Aaker JL, Garbinsky EN. Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life . The Journal of Positive Psychology . 2013;8(6):505-516. doi:10.1080/17439760.2013.830764

Son J. Wilson J. Volunteer Work and Hedonic, Eudemonic, and Social Well-Being. Sociological Forum. 2012;27(3):658-681. doi:10.1111/j.1573-7861.2012.01340.x

Baumeister RF, Vohs KD, Aaker JL, Garbinsky EN. Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. Journal of Positive Psychology  2013;8(6):505-516. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2013.830764

• Hill PL, Turiano NA, Mroczek DK, Burrow AL. The value of a purposeful life: Sense of purpose predicts greater income and net worth .  Journal of Research in Personality . 2016:65:38-42. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2016.07.003.

By Amy Morin, LCSW Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

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What's Your Purpose? Finding A Sense Of Meaning In Life Is Linked To Health

Mara Gordon

Having a purpose in life, whether building guitars or swimming or volunteer work, affects your health, researchers found. It even appeared to be more important for decreasing risk of death than exercising regularly. Dean Mitchell/Getty Images hide caption

Having a purpose in life, whether building guitars or swimming or volunteer work, affects your health, researchers found. It even appeared to be more important for decreasing risk of death than exercising regularly.

Having a purpose in life may decrease your risk of dying early, according to a study published Friday.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 7,000 American adults between the ages of 51 and 61 who filled out psychological questionnaires on the relationship between mortality and life purpose.

What they found shocked them, according to Celeste Leigh Pearce, one of the authors of the study published in JAMA Current Open .

People who didn't have a strong life purpose — which was defined as "a self-organizing life aim that stimulates goals" — were more likely to die than those who did, and specifically more likely to die of cardiovascular diseases.

"I approached this with a very skeptical eye," says Pearce , an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan. "I just find it so convincing that I'm developing a whole research program around it."

People without a strong life purpose were more than twice as likely to die between the study years of 2006 and 2010, compared with those who had one.

This association between a low level of purpose in life and death remained true despite how rich or poor participants were, and regardless of gender, race, or education level. The researchers also found the association to be so powerful that having a life purpose appeared to be more important for decreasing risk of death than drinking, smoking or exercising regularly.

"Just like people have basic physical needs, like to sleep and eat and drink, they have basic psychological needs," says Alan Rozanski , a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who was not involved in this research but has studied the relationship between life purpose and physical health.

"The need for meaning and purpose is No. 1," Rozanski adds. "It's the deepest driver of well-being there is."

The new study adds to a small but growing body of literature on the relationship between life purpose and physical health. Rozanski published a 2016 paper in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine , for example, that used data from 10 studies to show that strong life purpose was associated with reduced risk of mortality and cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks or stroke.

Study authors for the new JAMA Current Open study pulled data from a large survey of older American adults called the Health and Retirement Study . Participants were asked a variety of questions on topics such as finances, physical health and family life.

A subset of participants filled out psychological questionnaires, including a survey called the Psychological Wellbeing Scale , in 2006. This includes questions designed to understand how strong a person's sense of life purpose is. For example, it asks them to rate their responses to questions like, "Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them."

The study authors used people's answers to these questions to quantify how powerful their degree of life purpose was. The researchers then compared that information to data on participants' physical health up until 2010, including whether or not participants died and what they died from.

The survey didn't ask participants to define how they find meaning in life. What matters, according to the researchers, is not exactly what a person's life purpose is, but that they have one.

"For some, it might be raising children. For others, it might be doing volunteer work," Pearce says. "Where your life fulfillment comes from can be very individual."

The study's lead author, Aliya Alimujiang , who is a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of Michigan, says she got involved in the project because of a personal interest in mindfulness and wellness.

Before she started graduate school, Alimujiang worked as a volunteer in a breast cancer clinic and says she was struck by how the patients who could articulate how they found meaning in life seemed to do better.

That experience helped her define part of her own life purpose: researching the phenomenon.

"I had a really close relationship with the breast cancer patients. I saw the fear and anxiety and depression they had," Alimujiang says. "That helped me to apply for [graduate] school. That's how I started my career."

Pearce says that while the link between life purpose and physical well-being seems strong, more research is needed to explore the physiological connection between the two, like whether having a low life purpose is connected to high levels of stress hormones. She also hopes to study public health strategies — like types of therapy or educational tools — that might help people develop a strong sense of their life's work.

"What I'm really struck by is the strength of our findings, as well as the consistency in the literature overall," Pearce says. "It seems quite convincing."

• life purpose

15 Ways to Find Your Purpose of Life & Realize Your Meaning

“ You don’t find meaning; you create it ,” was my answer to the question, what is meaning?

Drawn in by the unforgiving directness of the existentialist philosophers, I was (perhaps naively) attempting to respond to the question that Albert Camus said must be answered before all others: Is there meaning in life ? Or, to state it more clearly: Is a life worth living? (Camus, 1975).

This article explores a few of the questions central to the vast and complex topic of meaning and purpose in life and introduces techniques and tools to help clients find answers.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Meaning and Valued Living Exercises for free . These creative, science-based exercises will help you learn more about your values, motivations, and goals and will give you the tools to inspire a sense of meaning in the lives of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is the purpose of life a philosophical and psychological take, how to find the purpose of your life, 10 techniques to help yourself and others, 4 useful worksheets, a note on finding meaning after trauma, divorce, and others, positivepsychology.com’s resources, a take-home message.

In The Myth of Sisyphus , Albert Camus (1975), when faced with what he saw as the meaninglessness of existence, suggested we live life to its fullest rather than attempt an escape.

For Camus, as with his contemporary Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialism concerns itself with the uniqueness of the human condition (Sartre, 1964). According to the existentialist formula, life has no inherent meaning. We have free choice and, therefore, choose our values and purpose.

But where did existentialism come from?

The sense of freedom that existentialism offers is crucial – jolting us out of a comfortable malaise. It builds on Friedrich Nietzsche’s thinking that there are no universal facts and that man is isolated. He is born, lives, and dies – alone (Nietzsche, 1911; Kaufmann, 1976).

Rather than dictating how the reader should live, Nietzsche tells us we should create our values  and our sense of purpose.

And yet, if cast free, how do we create meaning and purpose?

Existentialism is indebted to Edmund Husserl’s work on perception to answer this and other questions. Writing in 1900, Husserl regards meaning, along with perception, as the creation of the individual. Meaning is not objective – to be found in the external world – but built up from our mental states (Warnock, 1970).

Martin Heidegger – often described as the first true existentialist – picks up on this idea in the heavy-weight Being and Time , written in 1927. For us to be authentic – following a state of anxiety born out of a realization that we are free – we must take responsibility for our actions, our purpose, and our meaning (Heidegger, 1927/2013).

Existentialism and the struggle for meaning

Sartre continues this line of thinking in Being and Nothingness (1964):

“…every man, without any support or help whatever, is condemned at every instant to invent man.”

Separate from the world, we must realize the horror that we are free to do and create meaning . And yet, to avoid bad faith  (or inauthenticity), we must accept that we are responsible not only for ourselves but also for all people.

To the existentialist, our sense of meaning and purpose comes from what we do.

But can science and psychology help us find either? Yes, probably .

Meaning and psychology

Increasingly, psychologists have begun to realize the importance of meaning to our wellbeing and happiness.

Recent research suggests that people with increased meaning are better off – they appear happier, exhibit increased life satisfaction, and report lowered depression (Huo et al., 2019; Ivtzan, Lomas, Hefferon, & Worth, 2016; Steger, 2009).

Nevertheless, meaning is a complex construct that can be approached from multiple angles; for example, cognitively, appraising situations for meaning, and motivationally to pursue worthwhile goals (Eysenck & Keane, 2015; Ryan & Deci, 2018).

While there are many definitions of meaning  in psychology, Laura King, a psychologist at the University of Missouri, provides us with the following useful description (Heintzelman & King, 2015):

Meaning in life “may be defined as the extent to which a person experiences his or her life as having purpose, significance, and coherence.”

Whether meaning is derived from thoughtful reflection or only as a byproduct of cognitive processing, it is vital for healthy mental functioning. After all, we only attach importance to an experience and see it as significant if it has meaning. Similarly, a sense of meaning and purpose is crucial to create an environment for pursuing personal goals.

A fascinating study in 2010 took a very different perspective, bringing us closer to our initial, philosophical discussion. The realization that there is only one certainty in life – death – can cause great anxiety for many.

The Terror Management Theory (TMT) suggests that features that remind us of our mortality are likely to heighten fear around death (Routledge & Juhl, 2010). However, TMT also suggests that a life “ imbued with meaning and purpose ” can help stave off such angst.

Philosophically and psychologically, it is clear that meaning is a fundamental component of our human existence.

Meaning refers to how we “ make sense of life and our roles in it ,” while purpose refers to the “ aspirations that motivate our activities ” (Ivtzan et al., 2016).

The terms are sufficiently close to saying that in the absence of either, our life lacks a story. As humans, we need something to strive for and a sense of connectedness between the important moments that make up our existence (Steger, 2009).

Sometimes, seeing the bigger picture or recognizing our place in the broader scheme can bring great insights and even play a role in our experience of meaning in life (Hicks & King, 2007).

Share the following ideas and insights with your clients:

Mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam

In 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced NASA to spin the Voyager 1 Space Probe around to take one last look at Earth as the probe left the solar system. The picture it took was unlike any other before or since. Roughly 3.7 billion miles away and traveling at 40,000 miles per hour, it captured Earth as a small pale blue dot  against a band of sunlight.

The image either leaves you with a sense of deep horror at our insignificance in a vast, uncaring universe or a sense of wonder at how we came into being in such a “ vast cosmic arena .”

This realization is captured beautifully in Carl Sagan’s words and this stunning computer simulation.

Broadening the mind

Alternate points of view that broaden the mind may help an individual experience an increased sense of meaning in life (Hicks & King, 2007). With that in mind, work with your client to widen their outlook and experience others’ thoughts to challenge what they know and think.

Ask your client to:

• Read widely . Explore new ideas and beliefs that reach beyond your comfort zone.
• Widen your group of friends and contacts . Seek out those who have unique ways of looking at things – positive people who will encourage you to grow.
• Learn the methods of evidence-led, scientific thinking . Rational thinking can provide the opportunity to free yourself from biased judgments.

Finding meaning through growth

Adopting a growth mindset can also lead to increased purpose in life. Help your client move away from a fixed mindset and open up to finding new purpose through exploration and challenge (Lee, Hwang, & Jang, 2018; Smith, 2018).

Work with your client to:

• Find and build on their strengths . Try out some free online questionnaires such as the Values in Action Inventory  or the CliftonStrengths Assessment . Once identified, see how they can use their strengths more regularly in daily life.
• Explore weaknesses . If they aren’t holding the client back, help them to accept their weaknesses. If weaknesses prevent the client from living the life they wish to lead, try out techniques to build resilience and adopt a growth mindset .
• Help the client understand that the meaning they give to life is subjective and just as valid as anyone else’s.
• Accept that mistakes are part of learning.
• Encourage them to find ways to motivate themselves by building on intrinsic factors such as tasks that they feel related to, autonomous in, and can grow in competence (Ryan & Deci, 2018). After all, meaning is fundamental to motivation (Heintzelman, 2018).
• Help others . Work for charities or provide support where needed.
• Studies have shown that fostering a sense of awe, gratitude, and altruism can help strengthen a sense of purpose.
• Ask the client to listen to the positive things people have to say about them.
• Writing or reading about personal experiences can help develop a shared understanding of meaning. Not only does it build a sense of who we are, but it also makes sense of our experiences.

Download 3 Meaning & Valued Living Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you or your clients with tools to find meaning in life help and pursue directions that are in alignment with values.

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The sources of meaning and a sense of purpose in our lives are highly personal, subjective, and will vary throughout our lives.

Promotion of happiness themes

The following activities and techniques can promote key themes in our lives as sources of meaning (Ivtzan at al., 2016):

• Support others (and receive others’ support) by joining clubs – strengthening bonds and building relationships .
• Share feelings, desires, hopes, goals, successes, and failures with a close friend or significant other to increase intimacy .
• Focus outside yourself on causes, pursuits, and responsibilities to self-transcend .
• Pursue goals and strive for achievement in areas aligned with your values.
• Become comfortable in who you are. Feel the satisfaction of meaning by practicing self-acceptance .
• Express and experience respect and fairness .
• Obtaining materialistic desires can be significant and meaningful for some.
• Working towards professional goals can be purposeful for many.
• Pursuit of pleasure and happiness brings meaning and purpose to many but can be short lived.

Reflect on your sources of meaning

Having shared the above list with your client, ask them to:

• Rank on a sheet of paper their personal sources of meaning (italics above).
• Review which ones are central and most influential.
• Reflect on the opportunities to strengthen the ones that rank less highly.

The following tools and techniques are taken from our Positive Psychology Toolkit© and can support your work with clients in their search for purpose and meaning. The exercises are briefly explained, and can be access with a subscription to the Toolkit, which contains over 400 useful tools.

Living a meaningful life can be facilitated by a greater awareness of core values and the thoughts behind them. The insights provided by understanding personal values can help regain a sense of meaning to improve motivation.

Values represent what we consider essential and what we live for in life. They combine both the core psychological needs of the self and society’s norms.

Work with your client to identify what is most valuable to them before they commit to action; for example, being creative, learning, or showing compassion to others.

The Value Cards group exercise provides 42 values (plus some blanks) that can be cut out to form a deck of cards.

Ask each person in the group to:

• Lay the value cards out in front of you.
• Study and reflect on each one.
• Identify the five cards that best represent your core values.
• If comfortable, share your core values with others in the group to see what each person has chosen.
• Once completed, select the card that represents your strongest  value.
• Explain to another person in the group why it is your strongest value and offer examples (enjoy this celebration of successes).
• Select another value that you would like to live into more and discuss with another person in the group.
• Select and share your core  value with the group.

Life domains

Some values are specific to life domains. For example, productivity may be more suited to our professional life and compassion in our home life; as our domains change throughout our lives, so too can our values.

A Values Vision Board can provide an excellent visual means for clients to become more aware and connect to their values.

• Create a vision board, using pictures cut from magazines and stuck to paper or software such as Powerpoint or Keynote.
• Try grouping the images by domain or in order of overall life values.
• Work on it through feeling rather than rational thinking, with no goals in mind.
• Share your thoughts about the vision board with the therapist or a close friend.
• Place the vision board somewhere it can be seen daily. Regularly return to the board to see if values have shifted and whether life is still balanced with the core values.

Emotion and goal-driven behavior

Despite the importance of our values, they can easily be ignored or even avoided.

Powerful emotions often overtake our values in directing our behavior. We fear writing the book we have always wanted or doubt our ability to commit to a relationship.

While goals can be vital to meeting our long-term plans, they can cause us to lose sight of what is important. We may be so focused on finding a partner, owning a house, or starting a family that we lose sight of enjoying life and building a group of friends.

The Values-Based Goal Setting exercise can help translate values into committed action.

Ask the client to:

• Choose a life domain, for example, parenting, relationship, work, etc.
• Think about what you would like to change in that domain.
• Consider why it is essential to make that change.
• Write down beside each reason what value it underpins, for example, work/life balance, love, etc.
• Use the SMART acronym (specific, meaningful, adaptive, realistic, time-framed) to translate these values into concrete goals.
• Review regularly to confirm that these are your goals (not someone else’s) and that your core values remain unchanged.

Shifting and replacing values

Near-death experiences are frequently associated with a re-assessment of a person’s values, including increased concern for others, an appreciation for life, and a decrease in materialism.

Considering our mortality (while challenging) can improve our awareness of what is genuinely important.

The My Gravestone exercise is a powerful tool for reevaluating how we spend our time on Earth. If appropriate to the client’s circumstances, ask your client to:

• Imagine their life is over.
• Using the shape of a tombstone, write out their name, birth date, etc.
• Write a couple of sentences or phrases that capture how they would like to be remembered and how they would like to have spent their time.

This is an extremely difficult exercise for many and should only be performed if the client is ready and willing to cope with the emotions that may arise.

A near-death experience, serious illness, separation, or loss of a loved one can all shake our sense of who we are and force us to reevaluate our core values, life purpose, and sense of meaning.

Indeed, research on trauma survivors has observed post-traumatic growth and the capacity to extract meaning from adversity (Routledge & Juhl, 2010).

17 Tools To Encourage Meaningful, Value-Aligned Living

This 17 Meaning & Valued Living Exercises [PDF] pack contains our best exercises for helping others discover their purpose and live more fulfilling, value-aligned lives.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

Our Masterclass on Meaning and Valued Living© provides an intuitive and accessible way to apply positive psychology.

This excellent online program is for therapists, psychologists, counselors, coaches, and practitioners who want to help their clients find meaning and discover their values, connecting them to their ‘why’ so that they can bear the ‘how.’

if you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others discover meaning, this collection contains 17 validated meaning tools for practitioners. Use them to help others choose directions for their lives in alignment with what is truly important to them.

The meaning we attach to our self, the world around us, and our role within it form our narrative. Our purpose – our aim and goals – motivates the activities that take us through it.

Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that both meaning and purpose are vital to our wellbeing as well as crucial to who we are.

If we accept the existentialists’ view, then we are free to lead a life according to our values, assign a meaning to what we see as vital, and pursue a unique purpose.

As Sartre points out, this realization may begin with anguish and spiral to a sense of vertiginous nausea before we act. After all, it is like being dropped at a cliff’s edge, without the option of going back and an uncertain future ahead.

Instead, we must choose our values and the meaning we assign to who we are, how we live, and what we do. Our goals are personal, and we must decide whether to follow them or let them drift out of sight.

But failing to act authentically and live according to the meaning and purpose we have chosen would result in a less-well-lived life. So, try the exercises within this article – if only to better understand who you are, your core values, and your place in your surroundings – and explore potential yet to be written.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Meaning and Valued Living Exercises for free .

• Camus, A. (1975). The myth of Sisyphus . London: Penguin Books.
• Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2015). Cognitive psychology: A student’s handbook . New York: Psychology Press.
• Heidegger, M. (2013). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). Malden: Blackwell. (Original work published in 1927 and translated in 1962)
• Hicks, J. A., & King, L. A. (2007). Meaning in life and seeing the big picture: Positive affect and global focus. Cognition & Emotion , 21 (7), 1577–1584.
• Huo, J.-Y., Wang, X.-Q., Steger, M. F., Ge, Y., Wang, Y.-C., Liu, M.-F., & Ye, B.-J. (2019). Implicit meaning in life: The assessment and construct validity of implicit meaning in life and relations with explicit meaning in life and depression. The Journal of Positive Psychology , 15 (4), 500–518.
• Ivtzan, I., Lomas, T., Hefferon, K., & Worth, P. (2016). Second wave positive psychology: Embracing the dark side of life . London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
• Kaufmann, W. (1976). The portable Nietzsch e. London: Penguin Books
• Heintzelman, S. J. (2018). Eudaimonia in the contemporary science of subjective well-being: Psychological well-being, self-determination, and meaning in life. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being . Salt Lake City, UT: DEF.
• Heintzelman, S. J., & King, L. A. (2015). Meaning in life and intuition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 110 (3), 477–492.
• Lee, C. S., Hwang, Y. K., & Jang, H. Y. (2018). Moderating effect of growth mindset on the relationship between attitude toward tourism and meaning in life. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics , 120 (6), 5523–5540.
• Nietzsche, F. (1911). Beyond good and evil  (H. Zimmern, Trans.). Edinburgh: Darrien Press.
• Routledge, C., & Juhl, J. (2010). When death thoughts lead to death fears: Mortality salience increases death anxiety for individuals who lack meaning in life. Cognition & Emotion , 24 (5), 848–854.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2018). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness . New York: Guilford Press.
• Sartre, J. (1964). Being and nothingness: An essay in phenomenological ontolog y. New York: Citadel Press.
• Smith, J. A. (2018). How to find your purpose in life. Greater Good Magazine. Retrieved October 5, 2020, from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_your_purpose_in_life
• Steger, M. F. (2009). Meaning in life. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 679–687). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Warnock, M. (1970). Existentialism . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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What our readers think.

We obviously don’t exist in a vacuum so we have a stack of existing phenomena to analyse and interpret. Emanuel Kant said “Two things fill my mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence …. the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.”

Excellent Article. The way ‘ meaning’ and ‘Purpose’ is differentiated is giving clarity to many who get caught in a hazy situation.Purpose is constant and meaning may shift along the journey of life.Purpose is Values driven and Meaning is Actions driven. Enjoyed a lot

Excellent article. I especially liked the differentiation of “meaning” and “purpose” and ways to explore these and become more self-aware. Such poignancy and a great invitation for a deeply meaningful life.

Excellent article. I loved the included YouTube video and funnily enough this is a practice (visualizing myself “zoneing out”- like in the video) I use to ground myself. Refreshing 🙂

The term “existentialism” was given by Catholic existence philosopher Gabriel Marcel to Jean-Paul Sartre’s version of existence philosophy. Nietzsche is not an existentialist, rather, a vitalist. Kierkegaard preceded him and has more existential themes later philosophers like Heidegger built on. “Existentialism” was later associated with Sartre and his followers with “existential phenomenology” being more Heidegger’s suit.

Meaning is objective for Husserl insofar as the laws of logic, morality, and mathematics are independent of the human mind.

Wow, what an insert to capture. I was in a Ministry meeting last night and it was the first one. I listened to several of the ladies say they have no idea of their purpose. So to read this today is a Godsend to share in the next group. This is so profound and just in learning to live.

Thanks for this — especially meaningful at this time of year, in this year. I shared The Blue Dot video to my FB page. But how can we download and share your essay?

Glad you liked the article! Unfortunately, we don’t currently have a download button for our posts, but if you hit ‘Yes’ on the ‘Did you find this article useful?’ button (near the reference list), a range of sharing options will appear. 🙂

– Nicole | Community Manager

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Where Americans find meaning in life has changed over the past four years

Many things have changed in the United States in the past four years, from a new administration in Washington to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted work, financial security, family structures and even the ability to move around freely – to say nothing of its impact on public health.

Alongside these shifts, Americans have evolved in where they find meaning in their lives, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of surveys conducted in September 2017 and February 2021. In both years, the Center asked a representative sample of U.S. adults to answer the following question in their own words: “What about your life do you currently find meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying? What keeps you going and why?”

Based on these surveys, here are six facts about where Americans find meaning in life and how those responses have shifted over the past four years. The analysis also examines how attitudes in the U.S. compare with those in 16 other advanced economies surveyed by the Center in 2021 .

This Pew Research Center analysis examines Americans’ responses to an open-ended question about what gives them meaning in life and explores how responses in the United States have changed over time as well as how they differ from those elsewhere in the world. Details about the over-time analysis can be found in the Methodology for comparing 2017 and 2021 U.S. surveys on the meaning of life.

For this analysis, we conducted nationally representative surveys of 4,867 U.S. adults from Sept. 14 to 28, 2017, and 2,596 U.S. adults from Feb. 1 to 7, 2021. Everyone who took part in both surveys is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all adults have a chance of selection. The surveys were weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories.

In both surveys, respondents were asked to answer the following open-ended question: “We’re interested in exploring what it means to live a satisfying life. Please take a moment to reflect on your life and what makes it feel worthwhile – then answer the question below as thoughtfully as you can. What about your life do you currently find meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying? What keeps you going and why?”

We also conducted nationally representative surveys of 16,254 adults from March 12 to May 26, 2021, in 16 advanced economies. All surveys were conducted over the phone with adults in Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Responses are weighted to be representative of the adult population in each public. Respondents in these publics were asked a shorter version of the question asked in the U.S.: “We’re interested in exploring what it means to live a satisfying life. What aspects of your life do you currently find meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying?” Responses were transcribed by interviewers in the language in which the interviews were conducted.

Researchers examined random samples of English responses, machine-translated non-English responses and responses translated by a professional translation firm to inductively develop a codebook for the main sources of meaning mentioned across the 17 publics. The codebook was iteratively improved via practice coding and calculations of intercoder reliability until a final selection of 20 codes was formally adopted ( read Appendix C of the full report ).

To apply the codebook to the full collection of 18,850 responses, a team of Pew Research Center coders and professional translators were trained to code English and non-English responses, respectively. Coders in both groups coded random samples and were evaluated for consistency and accuracy. They were asked to independently code responses only after reaching an acceptable threshold for intercoder reliability. (For more on this, read Appendix A of the full report .)

Here is the question used for this analysis, along with the coded responses for each public. Open-ended responses included in the analysis and in the accompanying interactive have been lightly edited for clarity (and, in some cases, translated into English by a professional firm). Here are more details about our international survey methodology and country-specific sample designs. For respondents in the U.S., read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Americans have become more likely to mention society as a source of meaning in life, but much of this emphasis is negative. The share of Americans who mention society, places and institutions – which includes references to one’s local area, as well as to broader notions of the U.S., the government and social services – grew from 8% in 2017 to 14% in 2021. The increase was especially pronounced among those ages 65 and older (24% this year, up from 10%) and those without full-time jobs (17%, up from 8%).

As was the case in 2017, about half of adults who mention society (49%) bring up something negative, such as personal frustrations or difficulties. The nature of these complaints ranges widely, from economic concerns, distrust of government and partisan animosity to more general fears about the direction of the country. As one woman put it while reflecting on what she views as growing political extremism in America, “My hope is dimming because I see no light at the end of the tunnel.”

The U.S. stands out as one of only three publics surveyed in 2021 where mentions of society significantly coincide with greater negativity. The other two are Italy and Spain, but in neither of them is the relationship between society and negativity as strong as it is in the U.S.

Americans – especially Republicans – have become more likely to mention freedom and independence as a source of meaning in life. Among Americans overall, 9% now mention issues such as freedom, independence and their ability to do what they want to do, including financial independence, having free time or a good work-life balance, or political freedoms like freedom of speech. This is up from 5% in 2017.

Much of this increase has occurred among Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party. This year, 12% of Republicans mention freedom or independence, up from 5% in 2017. There has been no significant change among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents during this period (6% this year vs. 5% in 2017).

While Republicans in the U.S. are much more likely than Democrats to mention freedom or independence as a source of meaning in life, similar ideological divides are not evident elsewhere in the world. Mentions of freedom are not associated with right-leaning ideological views in any of the other 16 publics surveyed in 2021; in fact, in two other publics (Italy and Spain), such mentions are more common among those on the ideological left .

Mentions of freedom in the U.S. have become more common among other demographic groups, too. For example, while just 4% of parents mentioned the topic in 2017, 9% do so in 2021, matching the share of non-parents who currently mention freedom or independence as a source of meaning in life. Similarly, Americans without a college degree have become more likely to refer to the subject, now mentioning it at roughly the same rate as those with a college degree (9%).

Compared with 2017, fewer Americans now mention spouses or romantic partners as a source of meaning in life. Around one-in-ten U.S. adults (9%) now mention their spouse or romantic partner or their romantic or dating life, down from 20% in 2017. This represents one of the largest decreases across all of the sources of meaning coded as part of this project. While both married and unmarried people are now less likely to mention partners or romance, the decline has been greatest among married adults. Just 13% of married adults mention their spouse in 2021, down from nearly a third (31%) in 2017.

Despite the decline, Americans are among the most likely to mention their spouse or partner among all 17 places surveyed. Outside of the U.S., mentions of romantic partners are most common in the Netherlands (8%) and Italy (7%). But no more than 5% of adults in most other places mention their spouse or partner.

Fewer Americans now mention finances, jobs or travel as a source of meaning in life than in 2017. The share of U.S. adults who bring up their material well-being – including references to feeling safe, secure, able to cover the basics, living comfortably or being well-off – has dropped from 29% to 18% over the past four years. This decline has been concentrated among two groups in particular: married adults and White Americans. In 2017, both groups were among the most likely to point to material well-being as a source of meaning.

The share of adults who mention their job, occupation or career as a source of meaning has declined from 24% to 17% since 2017, perhaps reflecting the fact that many Americans’ working lives have been upended during the coronavirus pandemic. While Americans with higher incomes and those with a college degree remain the most likely to bring up their jobs, both groups have become less likely to do so, with a decline from 37% to 27% among those in the upper-income tier and a decline from 39% to 26% among the college-educated.

The widespread travel restrictions in response to the pandemic may have also affected the share of Americans who derive meaning from travel, which declined from 6% in 2017 to 3% in 2021. But the topic of travel remains more common among college graduates and those with a total family income of $100,000 or more per year.

Older Americans have grown less likely to mention their physical or mental health as a source of meaning in life. The overall share of Americans who mention their physical or mental health or wellness fell from 19% in 2017 to 11% in 2021. And this shift has been especially pronounced among older Americans. This year, only 12% of those ages 65 and older mention their health as a source of meaning, down from 30% in 2017.

The emphasis on health has also fallen significantly among White Americans, who now mention the topic at a similar rate as Black and Hispanic Americans. In 2017, by contrast, White adults were more likely than Black and Hispanic adults to mention their health.

Most Americans are no more likely to mention difficulties or challenges than they were four years ago, although older adults are an exception. Between 2017 and 2021, the share of Americans who mention some sort of negative circumstance or difficulty when describing where they find meaning in life has remained stable – 17% of all adults. But older Americans have become more likely to mention difficulties or challenges when answering this question. Roughly a quarter of those 65 and older (27%) mention a difficulty or challenge in 2021 – more than any other age group and more than the 20% who did so in 2017. This pattern does not appear to be unique to the U.S.: In many of the other publics where the Center asked the same question in 2021, older people are also more likely to mention these kinds of difficulties.

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Your Career Doesn’t Need to Have a Purpose

• Stephen Friedman

Focus on making your work meaningful instead.

Outside of popular anecdotes and social media stories, there is little evidence that a single, defined “purpose” is necessary for a rewarding career. In fact, it can be quite the opposite. It’s surprisingly common to go after what we think is our purpose only to discover that we hate it. Instead, shift your focus from “purpose” to “meaning.” Ask yourself:

• What do I like, prefer, or enjoy doing? Let go of yearning for a career purpose. Dial it back and consider what you liked about any of your previous jobs, school projects or other ways you spend your time. Perhaps you liked helping your peers organize their work or enjoyed researching sources for group projects. Or maybe you liked working on a team than alone. Use that as a starting point. 
• What am I good at? Early on in your career, you will have many bourgeoning skills. These are skills that you are good at now and can get even better at with more practice. Think about stuff you are progressively getting better at. Getting to use and improve skills that you’re already good will energize you, and provide you with a feeling of recognition and usefulness.
• Would this role provide growth and learning that I can use later? Research shows that what scholars call “ability development” (i.e. getting better at what you do) brings with it greater happiness, satisfaction, and meaning.

As an organizational studies professor at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada, I get the opportunity to help my students with various aspects of their career development. In the process, I’ve noticed two common threads. First, most of my students are not only eager to enter the world of work, but also to be excellent at what they do. Second, they want their post-graduation job to be loaded with purpose .

• Stephen Friedman is an Adjunct Professor of Organizational Studies and a Senior Faculty of Executive Education, at The Schulich School of Business, York University in Toronto. He teaches and writes about leadership development, organizational behavior, complexity science, career development, human resource management, workplace inclusion, and mental health.

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How to Build the Life You Want: Timeless Wisdom for More Happiness & Purpose The Mel Robbins Podcast

Do you want to be happier every day and live a more meaningful life?    In this episode, you’re getting the research, the secrets, and some very surprising takeaways from the #1 happiness expert, Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar.    He has taught 2 of the most popular courses in Harvard’s history, and today you are getting a front row seat in one of his lectures.    Grab a pen and paper, because class is in session.    He is here to share all of the groundbreaking research and give you the answers to:    - What you have wrong about happiness  - The science-based tools for increasing happiness  - 5 simple habits for a successful, happy life    This episode will give you the secret to creating happiness in your life again, with zero weird tricks.    For more resources, including the link to Dr. Ben-Shahar’s book, Happier, click here for the podcast episode page.    If you liked this research-packed episode, here’s one you should listen to next: What Makes a Good Life? Lessons From the Longest Study on Happiness.   If you are looking for more coaching, Mel just opened the doors to the once-a-year, science-backed, community-packed coaching program, Launch with Mel Robbins, and wants YOU to join her.    Over 6 full months, you’ll get step-by-step support through 3 personal or professional projects that are important to you. If you’re ready for deep support, dream-chasing, and a LOT of momentum, this is for you.  Launch with Mel Robbins closes enrollment on April 25th. If you miss the date, you can hop on the waitlist for next year’s course. Connect with Mel: • Sign up for Mel’s 6 month coaching program, Launch • Watch the episodes on YouTube  • Follow Mel on Instagram  • The Mel Robbins Podcast Instagram • Mel's TikTok  • Sign up for Mel’s newsletter  • Disclaimer

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How Volunteering Improves Mental Health

February 02, 2022

By Trish Lockard

While sitting in a waiting room at a doctor’s office in 2014, I struck up a conversation with the woman sitting next to me. As we got acquainted, she told me she was deeply involved with an organization called the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). I hadn’t heard of it, but I was intrigued because I was not a stranger to mental illness.

My maternal grandmother experienced debilitating depression for years, culminating in her suicide in 1939. My mother was diagnosed with depression and experienced what I believe was PTSD, following her own mother’s suicide. I had grappled with mental health challenges myself, and I had been taking medication for depression and anxiety disorders for many years.

As I learned about NAMI that day, I knew instinctively this was an organization to which I could happily devote my time and energy. I had always shied away from volunteerism because no cause had ever inspired the passion required to keep me motivated. Now, eight years later, I am still a NAMI member and vocal activist for mental health.

With some personal reflection and review of scientific literature, I’ve come to understand that volunteering itself can be an act of self-care.

The Benefits of Volunteerism

Naturally, the dialogue surrounding activism and volunteerism centers on how others will benefit from volunteer work that you do. But years of research demonstrate that there are benefits for volunteers themselves. Whether you are a family member or caregiver for someone with a mental health condition — or have the lived experience yourself — volunteering can be a positive step toward improving your health and yield many benefits:

• Reducing Stress My work with NAMI demonstrates the ways in which volunteering can counteract the effects of stress, anger and anxiety. This kind of work was my first exploration into long-term volunteerism — and, as is my nature, I sometimes felt a little anxious as I prepared to lead an affiliate board meeting or teach or speak to a group on behalf of NAMI. But I always rose to the occasion because the cause mattered so greatly to me. And afterward, I would feel exhilarated and thrilled by my accomplishments. Gradually, my focus on the work, and the gratitude I received from it, surpassed other issues in my life that caused negative emotions. There was too much to accomplish and too much to look forward to for me to feel down. Ultimately, I noticed that I slept better at night with the knowledge that I was part of a greater good.
• Increasing Happiness Research has found a correlation between volunteering and happiness. A 2020 study conducted in the United Kingdom found those who volunteered reported being more satisfied with their lives and rated their overall health as better. Respondents who volunteered for at least one month also reported having better mental health than those who did not volunteer.
• Developing Confidence Volunteering is an opportunity to develop confidence and self-esteem. Your role as a volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity, something that can be hard to come by for people with a mental health diagnosis. The better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to have a positive view of your life and future. Moreover, I’ve found that the sense of accomplishment from serving others can raise self-esteem and self-confidence.

I served for years as the president of my local NAMI affiliate’s board. I was the family and caregiver support group facilitator and, to this day, offer my services as a NAMI Family-to-Family certified instructor. My passion for offering education and support for people with lived experience and their families hasn’t waned because the need hasn’t waned.

Getting Started Volunteering

In 2018, my long-time friend, psychologist Terri L. Lyon, hoped to create an easy-to-follow roadmap for people to identify the cause they are most passionate about (because focusing on one issue is more effective) and determine how to use the gifts they already possess to make a difference for that cause. With me as her editor, she published the book “ What’s On Your Sign? ” in which she introduced her unique “5-Step Activism Path.” The steps are:

• Find your passion by creating a vision of how you want to change the world
• Identify the unique gifts you can bring to this activism
• Craft a unique activism opportunity ideally suited to you
• Monitor your long-term effectiveness
• Stay motivated and avoid burnout

Perhaps these steps seem intimidating at first glance — but with reflection and time, they can lead to a meaningful new path. One example of following these steps is Knoxville jewelry artist, Christinea Beane . As someone with mental illness, Christinea makes jewelry for other people struggling with their mental health, to offer hope, raise awareness and remind them that they are not alone.

As I address in the book I co-wrote with Dr. Lyon, “Make a Difference with Mental Health Activism,” we can’t underestimate the personal and wide-reaching impacts of volunteering and activism, particularly in the mental health field. Your work could not only boost your emotional well-being, it could also be a critical step toward ending stigma, achieving parity, and increasing mental health services and support. You can make a difference.

Trish Lockard has been a volunteer for NAMI Tennessee since 2014. Mental health care became her personal passion following her family’s experience with mental illness. Trish is a nonfiction editor, specializing in memoir, and a nonfiction writing coach at Strike The Write Tone . Contact Trish at [email protected] .

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The Administrators invite applications from individual Cambridge undergraduates for grants to enable them to study or assist in research within the subjects specified above for about eight weeks during the Long Vacation.  They do this in the hope that experience of this kind may help undergraduates, as potential research workers, in their choice of subject at a later date.  Applications for expeditions or electives will rarely qualify.  Some money may also be available to assist graduates with specific research projects of short duration.

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Educational damage caused by the pandemic will mean poorer GCSE results for pupils well into the 2030s

Without a raft of equalising policies, the damaging legacy from COVID-19 school closures will be felt by generations of pupils.

The educational damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic will impact on children well into the 2030s, with generations of pupils set for the biggest declines in GCSE results for decades.

These are the devastating conclusions of a major new study from LSE, the University of Exeter and the University of Strathclyde. The report predicts that less than four in ten pupils in England in 2030 will achieve a grade 5 or above in English and Mathematics GCSEs – lower than the 45.3 per cent of pupils who achieved this benchmark in 2022/23.

The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is the first to chart how school closures during COVID-19 hindered children’s socio-emotional and cognitive skills at age 5, 11, and 14, and predict how these will impact on future GCSE prospects and later life outcomes.

Socio-emotional skills include the ability to engage in positive social interactions, regulate emotions and maintain attention. Cognitive skills are measured by how well children perform in academic tests, reflecting maths, reading and writing skills.

The research finds that socio-emotional skills are just as important as cognitive skills for young people’s GCSE results. For example, 20 per cent of the best performing pupils in cognitive tests at age 14 but who had average socio-emotional skills fail to go on to attain five good GCSEs including English and Maths. Teenagers with strong socio-emotional skills were much more likely to achieve basic GCSEs.

A gender divide in the importance of different skills emerges in the teenage years. For boys, cognitive skills at age 14 are twice as important as socio-emotional skills in determining future GCSE prospects; for girls the opposite is true, with socio-emotional skills 50 per cent more impactful than cognitive skills.

The analysis uses the latest econometric techniques to develop a model of skill formation, based on just under 19,000 pupils in the Millennium Cohort Study. This was applied to later pupil cohorts to predict how GCSE results will be impacted by disruption from school closures during the pandemic.

Alongside an overall fall in GCSE results, the model points to a significant widening in socio-economic inequalities in GCSE results. The researchers use these results to estimate that the UK’s relative income mobility levels will decline by 12-15 per cent for generations of pupils leaving school over the next decade, a significant drop by international standards.

An international review as part of the work concludes that COVID-19 amplified long-term persistent education gaps across a range of OECD countries including the UK. Compared with most other nations, England’s pandemic response was heavily focused on academic catch-up with less emphasis on socio-emotional skills, extracurricular support, and wellbeing.

The report “A generation at risk: Rebalancing education in the post-pandemic era” was produced by Lee Elliot Major, Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter; Andy Eyles; Professor Steve Machin from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics; and Esme Lillywhite from the University of Strathclyde. It proposes several low-cost policies with the potential to improve children’s outcomes, including:

• A national programme of trained undergraduate student tutors helping to boost the foundational skills of pupils, and enabling undergraduates to consider a career in teaching.
• Rebalancing Ofsted inspections to explicitly focus on how schools are performing for pupils from under-resourced backgrounds and credit schools excelling when serving under-resourced communities.
• Rebalancing the school calendar to improve teacher wellbeing, prevent holiday hunger, improve pupil prospects and help parents with child-care during the long summer break.

Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter and LSE CEP Associate Professor Elliot Major said : “Without a raft of equalising policies, the damaging legacy from COVID-19 school closures will be felt by generations of pupils well into the next decade. Our review shows that COVID amplified long-term persistent education gaps in England and other countries.

“The policies we propose would rebalance the school system so that it supports all children irrespective of their backgrounds. A particular worry is a group of pupils who are falling significantly behind, likely to be absent from the classroom and to leave school without the basic skills needed to function and flourish in life. The decline in social mobility levels threatens to cast a long shadow over our society.”

LSE CEP Associate Andy Eyles added : “To our knowledge, this is the first time this type of analysis has been used in this way to assess the consequences of the pandemic in England. Our results suggest that to improve child outcomes, much greater emphasis is needed in schools on activities that improve both socio-emotional and cognitive skills.”

Esme Lillywhite from the University of Strathclyde and a research assistant at LSE CEP said: “Compared with most other nations, England’s pandemic response was heavily focused on academic catch-up with less emphasis on socio-emotional skills, extracurricular support, and wellbeing. Much more could be gained by closer international collaboration to learn what approaches have been promising elsewhere.”

Dr Emily Tanner, Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation said : "The mounting evidence on the long-term impact of learning loss on young people's development shows how important it is for students to develop socio-emotional skills alongside academic learning. The insights from this report on timing and gender provide a useful basis for targeting effective interventions."

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The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance social well-being. It funds research that informs social policy, primarily in Education, Welfare, and Justice. The Nuffield Foundation is the founder and co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. The Foundation has funded this project, but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation.

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Meaning in Life: An Important Factor for the Psychological Well-Being of Chronically Ill Patients?

Jessie dezutter.

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Group Clinical Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Sara Casalin

Amy wachholtz.

Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Koen Luyckx

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Group Clinical Psychology, University of Leuven

Jessica Hekking

Interdisciplinary Center Church and Society, Antwerp, Belgium

Wim Vandewiele

This study aimed to investigate 2 dimensions of meaning in life—Presence of Meaning (i.e., the perception of your life as significant, purposeful, and valuable) and Search for Meaning (i.e., the strength, intensity, and activity of people's efforts to establish or increase their understanding of the meaning in their lives)—and their role for the well-being of chronically ill patients.

Research design

A sample of 481 chronically ill patients ( M = 50 years, SD = 7.26) completed measures on meaning in life, life satisfaction, optimism, and acceptance. We hypothesized that Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning will have specific relations with all 3 aspects of well-being.

Cluster analysis was used to examine meaning in life profiles. Results supported 4 distinguishable profiles ( High Presence High Search, Low Presence High Search, High Presence Low Search, and Low Presence Low Search ) with specific patterns in relation to well-being and acceptance. Specifically, the 2 profiles in which meaning is present showed higher levels of well-being and acceptance, whereas the profiles in which meaning is absent are characterized by lower levels. Furthermore, the results provided some clarification on the nature of the Search for Meaning process by distinguishing between adaptive (the High Presence High Search cluster) and maladaptive (the Low Presence High Search cluster) searching for meaning in life.

Conclusions

The present study provides an initial glimpse in how meaning in life may be related to the well-being of chronically ill patients and the acceptance of their condition. Clinical implications are discussed.

Introduction

Researchers and clinicians are clarifying the factors in constructive coping among chronically ill individuals. Understanding this process is a crucial step toward interventions that stimulate well-being and life quality. Previous research has shown that adaptation to a chronic condition requires individuals to revise one's life goals and expectations, given that serious illness often crosses valued goals and life plans ( Pinquart, Silbereisen, & Frohlich, 2009 ). Such a profound revision of one's life often raises disquieting questions of meaning in life. Meaning in life refers to people's concerns with the core significance and purpose of their personal existence. Indeed, concerns about life's meaning are especially salient for individuals coping with significant medical stressors ( Dezutter, 2010 ; Sherman & Simonton, 2012 ).

Although several theories have been put forth on the role of meaning in life when coping with severe life stressors (e.g., Frankl, 1963 ; Janoff-Bulman, 2004 ; Yalom, 1980 ), only recently has empirical research explored this domain (for an overview, see Park, 2010 ). Research in healthy populations showed meaning in life to be an important factor in optimal functioning. Meaning in life, for example, has been positively associated with psychological well-being in healthy adolescents ( Brassai, Piko, & Steger, 2011 ) and adults ( Steger, Kawabata, Shimai, & Otake, 2008 ; Zika & Chamberlain, 1992 ). Furthermore, meaning in life seemed to be inversely related to depression (e.g., Debats, 1996 ; Mascaro & Rosen, 2005 ). Recently, there is some evidence that those who find meaning in life may be better able to cope with medical challenges. In a sample of individuals living with spinal cord injury, meaning in life was related with higher psychological well-being ( DeRoon-Cassini et al., 2009 ). Similarly, cancer patients with higher meaning in life reported improved quality-of-life ( Sherman, Simonton, Latif, & Bracy, 2010 ), higher well-being ( Park, Edmondson, Fenster, & Blank, 2008 ), and lower levels of depressive symptoms and fatigue ( Yanez et al., 2009 ).

Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning

Although preliminary evidence shows that meaning in life may influence health, current research is often limited by conceptual concerns ( Sherman & Simonton, 2012 ; Sherman et al., 2010 ). The multidimensional character of the concept resulted in a multitude of research tapping into different aspects of the construct (for a review, see Morgan & Farsides, 2009 ). Steger and colleagues made a successful attempt to remedy this lack of conceptual clarity by distinguishing between two components of meaning in life ( Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006 ).

The first aspect, Presence of Meaning , indicates whether individuals perceive their lives as significant and purposeful. The term refers to the comprehension of oneself and the surrounding world, including the understanding of how one fits into the world ( King, Hicks, Krull, & Del Gaiso, 2006 ; Steger, Kashdan, Sullivan, & Lorentz, 2008 ). The second aspect, Search for Meaning , refers to the strength, intensity, and activity of people's efforts to establish or increase their understanding of the meaning and purpose of their lives (“how can I make my life more meaningful?”; Steger, Kashdan et al., 2008 ). In sum, whereas the Presence of Meaning dimension implies some kind of outcome, the Search for Meaning dimension refers to an active and process-oriented factor.

Empirical studies on meaning in life and medical stressors focus predominantly on the component of Presence of Meaning (e.g., Sherman et al., 2010 ; DeRoon-Cassini et al., 2009 ) with limited attention toward the dimension of Search for Meaning ( Cohen & Cairns, 2012 ). Available research, however, has found unique correlates associated with these two components, suggesting that both play a distinct role in individual's psychological functioning. More specifically, Presence of Meaning has been found to be positively associated with psychological well-being, whereas the associations between Search for Meaning and psychosocial functioning are less clear ( Steger, 2012 ). Further, meaning in life research is often conducted within a variable-centered perspective, focusing on Presence of Meaning or Search for Meaning, but not on how these variables relate to each other ( Magnusson, 1985 ).

A person-oriented approach can complement the existing variable-oriented literature by identifying naturally occurring patterns among variables ( Bergman & Magnusson, 1997 ; Scholte, van Lieshout, de Wit, & van Aken, 2005 ). Two recent studies in healthy populations highlight the need to study the within-person interaction between Search for Meaning and Presence of Meaning by demonstrating that searching for meaning has distinct consequences for individuals who have high levels of presence of meaning compared to those individuals having low levels of presence of meaning ( Cohen & Cairns, 2012 ; Dezutter et al., 2013 ). Both studies showed that if individuals both experience meaning and search for it, presence of meaning seems to buffer for the negative impact of searching for meaning. These studies focus on healthy individuals' well-being, but it is unknown how these meaning in life dimensions interact among chronically ill patients for whom topics regarding life meaningfulness are probably more salient and may have greater impact on mental and physical health.

Current Study

The present study focused on Searching and Presence of meaning in life as factors that might affect psychological well-being of chronically ill patients, and we opted for a person-oriented approach (i.e., cluster analysis). Because of the lack of prior research on meaning in life typologies in chronically ill patients, our research was largely exploratory to provide the basis for future hypothesis-driven research. However, based on one previous study clustering Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning in a healthy population ( Dezutter et al., 2013 ), we expected at least four clusters to emerge: a) a cluster consisting of patients who experience high levels of meaning without searching for meaning ( High Presence Low Search ); (b) a cluster with the opposite profile—consisting of patients who report low levels of meaning and who are searching for meaning ( Low Presence High Search ); (c) a cluster consisting of patients high on search for meaning and high on presence of meaning ( High Presence High Search ); and (d) a cluster consisting of patients low on both search for meaning and presence of meaning ( Low Presence Low Search ).

Based on earlier research pointing to the benevolent role of experiencing meaning in life, we anticipated that clusters characterized by higher levels of Presence of Meaning would be characterized by greater levels of well-being (e.g., Yanez et al., 2009 ) whereas the opposite was expected for clusters characterized by lower levels of Presence of Meaning. Furthermore, we hypothesized that high levels of Search for Meaning, combined with low levels of Presence of Meaning might indicate a stressful search, as reflected in lower levels of well-being. On the other hand, high levels of Search for Meaning combined with high levels of Presence might indicate an adaptive search ( Frankl, 1963 ), as reflected in higher levels of well-being (graphical overview in Table 1 ).

Participants

The study was conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center Church and Society ( Hekking & Vandewiele, 2011 ) 1 and requested by the Dutch National Health Service division of Patient Care (Ziekenzorg CM). Participants were registered in the database of the Dutch National Health Service as chronically ill persons and received an official “chronic disease” diagnosis by a medical doctor of the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (RIZIV). The RIZIV follows the guidelines of the World Health Organization and describes chronic diseases as diseases of long duration, namely longer than 6 months, and with a slow progression. Most frequent chronic diseases in Belgium are low back pain, arthritis, neck pain, and chronic headaches ( Paulus, Van Den Heede, & Mertens, 2012 ). Because of privacy reasons, researchers were not allowed to have access to diagnosis information.

One thousand five hundred six randomly selected chronic ill patients received an invitation to fill out an enclosed questionnaire. Randomization was performed by inviting every tenth person in the Ziekenzorg CM database for collaboration in the study. Five hundred twenty-eight patients consented (response rate 29%), and 481 usable questionnaires were obtained. Anonymity was guaranteed, and the Board of the Ziekenzorg CM and of IKKS reviewed and approved the study. The sample consisted of 481 patients diagnosed by the RIZIV as patients with a chronic disease. Demographically, the sample was 68% women and mean age was 50 years ( SD = 7.26, range 26 – 65). Average duration of the chronic condition was 12 years ( SD = 10.70, range 1 – 59). Sociodemographic information and description of disability can be found in Table 2 .

Instruments

Meaning in life.

Participants rated the 10 items of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ, Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006 ) on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ( strongly disagree ) to 7 ( strongly agree ). One subscale taps into Presence of Meaning (Cronbach's alpha = .84, e.g., I understand my life's meaning ) and one into Search for Meaning (Cronbach's alpha = .85, e.g., I am always looking to find my life's purpose ).

Life satisfaction

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS, Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985 ) is a short, 5-item instrument designed to measure global cognitive judgments of one's life. Participants rated the items on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree (e.g., If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing ). Cronbach's alpha for this sample was .86.

Acceptance of chronic disease is measured with a single item ( I have accepted my chronic disease ) rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree .

Optimism is measured with a single item ( I have a positive outlook in life ) rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree .

Data Analysis

Correlational analyses (SPSS 19.0) were performed to test the relationships between the study variables. Confirmatory factor analysis (Mplus 6, Muthén & Muthén, 2010 ) is performed to test the presence of a higher order latent 'well-being' factor based on the manifest scores of life satisfaction, acceptance, and optimism. Cluster analysis (SPSS 19.0) is performed to investigate natural occurring profiles of the meaning in life dimensions. Cluster analyses were conducted on the dimensions of Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Scores were standardized in z scores within the total sample, and only standardized scores were used for cluster analyses. In the first step, a hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out using Ward's method and squared Euclidian distances ( Steinley & Brusco, 2007 ). In the second step, the cluster centers from this hierarchical analysis were used as nonrandom starting points in a noniterative k -means clustering procedure ( Breckenridge, 2000 ). This two-step procedure remedies one of the major shortcoming of the hierarchical method, namely that once a case is clustered, it cannot be reassigned to another cluster at a subsequent stage. k -means clustering, however, minimizes within-cluster variability and maximizes between-cluster variability, allowing reassignments to “better fitting” clusters and thus optimizing cluster membership ( Gore, 2000 ).

Finally, multivariate analyses (SPSS 19.0) were performed to test for cluster differences in well-being.

Preliminary Analyses

All correlations among the study variables are presented in Table 3 . Age and illness duration were unrelated to the study variables, except for a negative significant correlation between age and satisfaction in life ( r = −.19, p < .001). In line with previous research, Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning were negatively related ( r = − .25, p < .001), and Presence of Meaning was strongly positively related with feelings of optimism, acceptance and life satisfaction. Search for Meaning was negatively related with all three aspects. As expected, correlations among life satisfaction, acceptance, and feelings of optimism were positive.

To determine how life satisfaction, acceptance, and feelings of optimism were related, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted using Mplus 6.0 ( Muthén & Muthén, 2010 ). A first model with the five items of life satisfaction, the optimism item and the acceptance item representing one latent factor indicated an adequate fit, χ 2 (14) = 39.61, p < .001, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .02, CFI = .98 ( Hu & Bentler, 1999 ). However, the path from acceptance to the latent factor was not significant (β = − .001, p = .82). Therefore, a second model is tested without acceptance resulting in an optimal fit, χ 2 (9) = 24.29, p < .01, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .02, CFI = .99, with all paths significant at p < .001. A composite well-being score was computed including both life satisfaction and feelings of optimism. Acceptance is treated as an additional factor besides well-being.

Cluster Analysis on Meaning in Life

Cluster analyses were conducted on the dimensions of Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. A 4-cluster solution was retained based on explanatory power (change in η 2 ; Milligan & Cooper, 1985 , Calinski-Harabasz index, CH; Steinley, 2006 ), parsimony, and interpretability. The explained variance in Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning increased by 44% when moving from 2 to 3 clusters, by 20% when moving from 3 to 4 clusters, by 8% when moving from 4 to 5 clusters, and by 13% when moving from 5 to 6 clusters. However, inspection of the 6-cluster solution revealed that two clusters were virtually identical to one another, dropping a 6-cluster solution as a good fitting solution. Furthermore, the 2-cluster solution explained less than half of variability in both the meaning in life dimensions (21% in Presence of Meaning, 49% in Search for Meaning), dropping a 2-cluster solution as a good fitting solution. The proportions of the variance explained by the cluster solution (η 2 ) seem to level off after a 4-cluster solution (.56 for the 3-cluster solution, .66 for the 4-cluster solution, .71 for the 5-cluster solution). This is confirmed by the CH index which was highest for the 4-cluster solution when the 6-cluster solution is not taken into account (CH index respectively 254.88 for the 2-cluster solution, 315.62 for the 3-cluster solution, 316.87 for the 4-cluster solution, 287.15 for the 5-cluster solution and 326.34 for the 6 cluster solution). Taking these several decision criteria into account, we concluded that a 4-cluster solution provided the best fit to the data.

Figure 1 presents the final cluster solution, with z scores plotted on the y axis. Because the clusters were defined using z scores for the total sample, the cluster's mean z scores indicate how far that cluster deviates from the total sample mean score and from the means of the other four clusters ( Scholte et al., 2005 ). The distances, in standard-deviation units, among the clusters' means (and between each cluster mean and the total sample mean, which is standardized to zero) may be interpreted as an index of effect size. Analogous to Cohen's d , 0.2 SD represents a small effect, 0.5 SD represents a moderate effect, and 0.8 SD represents a large effect. The clusters that we found were characterized by z-scores reflecting moderate to strong deviations from the overall sample mean, suggesting that the four clusters differed considerably in terms of their scores on Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Cluster 1 (24% of the sample) was labeled Low Presence Low Search and consisted of individuals low on both Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Cluster 2 (17% of the sample) was labeled Low Presence High Search and consisted of individuals low on Presence of Meaning and high on Search for Meaning. Cluster 3 (38% of the sample) was labeled High Presence High Search and consisted of individuals high on both Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Finally, cluster 4 (21%) was labeled High Presence Low Search and consisted of individuals high on Presence of Meaning but low on Search of Meaning.

z scores for Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning for the four clusters. 3

Cluster Differences

We conducted a chi-square analysis to examine the extent to which the clusters differed on several sociodemographic variables. No significant differences were found for gender, χ 2 (3) = 6.02, p = .11, Cramér's V = .11, educational level, χ 2 (9) = 6.81, p = .66, Cramér's V = .07, marital status, χ 2 (l2) = 10.37, p = .58, Cramér's V = .09, and current employment status, χ 2 (15) = 24.55, p = .06, Cramér's V = .13. In addition, clusters did not differ with respect to mean age, as indicated by a univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), F (3, 461) = 2.01, p = .11, ή 2 = .01. Furthermore, cluster differences were examined for illness-related factors. No differences were found for illness duration (ANOVA), F (3, 423) = 0.54, p = .65, if = .00, or for in-house mobility (ANOVA), F (3, 463) = 0.30, p = .83, ή 2 = .00. Regarding out-house mobility, significant differences were found (ANOVA), F (3, 463) = 3.47, p = .02, ή 2 = .02, indicating that patients in the Low Presence High Search cluster have more impaired out-house mobility in comparison with the other clusters. A significant chi-square-test, χ 2 (12) = 26.66, p < .01, Cramér's V = .14, revealed that patients who seldom or never went out of their house because of their illness were overrepresented in the Low Presence High Search cluster and underrepresented in the High Presence High Search cluster.

Two separate ANOVAs were conducted with cluster membership as independent or fixed variable and the composite well-being variable, and acceptance of chronic disease, as dependent variables. The univariate F values, ή 2 , and multiple pairwise combinations conducted using the Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test, are displayed in Table 4 . The clusters were associated with a unique profile in terms of the well-being of chronically ill patients and their acceptance of the disease. Effect sizes for all variables were large (more than 13.9% of variance explained; Cohen, 1988 ). 2

Note . A cluster mean is significantly different from another mean if they do not share the same (combination of) superscripts. Standard deviations are noted between brackets.

Individuals in the High Presence Low Search cluster exhibited the highest levels of well-being and acceptance to chronic disease in comparison to patients in other clusters. Individuals in the High Presence High Search cluster were characterized by a similar profile of the High Presence Low Search cluster except for somewhat lower scores on well-being and acceptance. The Low Presence High Search cluster seemed to be the most poorly adapted group, resulting in very low levels of well-being and acceptance. Individuals in the Low Presence Low Search cluster showed a similar pattern of maladaptation, although they reported somewhat higher levels of well-being and acceptance but significantly lower than the High Presence High Search cluster and the High Presence Low Search cluster.

The present study identified for the first time how distinct dimensions of meaning in life integrate in distinctive profiles in chronically ill patients. Four clusters were found, each characterized by their own unique profile scores on Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning as well as with specific associations to adaptation. Results of our study affirmed earlier findings that experiencing meaning in life is a potent predictor of high well-being in patients with a chronic disease ( Sherman & Simonton, 2012 ; Yanez et al., 2009 ). However, our study revealed new insights into the interplay between Presence of Meaning and Searching for Meaning and the effect on patient outcomes.

In line with two recent studies focusing on this interplay in a healthy population ( Cohen & Cairns, 2012 ; Dezutter et al., 2013 ), a distinction could be made between an adaptive and a maladaptive search. In our sample of chronically ill patients, patients in the Low Presence High Search profile show very low levels of well-being and acceptance, which can be indicative of a stressful search for meaning without experiencing meaning in life. This stressful search might hinder the coping process resulting in less optimal psychological well-being. Moreover, especially patients who are highly disabled (not able to go outside) are represented in this maladaptive profile.

When searching for meaning is combined with experiencing meaning, the detrimental effect of searching seems reduced. Patients in the High Presence High Search profile seems to exhibit a healthy search reflected in high levels of well-being and acceptance. Patients with low levels of Search for Meaning coupled with low levels of Presence of Meaning also showed lower levels of well-being, however, the pattern is not so detrimental as for the Low Presence High Search profile. This is similar to the findings of Cohen and Cairns (2012) in healthy adults revealing that individuals who reported low levels on Presence of Meaning appeared to be more satisfied if they do not search for meaning. In sum, our findings seem to indicate that patients who experience high levels of meaning in life have higher levels of well-being compared with those patients who experience low levels of meaning. Furthermore, the person-oriented clustering technique seems to distinguish between a stressful search (when no meaning is experienced: Low Presence High Search ) resulting in low well-being and a less stressful search (when meaning is experienced: High Presence High Search ) resulting in higher well-being.

Clinical Implications

The present findings provide empirical evidence on the importance of experiencing meaning in life to maintain high levels of well-being when confronted with a chronic illness. If presence of meaning is a psychological resource for patients, health care providers should monitor whether patients experience and/or maintain feelings of meaningfulness and coherence. Special attention should be paid to the patients in the clusters characterized by a lack of experiencing meaning. A considerable portion of chronically ill patients in our sample find it difficult to experience meaning in life and seem stuck in a maladaptive search or do not attempt to search at all. Such patients might need clinical help tailored to their needs focusing on finding and obtaining meaning in life amid major health-related adversity. Our findings affirm the need and the importance for developing interventions on meaning that facilitate positive outcomes after the onset of disability in line with the meaning making intervention for cancer patients (MMI; Henry et al., 2010 ) or the meaning-centered group psychotherapy in palliative care ( Breitbart et al., 2010 ). The routine monitoring of patients' meaning-related concerns, therefore, can signal patients' decreases in meaning and increases in searches, indicating the need for a referral to psychotherapy.

The relevance of meaning in life in general patient care and treatment programs has been emphasized by some scholars (e.g., Sulmasy, 2002 ; Wong, 2012 ), but these topics are still often neglected within medical practice. The current time pressure in medical care as well as the predominant focus on biological and physiological processes might hamper this discussion in a medical setting. Furthermore, health professionals might also feel inadequate to handle existential topics and questions on personal existence ( Yalom, 1980 ). However, the present findings should encourage clinicians to consider the adaptive as well as maladaptive aspects of meaning in life dimensions and their important role in the coping processes of chronically ill patients.

Limitations/Future Directions

The present results should be interpreted in light of some limitations. First, some factors, such as interest in the study topic or degree of disability, might have influenced the composition of the sample and thus affected the results. Because cluster analysis is a data-driven procedure, the nature of the sample is of paramount importance and limits the generalizations that can be drawn. Hence, replication of the current findings in other samples of chronically ill patients would be encouraged.

Second, the sample was heterogeneous regarding disease-type. Research in the field of positive psychology and health has shown that type of disease might influence the results ( Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010 ). For example, the relationship between positive phenomena and cancer outcomes is less clear than for heart disease. Although this study provides an excellent first step into understanding how a chronic illness population experiences meaning and searching in life, future studies could focus on distinct diseases, as well as on different stages of disease.

Third, the cross-sectional design limits conclusions regarding the directionality of the relationships between meaning in life and adaptation. Well-being may stimulate, as well as be stimulated by, the presence of, or search for, meaning. Hence, longitudinal studies are necessary to clarify the direction of the relations between meaning and adaptation. In addition, our study did not shed light on how meaning in life might impact on well-being. Future studies need to investigate possible underlying cognitive-emotional processes which might explain the link between meaning in life and better well-being.

A final limitation is the use of questionnaires. Although questionnaires are appropriate to gather information about subjective and internal concepts such as meaning in life, the sole reliance on self-report measures may have led to an overestimation of some of the correlations among variables due to shared method variance. Additionally, the use of single items for the measurement of some of the indicators can be a limitation. The present findings might be followed up by narrative or mixed-method studies in order to obtain more detailed information on the experiences of meaning and the search for meaning in individuals' lives.

Despite these limitations, the present study provides an initial glimpse into the complex relationship between Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning, and how these constructs may play a role in the psychological well-being of individuals confronted with chronic medical stressors. The present findings underscore the importance of Presence of Meaning and they distinguish between a stressful, maladaptive search ( the Low Presence High Search cluster) and a benevolent, adaptive search for meaning (the High Presence High Search cluster). However, further research in this field is necessary to replicate the clustering solution in distinct samples and to further clarify the role of meaning in the context of medical stressors, coping, and well-being.

Impact and Implications

• The present study identifies for the first time how distinct dimensions of meaning in life integrate in distinctive profiles in chronically ill patients.
• The study confirms that specific meaning in life profiles are related with specific aspects of the well-being of patients.
• Treatment providers should pay attention to how their patients experience meaning in their life. If patients are struggling with finding meaning of life, this should be a topic of psychotherapy to enhance treatment outcomes and quality of life.

Acknowledgments

The first author is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO). The research reported in this article was conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center Church and Society, with a Grant of the Dutch National Health Security division Patient Care (Ziekenzorg CM). All collaborators are gratefully acknowledged.

1 The full report of this study can be found (in Dutch) on the website of the IK-KS: www.ik-ks.org .

2 Additional nonparametric analyses are performed taking into account the ordinal character of the variables. Results confirmed the earlier analyses and showed a significant association between optimism and cluster solution, χ 2 (12) = 130,67, p < .001; τ = .18, p < .05, as well as a significant association between acceptance and cluster solution, χ 2 (12) = 79,34, p < .001; τ = .09, p < .05.

3 The figure shows the z scores of both Presence of Meaning as well as Search for Meaning for the four clusters derived by the cluster analysis.

Contributor Information

Jessie Dezutter, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Group Clinical Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Sara Casalin, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Group Clinical Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Amy Wachholtz, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Koen Luyckx, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Group Clinical Psychology, University of Leuven.

Jessica Hekking, Interdisciplinary Center Church and Society, Antwerp, Belgium.

Wim Vandewiele, Interdisciplinary Center Church and Society, Antwerp, Belgium.

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