• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Dear Sabrina

  • Family
  • Happiness
  • Life in Sweden
  • Beauty
  • Thinking
  • Miscellany
  • About
    • Now
You are here: Home / Happiness / Happiness Project / Happiness Project Check-In, and Some Thoughts on Meaning and Happiness

Happiness Project Check-In, and Some Thoughts on Meaning and Happiness

November 30, 2016 By Jodi

Trail through autumn forest

So way back when, at the beginning of October, I got started with the second month of my happiness project, focused on making our home a cozy haven. I was doing quite well with getting our home in order, organizing and sorting (and donating) as well as rearranging and decorating. And then halfway through the month, my dad passed away, and I went back to Michigan for a couple weeks. Not longer after returning, the election happened, which essentially put me out of commission for another week or more. And then we went to England on a last-minute trip. All of which is to say that I came nowhere near completing all my goals for the month.

I'm happy with the progress I did make, and I have some ideas for the areas that still need attention. I'm not giving up on the larger project of settling into our home (after a year-and-a-half, still settling in!), but after two months, it's time to work on something else. Next Monday I'll let you know what I'll be focused on for the next month of my happiness project.

In the meantime, I wanted share an article that I read yesterday that both challenges the idea of a happiness project and supports it. The basic idea of the article is that pursuing happiness is distinct from pursuing meaning. A 2013 study found the following:

Examining [the subjects'] self-reported attitudes toward meaning, happiness, and many other variables -- like stress levels, spending patterns, and having children -- over a month-long period, the researchers found that a meaningful life and happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different. Leading a happy life, the psychologists found, is associated with being a "taker" while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a "giver." 

In this sense, meaning is essentially about having a purpose and a perspective larger than oneself, and being of service to the world around oneself.

The article also looks at Viktor Frankl and his book Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl survived the concentration camps of the Holocaust, where he served as a therapist. He noted that "those who found meaning even in the most horrendous circumstances were far more resilient to suffering than those who did not." The article continues:

Having negative events happen to you, the study found, decreases your happiness but increases the amount of meaning you have in life. Another study from 2011 confirmed this, finding that people who have meaning in their lives, in the form of a clearly defined purpose, rate their satisfaction with life higher even when they were feeling bad than those who did not have a clearly defined purpose.

I'll admit that I still don't feel like I have a clearly-defined life purpose (outside of loving and nurturing my growing family, which is itself quite meaningful); however, I've argued here and here that my own particular pursuit of happiness is just as much about meaning as it is about a self-centered happiness. That said, the first two months of my project have been rather inward-looking, focusing on myself and my home (in order to have a firmer foundation from which to go out into the world). While I'm going to continue to consider and act upon what I need for me, my family, and my home to be happy and healthy, I'm going to think more about meaning in the last half of my happiness project, and see if I can work toward a better balance between happiness and meaning, between giving and taking.

By the way, I highly recommend reading the full article from The Atlantic, even though it's a bit long. (Add it to your "to read" list on Pocket and get to it when the kids go to bed!)

Any thoughts on happiness and meaning? Is the pursuit of happiness too selfish? Is the pursuit of meaning too abstract? What activities do you regularly engage in that you find the most meaningful?

Photo by Andrew Neel

(I'm not giving you any suggested reading today, because I think I just linked to half of my blog in this post copy above.)

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Related

Filed Under: Happiness, Happiness Project Tagged With: happiness, happiness project, meaning, service, the atlantic, viktor frankl

Previous Post: « Happy 4th Birthday, August!
Next Post: Thoughts on Doing "Worthwhile" Work »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Jodi

I just repatriated from Sweden to the US with my British husband and three young kids. I started this site while living in Sweden to build the conversations and community we've had with loved ones around the world, and to create a space to share thoughts about life, beauty, motherhood, and everything else. read more →

Connect & Follow

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Receive the weekly newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd )

Recent Posts

"Why Am I Still Thinking About This Day?"

October 13, 2016 By Jodi Leave a Comment

Looking down at a street scene from above

I listened to a podcast last week that I've been thinking about ever since. It was an episode of Magic Lessons (Season 1, Episode 10) in which Elizabeth Gilbert talks to the humorist John Hodgman about creativity and trying new things. Hodgman explains that at a friend's prompting, he scheduled a series of weekly shows at a small theater in Brooklyn....

Read More

On Rape, Consent, and Raising Boys

October 12, 2016 By Jodi 10 Comments

bonfire at night

Rape, consent, and sexual assault are hot topics right now, with the recent release of Donald Trump's disgusting comments about women and Brock Turner's release from jail after serving a three-month sentence for sexual assault. It's estimated that one in five women in the US has been the victim or rape or attempted rape, and that nearly to one in two women has experienced sexual...

Read More

Did You Find Out Your Baby's Gender?

October 11, 2016 By Jodi 8 Comments

Twenty week ultrasound picture

We had the (approximately) twenty-week ultrasound yesterday, the one where they check the baby's anatomy and size and make sure everything's developing normally. Of course, this is also the ultrasound when you can find out the gender. And we're having...

Alternative (and Free) Souvenir Ideas

January 31, 2017 By Jodi Leave a Comment

Blue bottle and rock cairn

Slipping away to some exotic or culturally rich location for a vacation is wonderful; bringing home souvenirs from that vacation, which jog travel memories and help the vacation last longer in your mind, is also wonderful. But that doesn't mean you have to stop at those kitschy, overstuffed bric-a-brac shops and pony up for some mass-produced (and questionably...

Read More

Categories

  • Beauty
  • Family
  • Happiness
  • Life in Sweden
  • Miscellany
  • Thinking

Follow me on Bloglovin'

Follow

Instagram

Footer

About Dear Sabrina

Welcome! Dear Sabrina is a lifestyle blog for the thinking woman (and man, if men read lifestyle blogs). I hope that visiting this site gives you something to think about, makes you laugh, or shows you something new. If you want to further connect, find me on one of networks below or send an email.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think. More about me…

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · Jodi Elliott

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.