The human life is extraordinary; we as human beings feel happiness, sorrow, satisfaction, frustration, belonging, isolation, exhilaration, indifference, and a whole other host of emotions throughout our lives. 

Our ability to feel so much and process those emotions through thought is what makes us unique. It allows us to have experiences that give us a sense of complete bliss, where everything in life feels perfect, even if only for a moment. It is also what makes being a human so incredibly difficult.

All of us will have our ups and downs throughout life. Our journey is filled with peaks and valleys; we can’t appreciate the highs without having felt the devastation of the lows. So what makes life worth living? Is there some sort of secret for how to live a meaningful life?

Although we all have different values and goals in life, we are more alike than different when it comes to what we need to feel fulfilled in our time on this earth.

Before we dive into the “how-tos”, you might be wondering what it means to live a meaningful life. Why should we strive to have this type of experience?

What is a Meaningful Life?

It’s truly an age-old question. From Greek Philosophers to Roman Emperors, people have been contemplating the meaning of life for thousands of years. From the pursuit of knowledge to seeking pleasure to believing life has no meaning at all, the views are varied. 

While the philosophical meaning of life will probably always be debated, modern day positive psychologists have constructed a framework with three components that can help us find meaning in life.

The three components are coherence, a form of self-awareness and how we understand life and the world around us, purpose, which relates to the goals we have in life and the type of person we want to be, and significance, or having a sense of belonging or feeling like life is worth living. 

These are great guideposts to come back to when you feel lost in this great big world. They don’t, however, give a whole lot of practical advice.

The key takeaway here is that there is no one true definition of a meaningful life. Life is all about what you make it, and if you want to truly live, it’s important to clarify what a meaningful life means to you. 

I started this blog to dive deeper into intentional living and ultimately help people live more meaningful lives, so I’m here to share my own take on what constitutes a meaningful life: connections with others, overall health and well-being, and prioritizing passions to find true purpose. 

The Ultimate Key to Living a Meaningful Life: Human Connection

To me, human connection is what makes life worth living. If I were asked to choose only one piece of advice on how to live a meaningful life, it would be to invest your energy into your relationships. 

Whether it be a friendship, your life partner, or your family, your connections with others are special. There are so many unique personalities in this world – you’re bound to come across people you fundamentally disagree with, you share nothing in common with, or you just can’t seem to connect with on any level. So when you do find a person that you feel an immediate connection with, don’t take it for granted. 

Think about the people you’ve met throughout your life – are there any particular people that stand out? Anyone who you feel like you just connect with on so many levels? Anyone who has had a particularly strong influence on you?

These are the connections that matter. Focus on the people that add value to your life and who you truly enjoy spending your time around, and prioritize those people. Commit to spending quality time together and building a trusting relationship in which each of you know that you can rely on one another, no matter what. 

Science has proven that we need these meaningful connections in our lives. Some of the benefits of social connection are:

• Increased life expectancy
• Lower levels of anxiety and depression
• Strengthened immune system
• Higher self-esteem and a greater empathy for others
• Better emotional regulation

Think about all of the things you want to do with your life: what goals you want to achieve, where you want to travel, and how you want to spend your free time. Now imagine you could have all of that, but you are completely alone. Would it be worth it?

Our experiences and successes in life mean nothing if we have no one to share them with. 

If you prioritize your relationships above all else, when you do get that promotion or buy the perfect house, it’ll be that much more meaningful because you’ll have the people you love to celebrate and build lasting memories with.

So find your people. Build those meaningful connections. Choose people who you know will be there for you no matter what. Most importantly, show up for them when they need you and be fully present in the moments that matter. 

Key #2: Your Overall Health & Well-Being

Another area of focus for creating a meaningful life is to focus on your well-being. Life is a grand adventure, and if you’re in poor health (physically or mentally), you’ll either miss out on or not be able to truly enjoy life’s experiences. 

There are four key areas of health and well-being you should be focused on:

• Nutrition
• Exercise / Movement
• Sleep
• Mindfulness / Thinking

These areas are all interrelated, so it’s important to find a balance between all of them that works for you. Fuel your body with nutritious foods, get in some daily movement, get enough sleep, and be mindful of your thoughts. 

Why is all of this so important? Research has shown that there are direct correlations between poor health practices in each of these areas and cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, and other serious health issues. The post linked below goes into further detail if you’re interested in learning more.

Related Reading: 4 Key Areas of Focus to Becoming Your Best Self in 2022

Of course people dealing with serious health issues can still live incredibly meaningful lives; however, if you’re lucky enough to be in great health, you shouldn’t take it for granted. 

You only get one body, and taking good care of it will give you more energy, positively affect your mood, increase your mental clarity and cognitive ability, and truly allow you to shine through as the best version of yourself. 

Find ways that work for you to prioritize these areas of your life. If you truly care about living a meaningful life, start building healthy habits now. If you are consistent and show up for yourself every day, you’ll eventually get to a point that these practices do not feel like a chore but are simply the way you live your life.

When we focus on our own well-being, we become better, happier humans. We are more likely to find success, we are better able to be there for the people around us, we gain clarity on our values, and most importantly, we show up as our truest selves. 

When we consistently show up as the best version of ourselves, we create meaningful lives. 

Key #3: Prioritize Your Passions

A lot of people would probably agree that “finding your purpose” in life leads to feelings of fulfillment and meaning. 

But finding your purpose is easier said than done.

As someone who has done a LOT of soul searching over the past few years, I spent way too long obsessing over finding my purpose. I thought that if only I could figure out what work I was meant to be doing in this life (and find a way to make a living doing it), I would finally be happy. 

What I didn’t realize was that there are some things in life that you just can’t think your way into. I spent so much time researching, brainstorming, taking quizzes, and reading books, but very little time actually taking action on any of those ideas. 

It was only when I started focusing more on prioritizing the things I was passionate about that I started to feel any sort of sense of purpose. I’m still working through exactly what that purpose is, but it gets a little clearer each and every day. 

With anything in life, consistency is key. Where you prioritize, you will find continual growth. What could be better than constantly becoming better at what you are passionate about?

Related Reading: The Importance of Building Identity Capital

Spend some time thinking about the following questions:

• When do you feel most in tune with yourself?
• Can you think of a time that you felt so immersed in something you enjoyed that you didn’t notice the time passing?
• If you had no responsibilities and all the money you could ever need, how would you spend your time?
• What do you value?

Create a list of passions that come to mind as you think through these questions. 

And then start prioritizing these passions. 

You might be saying, “but I don’t have the time.” Life is busy. But oftentimes, it is busy with things we don’t need to be prioritizing. 

Take a good look at where you spend your time, and see where you can make time for the things that are important to you. Do you watch a lot of tv? Do you spend too much time on social media? Are these things more important to you than truly creating a life that you love? 

When you make time to pursue your passions, you’ll start to recognize what it is that you really want to be doing with your life. You may or may not “find your purpose”, but you’ll find more meaning in the ways that you are spending your time. 

What Not to Do

Just as it’s important to have an idea of what you do want to be focused on, we should all also be aware of what to avoid when starting down this path of finding meaning in our lives. 

Avoid Getting Caught Up in Success

When you don’t prioritize what makes you happy, you often get caught up in prioritizing getting ahead in life. This might look like making as much money as possible, gaining recognition, or chasing success in a career. 

Here’s the irony: we think that money or success will lead to happiness or fulfillment, but in reality, that’s often not the case. The people who relentlessly pursue those things might end up with a CEO title or more money than they know what to do with, but there’s a good chance they sacrificed their relationships, health, and passions to get there. 

Moral of the story: work hard, but remember what is truly important in your life. 

Avoid Getting Stuck in a Fixed Mindset

The mindsets we have in life impact how we think, what we value, our relationships with others, and ultimately our successes and failures. When people are stuck in a fixed mindset, they tend to think that if they aren’t good at something, they never will be. 

In this mindset, people give up on things before they’ve even really given themselves a chance to get started. This often leads to a person being very stuck in their ways, because they are uncomfortable with trying new things. And when it comes down to it, you can’t grow as a human if you aren’t willing to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. 

We all have the ability to learn new things and better ourselves – what it comes down to is effort and the belief that we can change. Work on developing a growth mindset – because when you change your mindset, you have the power to change your life. 

Top Tips for Putting These Ideas into Action

Knowing how to live a meaningful life is much different than actually following through with it. We are all creatures of habit, and if any of these ideas are new to you it’s going to take a commitment to actually implement them into your life. 

But don’t worry – I’ve got some tips!

Embrace Uncertainty

Learning to accept uncertainty is key. If you want to be on a journey of growth and change, chances are you’ll probably change your mind on what you want your life to look like over the years. Aside from that, there is so much in this world that is just out of your control. 

One major thing that is out of our control is how other people act – and since our connections with other people are most important for living a meaningful life, we need to be able to adapt when someone we love makes a decision that we don’t expect (or maybe don’t agree with). 

When you embrace uncertainty, you’ll be better equipped to handle the challenges that life throws your way. 

Make Small Changes

If you’re overwhelmed with all of the changes you want to make in your life, slow down and remember that you do not have to (and should not attempt to) do it all at once. Break the changes down into manageable actions and figure out where you can make the small changes in your day to day. 

If you get  just 1% better every day, the results will build. It may not feel like you’ve made any significant change when you look back on one day, but if you commit to the small improvements your choices will compound over time. When you look back in a year, you might just be surprised at how much progress you’ve made. 

Have an Open Mind

Approach your life with an open mind. Be open to new possibilities. Take time to listen to people who have different opinions than you do and don’t always assume that you are right. Learn to be humble, and you just may learn a thing or two from other people. 

Along with an open mind, maintain a positive outlook when possible (without crossing into a zone of toxic positivity). When we look at things from a positive perspective, we allow ourselves to see more possibility and opportunity. 

We all have the ability to change and will hopefully always be growing. Never get too caught up in what you think “should” happen, be open to new opportunities, and embrace new versions of yourself as they come along. 

Final Thoughts

Finding balance is often the trickiest, but most important, part of all of this. You don’t want to prioritize just one of the three areas above and sacrifice the other two – they all go hand in hand, and work together to create the best version of you. 

We all have the ability to create meaningful lives; we just need to be intentional about what is important to us and how we live our day to day lives. Prioritize your relationships, your health, and your passions and you’ll be well on your way to living a meaningful life. 

What does living a meaningful life mean to you? How will you get started on creating yours today?

Free Resource: Grab the Free Intentional Living Checklist 

P.S.: One thing that has really gotten me thinking about how to live a meaningful life is the Good Life Project podcast by Jonathon Fields. He welcomes guests to share stories and dives into what it means to “live a good life”. I’d encourage you to give it a listen!

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