8 Ways to Find Deeper Meaning in Life

There’s more to life than just going to work, eating dinner, maintaining your home, and watching TV. Even people that are obsessed with their careers can feel like their life is flat and lacks real meaning. 8 Ways to Find Deeper Meaning in Life

You might be lucky enough to find true meaning from your work, but most of us desire greater fulfillment.

We’re all searching for some kind of meaning from life.

But, how do you find it?

Use these tips to find greater meaning in your day-to-day life:

1. Volunteer. Put your attention on others, and you’ll feel better overall. It feels good to help other people, to make a difference in someone else’s life, and your life will feel more meaningful as a result. 8 Ways to Find Deeper Meaning in Life

2. Live by your values. When you ignore your values, it’s easy for your life to get off track. You quickly find yourself living a life that doesn’t fulfill you. List your values and make your decisions based on your values.

3. Spend more time with others. It’s not that you can’t have a meaningful life without other people, but it’s less likely. We’re programmed to be part of a community. It wasn’t that long ago that it was impossible for a human to survive on his own. People can add meaning to life. 8 Ways to Find Deeper Meaning in Life

4. Strip away the excess. It’s easy to get caught up in the little things that don’t matter. Go through your house and get rid of everything except the things you need or love. Do the same with your social circle and activities. If you don’t need it or love it, let it go.

5. What brings you joy? The more time you spend on things that bring you joy, the more meaningful your life will feel to you. Make a list of the things that you enjoy and schedule more of those activities into your life.

6. Be part of something that is bigger than yourself. What do you think is really important? Saving the whales? The environment? Helping needy children? Homelessness? Find a cause that you find highly meaningful and give it your all. 8 Ways to Find Deeper Meaning in Life

7. Be grateful. Nothing feels quite like gratefulness. It’s a warm, calming feeling. Spend a few minutes each day and make a list of everything that makes you feel grateful. Try to identify at least one new thing each day.

8. Consider all the people that benefit from your existence. There are a lot of people that might depend on you. 8 Ways to Find Deeper Meaning in Life

> The customers that your business serves

> The people in your family, especially your spouse/partner and children

> Your aging parents

> Your coworkers

> Your friends

> These are just a few of the people that need you each day. Make a list of all the people that depend on you.

Believing that your life has meaning has real implications on your physical and mental health.

Multiple studies on those over 65 years of age have shown that those who believe their life has meaning score better on mental and physical health questionnaires. They also show higher cognitive function.

As you age, it becomes increasingly important to your wellbeing that you live a life with purpose. 8 Ways to Find Deeper Meaning in Life

You don’t have to save the world to find deeper meaning in your life. Notice the contributions that you’re already making. Create a life that you find meaningful and it will also bring you more joy, happiness, and fulfillment.

Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

Goal setting seems simple on the surface. You define what you’d like to accomplish and take the necessary steps to make those accomplishments a reality. Setting and achieving a goal is more than simply deciding and wishing. Each year, millions of people set New Year’s resolutions. Few of those people are still on track after just 10 days. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

If setting and achieving goals were easy, there would be more happy, successful people running around. How many people do you know that are happy and pleased with their lives? Not very many. You can be one of the few people you know to master setting and achieving goals.

Set goals and achieve them more reliably:

1. Set goals that are meaningful. Many people waste their time with goals that don’t mean very much to them. Life is short, so create goals that fill you with excitement when you think about achieving them. Reaching any goal requires change, and humans are innately resistant to change. Big changes require a lot of motivation. Set goals that mean a lot to you. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

2. Use small, incremental behavioral changes. Change can be done easily if the changes are small. This requires patience.

> Imagine someone attempting to make an overnight change from a diet of fast food, soda, potato chips, and ice cream to one of beans, vegetables, and fruit. Their mind and body would revolt. It would be far easier to make small changes each week until the transformation is complete.

3. Be accountable. Rewards are pleasant and work if the reward continues. Behavioral changes tend to extinguish when rewards are no longer provided. It can be more effective to make yourself accountable for your poor behavior. For example, each time you skip going to the gym, you give $10 to a charity you don’t like or you wash a friend’s car.

> Negative consequences are more motivating for most people. Use this fact to your advantage. How could you punish yourself for non-compliance? Make a list of at least 10 ways. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

4. Keep goals believable. Is it possible to increase your earnings from $50k this year to $1 million? It’s possible, but it’s not likely. And if you believe it’s unlikely, you’re unlikely to even try. The perfect goal is challenging, but not so challenging that you feel overwhelmed.

5. Track your progress. Measuring your progress is extremely important. It provides information on how well you’re doing. You can’t know if you’re making progress toward your goal if you don’t measure it. You can shift your strategy if you realize that you’re not doing well.

> It can also provide a boost of enthusiasm and positivity. When you’re making progress, you feel excited.

6. Be prepared for setbacks. Achieving any goal is rarely a smooth process. There will be bad days with poor results. Rather than reject your goal when the going gets tough, be prepared for failures. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

> Have a plan in place to deal with failure and frustration. You might call a friend or remind yourself of the purpose of achieving the goal. Reviewing your success so far can also help.

> It also pays to take preventative action. For example, if you know you’re likely to cheat on your diet later in the evening, have some healthy snacks available that you enjoy. Or head to bed earlier and enjoy some extra free time in the morning.

Goals are necessary if you want to consciously change your life. Everything else is a matter of luck and circumstance. Most people struggle to set and achieve goals. Set and pursue goals intelligently. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Everyone understands that goals are important to success, but there are still relatively few people that actually set goals regularly and commit to them.

Part of the challenge is not understanding the main categories of goals. There are several areas of life that have a great impact on the rest of your life. It’s important to have suitable goals in each of these areas to have a fulfilling life. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Consider these six critical areas:

1. Financial. Financial issues are a major source of stress. This is hardly news to most of us. Financial success opens endless opportunities and can also free up a lot of time, especially if you reach the point where you don’t have to work any longer.

> Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of becoming wealthy. They have pangs of guilt over having too much. However, it’s difficult to truly be free unless you’re financially secure. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

> Given the importance of money in modern society, it’s important for everyone to have goals related to this topic.

2. Career. Most of us spend 40+ hours each week at a job of some sort. It’s a huge part of our waking hours. When you include getting ready for work, driving there and back, and all the time you spend outside of work thinking about work, it’s a lot of hours.

> There’s a lot of competition in the workplace. If you don’t have any goals regarding the direction of your career, you’re much less likely to be satisfied with your career growth. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

3. Adventure. Down deep, we all admire those people that visit the pyramids of Egypt, try whitewater rafting, or go to Africa on a safari. Taking part in adventurous activities gives you a new perspective on life. It also makes you really interesting to others!

> Each person has their own idea of what constitutes adventure. To one person, it might be skydiving, but to another it might be spending a long weekend in a foreign country like Canada. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

4. Self-Development. We’re happiest when we’re growing in some way. It’s disappointing to take a hard look at yourself and realize that you haven’t changed significantly in the last 5+ years. We feel proud of ourselves when we become more developed and capable. There are a variety of ways to do this.

> Take college courses.

> Learn an instrument.

> Learn a language.

> Learn how to garden.

> Learn how to do a cartwheel.

> Learn how to paint or draw.

5. Health. If your health fails you, there’s not much else that matters. Most people that set goals fail to include a health goal of some sort. This is a mistake. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

> Be sure to include a diet or exercise goal. Include the input of your physician. Keep in mind that being incredibly fit does nothing for your longevity. Moderate activities followed consistently will usually provide adequate exercise.

6. Long-term. We often make the mistake of only setting short-term goals to get out of the discomfort we’re currently feeling. It might be to come up with an extra $500 this month or to lose 15 pounds.

> Ideally, short-term goals exist to move us toward long-term goals. Pursuing an objective set far into the future gives your life meaning.

How many goals do you have? Do you have the six main types of goals covered? What other categories can you think of that are important to you? Consider what’s most important to you and ensure that you have a goal that addresses it. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Most successful people have unbalanced lives because they put too much attention on one area and neglect others. Learn from their mistakes by maintaining balance and you’ll find greater overall happiness and fulfillment.

Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

Don’t you have dreams, visions or plans about things you’d love to have or accomplish? Having the dream is the easy part. Making it a reality can be more challenging. However, the good news is that there are proven techniques that can get you from where you are to where you want to be. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

Follow this process to bring your dreams to fruition:

1. Turn your dream into a goal. When you have a goal, you have a true target. For a greater chance of success, your plan should have a deadline and it must be measureable.

> It has been said that dreams are goals without a deadline. Give yourself the gift of setting a deadline and things will start to happen.

> You want your goal to be measurable because, if you can’t measure it, how will you know when you’ve succeeded? Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

> For example, this goal is measurable and has a deadline: “On or before June 1, I will weigh 150 lbs. or less.”

> Make your goal as desirable as possible without being unrealistic. If you feel that your goal is unreasonable, it’s much more difficult to encourage yourself to actually pursue it. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

2. Prioritize your goal daily. Read and write your goal each day.

> You give instructions to your brain thousands of times a day. Let your mind know that your goal is something more important than, “I feel like eating a ham sandwich,” or “I need to stop at the grocery store on the way home.”

3. Make a list of negative associations. You probably have negative associations with achieving your goal; otherwise you’d already have it. So make a list of all the negative stuff that pops into your mind when you think about achieving your goal.

> Examine that list and think of ways to work around those challenges.

> Each time you notice a new negative association with your goal, add it to your list. Things will tend to change over time, and new challenges will reveal themselves. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

4. Make a list of all the positives about reaching your goal. How would it make you feel? How would it change your life? How would it change your perspective of the world and yourself? What would your next goal be? Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

> Make your goal as attractive as possible. Envision your life after achieving the goal. This will help to keep your motivation levels high.

5. What do you need to make your goal a reality? Do you need to special license? Do you need a laptop? Is there some knowledge you must acquire? Make a list of what you need and figure out how you’re going to get it.

6. Catalog your available resources. Who do you know that could be helpful? What expertise or items do you need that someone else might have? Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

> Achieving difficult goals can rarely be accomplished alone; you’re likely to need some help and guidance. Look at the list you made in step 5 and see what you already have in your life that could help you on your path.

7. Track your progress. Measure your progress each day.

> Tracking is critical to making continued progress. You can only adjust your approach if you know how you’re doing. Consider making a chart if that’s applicable to your goal.

In many ways, working toward a goal is like baking a cake: if you follow the recipe, you’ll always pull a perfect cake out of the oven. Likewise, if you follow the above steps, you’ll find it much easier to achieve your dreams. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality