I've been analyzing the search queries that people are using to search for answers around meaning. Here are a sample list of some of the top ones that get them to stumble upon this blog: The list goes on. First of all, it's interesting that I seem to be quickly becoming the go-to site for people who haven't found any answers elsewhere and are loo...
Read MoreEveryone asks about whether money can buy happiness, and research says that happiness increases with income up to a certain point (~$75,000/year is where monetary increases no longer reduce stress; ~$200,000/year is where there's no further impact on emotional state). In a related question, people might ask whether money can buy meaning in life....
Read MoreThe pandemic has caused a lot of soul-searching and deep questions on the meaning of life. The biggest one is whether people can find deeper meaning in their lives through COVID-19, but they are also asking why things like this happen. Let's address these questions in this post:
Read MoreSimilar to last week's post on objective morality (or the lack thereof), this post is focusing on the lack of a definitive "Why" in terms of life origin (i.e., the cause) or end state (i.e., goal/objective). I have to say, nihilism seems to be a popular conclusion when people can't get a definitive answer. I always chalk it up to people being rai...
Read MoreI am really sad to report that my highest-performing blog post of all time at the time of this post is 8 Types of People Who Don't Find Life Meaningful; another post that gets a lot of clicks via search engines is Eight Reasons Life Can Seem Insignificant and Meaningless. Unfortunately, it appears (for my work at least) that my posts that start wi...
Read MoreCan what makes life worthwhile be measured? You might be thinking, "Of course not. It's unique and subjective to every person." As a result, you might be surprised to hear that the answer is actually yes, absolutely. There are key characteristics of people who find life meaningful that you can start tracking and improving to find more meaning i...
Read MoreA Unified Theory of Meaning can't truly be unified if it isn't aligned or compatible with most philosophies. In this blog post, I thought I'd start to show how all philosophies have the eight core concepts of meaning embedded into their ideologies. Let's begin with Christianity, which has a lot of relevant concepts. Here are five ideas from the...
Read MoreI just described where the growth-centric view of meaning is popping up in the corporate world, and so my brain must've been primed to see some of these examples in other areas. There are several pop psychology and business ideas that have been widely used and accepted in speeches and articles that have growth at the heart of them. Let's take a l...
Read More"I [feel like I] don't have a purpose." It's a common statement from people who don't have the direction that they wish they had in life. It's definitely difficult to turn it around when you are overwhelmed by a sense of aimlessness, but it is possible. First, it's important to note that you always have a purpose; it's just not clear. I've advis...
Read MoreThe growth-centric view of meaning is a relatively new model that has come after years of focusing on ethics, utility, or happiness in philosophy, economics, and psychology (respectively). There have been hints of this view for centuries in science and business, but it had not been seriously considered because of the natural "Why? To what end?"...
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