3 Reasons You Should Pursue Meaning, Not Happiness!

Happy Monday! Today I am sharing 3 reasons why you should pursue meaning, not happiness. We spend a lot of time and effort pursuing things that we think will make us happy. Once we have these things, we realize these things don’t really make us happy at all.

Pursue meaning, not happiness…

Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. He was the founder of the school of psychotherapy which describes a search for a life meaning as the central human motivational force. Frankl was arrested and put into a Nazi concentration camp along with his wife and parents. Frankl was the only one that survived.

He attributed his survival to one thing; meaning. Studies reveal that having a clear overall purpose and meaning in life increases our overall health and well-being. However, Frankl believes that our pursuit of happiness is the one thing that thwarts our chances to be happy. He also goes on to relate happiness to being a “taker” and meaning to being a “giver.” Frankl, provides 3 reasons why we should pursue meaning, not happiness.

How do we pursue meaning?

• First, by doing a good deed.
• Second, experiencing something.
• Third, the attitude we have when we experience suffering.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were accused of advocating customs unlawful for the Romans. They were beaten with rods and then thrown into prison. Instead of griping and complaining, they spent their time praying and singing hymns to God.

In life, we will experience suffering. You may be going through something today and it has overtaken you. I know all too well it is hard to have a good attitude when we are going through trials. But, we have a God who will be with us every step of the way. He will never leave us. Look to God to find meaning.

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ~Viktor Frankl

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To learn more about the life of Viktor Frankl, visit the websites below.

Citation: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-happy/266805/

Citation: http://www.logotherapyinstitute.org/About_Logotherapy.html