Finding Purpose and Meaning:Intentional Living
Gleb Tsipursky, PhDPresident, Co-Founder and Chief Insights Officer
Intentional Insightswww.intentionalinsights.org
Program Overview
– Research and thinkers on finding purpose and meaning
– Purpose and meaning from an evidence-based perspective
– How do you as an individual find purpose and meaning in life?
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Research Shows
People who can give a clear answer have better lives
with higher mental and physical well-being
• Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness (2002)
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Research Shows
Clear and strong sense of meaning correlates with religion
• A. Okulicz-Kozaryn (2010). “Religiosity and life satisfaction across nations,” Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 13, 155-169.
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Research Shows
The important thing is simply to have a sense of purpose,
not the source of the purpose
• M. F. Steger, (2012). “Making meaning in life,” Psychological Inquiry, 23, 381-385.
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Research Shows
People who live in societies with less religious predominance
than the contemporary USdo not necessarily experience
a lesser sense of meaning and purpose.
• Darrin M. McMahon, Happiness: A History, (2005).
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
2011 World Happiness Report: (http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/Sachs%20Writing/2012/World%20Happiness%20Report.pdf)Intentional Insights
www.intentionalinsights.org
Why does Purpose in Life Correlate with Religion in the US?
1. Strong community connections2. Opportunities for serving others3. Venues to reflect on meaning and
purpose
• Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (New York: Bantam Dell, 2006).Intentional Insights
www.intentionalinsights.org
What About Less Religious Societies?
In other societies, non-religious venues often offer opportunities for:
1. Community connections2. Serving others3. Reflecting on meaning and purpose
• Gleb Tsipursky, Having Fun in the Thaw: Youth Initiative Clubs in the Post-Stalin Years, in the series, The Carl Beck Papers in Russian and East European Studies, No. 2201 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012)
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Research Shows
Sense of meaning is strongest when it comes from
individual reflection and self-work
NOT when it’s simply adopted from outside prescriptions
• P. T. P. Wong, The human quest for meaning (2012); M. F. Steger, (2009). “Meaning in life.” In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd Ed.) (pp. 679-687). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Intentional Insights
www.intentionalinsights.org
Evidence-Based Ways to Gain Sense of Life Purpose and Meaning
1. Reflecting on one’s sense of meaning and purpose
2. Doing so in a social setting3. Helping others find meaning and purpose in
life
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
How do you as an individual find purpose and meaning in life?
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Strategies: Evaluation
Purpose and Meaning Questionnaire (PMQ)
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Strategies: Highest-Order Goals
What is the meaning of life for me?
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Strategies: Person I Want to Be
To live my purpose, what kind of person
do I want to be?
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Strategies: Living Intentionally
To become the person I want to be, what steps can I take in my everyday life
to live intentionally?
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Strategies: 3 Steps to Gaining Agency
Agency = Living Intentionally
How can I optimize my ability to:1. Evaluate reality clearly, to2. Make effective decisions, that3. Achieve my short and long-term goals
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
Strategies
• Individual Reflection• Group Discussion• Revision (at home)
Intentional Insights www.intentionalinsights.org
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