Philosophically speaking, having a life with meaning and purpose makes people happy. But, why is that? Why do human beings have an innate need to attach purpose to their lives? Why do we need to feel like we’re contributing to a higher purpose, a bigger picture? As far as an immediate return, having a small impact and larger purpose has no instant gratification. We don’t always see the fruit of our labors or the meaning in everything we do right away. But why do we still want it? Why do we need to have meaning in our lives?
Much of this may be related to the innate sense of spirituality that most of us have. The ultimate fear of death and life ending may spur many to wish for something more. The concept of life and consciousness ending is difficult to accept, even for the most grounded of us. This drives many people to seek religion, which usually offers a system of living that gives purpose and meaning, to attain the ultimate goal of everlasting life and therefore circumventing death.
One study done by Kahoe and Dunn shows that people who are most firm in their faith and attend religious services weekly are the least afraid of dying. And since we have no real way of verifying whether or not the efforts of the religious are fruitful, the concept that they are working towards a real goal is certainly a possibility, and can give ultimate meaning to one’s life.
Contributing to larger, non-religious based goals also can give meaning to people. Some who serve in our military are told that their singular efforts are part of a larger whole. Many people join the military to “contribute to something far greater than themselves”. This essentially boosts confidence and gives an identity to those who participate in the military. Coincidentally, this can also translate into the spiritual side of meaning, since these people know that they could die quickly in their line of work, and some also see others dying around them.
Finding meaning makes people happy. Professor at University of California, Sonja Lyubomirsky states, “Why is the scientific study of happiness important? In short, because most people believe happiness is meaningful, desirable, and an important, worthy goal, because happiness is one of the most salient and significant dimensions of human experience and emotional life, because happiness yields numerous rewards for the individual, and because it makes for a better, healthier, stronger society.” Her current and ongoing studies are working to find factors in what makes happy people happy. She touches on the fact that people who feel like a part of a goal are happy. Those goals are synonymous with meanings. Meanings therefore make you happy.
Finding a meaning in your life matters because having meaning will probably make you happy. Happy people live fuller lives with less fear, resentment, and see the world through positive rather than negative paradigms that only exasperate their happiness. Socially, people want to only be around happy people, which would also make happier people more successful in all aspects of their lives.
