psychology
4 subtle signals that you have found your personal meaning in life
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Researchers agree that a sense of meaning and purpose have a much more lasting impact on our lives than the constant pursuit of happiness. These subtle signals show you that you have found your personal meaning in life – and are acting accordingly.
What really makes us happy? Lot of money? A big house? Enough time at our leisure? All of these things can help us feel good and have room to pursue our dreams. Even more important, however, is a sense of purpose. If we shape our lives according to our personal values and have found our purpose, we will be happier in the long term than if we constantly only seek positive experiences and accumulate material things. Meaning is more important for a satisfied life than the pursuit of happiness and joy.
What exactly feels meaningful for our lives and what our personal purpose is as a result is very individual. For some it may be a responsible position in politics or in a company in which they have the feeling that they can make a big difference or help other people. Others find meaning in their own family and raising children. And still others may have completely different goals and values that feel meaningful to them, be it animal protection or exploring foreign cultures. No Here meaning in life is more valuable or important than the other, it is more about us knowing ourselves well enough to find out for ourselves.
These signals show you that you have found your personal purpose – and are shaping your life accordingly.
These 4 signs show you that you have found your personal meaning in life
1. You regularly leave your comfort zone
If you want to live an authentic, fulfilling life, you inevitably have to try something new on a regular basis and perhaps fail at times. Regularly leaving our own comfort zone increases the chances that we will live according to our individual purpose. Because we can only find this if we look outside the box and occasionally deal with ideas and life plans that we might otherwise never have suspected. If you regularly try new things, especially things that you are afraid of, it is a sign that you are living in harmony with yourself and your values.
2. You feel moments of happiness and joy every day
Even if it is not about orienting one’s life towards the constant pursuit of pleasant experiences and feelings of happiness, of course we all want to experience moments of joy and satisfaction. The big difference when you have found your personal purpose and live according to it is that such moments and feelings of happiness come automatically. You probably don’t feel pure happiness every second of your life – that wouldn’t be sustainable or healthy at all. But once you have found your individual meaning in life, you will experience moments of joy and peace very regularly, probably even daily, in which everything just feels right.
3. Everything is in flux
We can also transfer this to an overarching feeling of satisfaction: If you live according to your purpose, everything will go easier, a lot of things will come naturally and feel as if they should be exactly the way they are right now. Of course you will encounter obstacles, you will make mistakes and fail – that is part of life. But if you look at your life from a distance, it will feel like everything is in flux. Because that’s exactly what a feeling of purpose and working towards a goal does to you.
4. You trust your intuition
Anyone who aligns their life with a purpose will probably be in good contact with their own gut feeling. Because our intuition is our best advisor. It’s not about esoteric talk, but simply about the clever parts of our brain that we can only listen to if we consciously allow it and practice. If we feel that our life has meaning that is in line with our values and goals, it is usually because we have learned to trust our intuition.