Notes

The Search For Meaning - Coherence, Purpose, and Significance
The search for meaning can feel overwhelming and confusing. But if you can take the time to figure out what makes your life meaningful, you will have an inner compass that guides you toward your goals and helps you keep things in perspective.

The key is understanding that meaning is more than just a feeling of coherence and belonging—it also includes a sense of purpose and significance. The good news is that there are ways to make this search more manageable, and it begins with separating the concepts of coherence, purpose, and significance into three bite-size dimensions.

Coherence refers to a feeling that your life makes sense, and it encompasses the idea that your goals and actions align with your core values. Your sense of purpose is more specific, and it reflects what your long-term goal or intention is for your life. It’s what you hope to accomplish—even if it takes years to reach your ultimate goal. Lastly, your sense of significance is about the belief that your life has value—that you are important and have something to contribute.

Despite the fact that researchers tend to lump all of these dimensions together, it’s helpful to distinguish them. After all, a feeling of indiscriminate meaning can lead to stress and depression, while a strong sense of purpose has been linked to better mental health. This article proposes a new method for measuring these three facets separately. By using meditation , it was possible to identify two feelings of meaning, Meaningfulness and Crisis of Meaning, and five sources of purpose—Sustainability, Faith, Security, Community, and Personal Growth—which are associated with different aspects of well-being.

For many people, the quest for meaning starts with figuring out what brings them joy and gives their lives meaning. For some, this is a matter of discovering what they are best at, while others may find it by looking for the overlap between their passions and what the world needs. For example, a chef might craft their sense of purpose by finding the intersection between the food they love to cook and what the world needs.

Then there are those who are searching for a more concrete, work-related purpose. For them, it may be a question of connecting with the people around them or creating a legacy of some sort. This approach is often referred to as “following your bliss,” or ikigai, which is popular in Japan.

While this kind of meaning can seem elusive, it’s not impossible to find. Ho says that her clients who are in the process of identifying their purpose have found that a therapist can help them identify the underlying values that drive them. For instance, if they grew up in cultures that prioritize family over career, the concept of finding a purpose might not come naturally to them, and the search might feel like it’s taking them out of their comfort zone. If this is the case, she recommends starting with small steps and building up to trying new experiences. For example, she suggests browsing a cooking class’s website for a few minutes before making the decision to actually sign up.
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