Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life

[AleksM]

Quote

Being happy and finding life meaningful overlap, but there are important differences. A large survey revealed multiple differing predictors of happiness (controlling for meaning) and meaningfulness (controlling for happiness). Satisfying one’s needs and wants increased happiness but was largely irrelevant to meaningfulness. Happiness was largely present oriented, whereas meaningfulness involves integrating past, present, and future. For example, thinking about future and past was associated with high meaningfulness but low happiness. Happiness was linked to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaningfulness went with being a giver rather than a taker. Higher levels of worry, stress, and anxiety were linked to higher meaningfulness but lower happiness. Concerns with personal identity and expressing the self contributed to meaning but not happiness. We offer brief composite sketches of the unhappy but meaningful life and of the happy but meaningless life.

Source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2013.830764

Leo talked a lot about finding meaning and having a life purpose. But this article poses an interesting point to ponder. Would a meaningful life, be a happy life? What do you guys think about this? Note, that I didn't read the full article since it's 50€

[Carl-Richard]

Being > meaning > happiness.

[UnbornTao]

18 hours ago, Carl-Richard said:

Being > meaning > happiness.

Better not to make up simplistic formulas to fit our preconceptions.

What is happiness?

It may be a synonym for being!

Happiness is independent of meaning.

Edited April 23, 2023 by UnbornTao

[gettoefl]

meaning is what you seek/find, happiness is what your bring/get

meaning is external and social, happiness is internal and personal

they are separate pursuits but can overlap, the overlap would be self actualization

[Carl-Richard]

22 minutes ago, gettoefl said:

meaning is what you seek/find, happiness is what your bring/get

And being is what you are.

[UnbornTao]

True happiness might be inherent in your nature, and it doesn't depend on circumstances. Meaning is created, adopted and applied. Like I said above, happiness may be independent of meaning.

What you call happiness is self-survival, like when a monkey gets a banana, he's happy, without the banana, he isn't. Rarely considered is the possibility of being happy even when you don't get what you want! Try to look into it and practice it.

Edited April 25, 2023 by UnbornTao

[YaNanNallari]

The video is timestamped, watch a bit over a minute. It talks about how the meaning we have should support our expansion and different meanings can support different situations.