Module 4 · Direction

Meaning, purpose & a good life

Free — no account needed to read

Investigating what makes a life worth living — not being told.

By the end of this module

You will have thought carefully about meaning, purpose and success, met several traditions’ answers, and started writing your own.

Lessons

• What makes a life meaningful? — Meaning and happiness overlap, but they are not the same thing. (8 min)
• Purpose: found, built or chosen? — Three very different ideas of what having a purpose means. (8 min)
• Where meaning comes from — Values, contribution, achievement, relationships and growth — five sources people keep returning to. (8 min)
• Freedom and responsibility — The freedom to choose your life comes with owning what you choose. (8 min)
• What does success mean — and who decides? — Definitions of success are borrowed, inherited and revised. You can write your own. (8 min)
• A good life vs an impressive life — What looks good from outside and what feels meaningful from inside are not always the same life. (7 min)