TOB Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to trying to make the world a happier and more caring place starting with our community. Pursuing happiness as a community is about learning to live happily, to fundamentally live a different way of life where people care less about what they can get just for themselves and more about the happiness of others. Every month we will provide ideas and resources backed by leading experts from diverse fields. Join the movement. Be the change. TOB Action for Happiness Pledge
Meaningful May
Be part of something bigger.
Meaning in life is consistently associated with better health outcomes across a range of mental and physical domains. However, meaning in life is a complex idea involving three distinct components. Leading expert on meaning in life, Dr. Michael Steger, describes these three, interrelated elements as contributors to having a sense of meaning in our lives.
- Coherence is the feeling we can make sense of our lives and how the parts fit together. This understanding that things happen in your life for a reason. Bringing coherence and meaning to your life is a practice. There is no one thing we can do on a single day that will bring all the meaning and coherence we will ever need.
- Matter or significance is the feeling that we have inherent value; that we can make a difference in some small or larger ways. If you have high levels of significance, you're confident that the world would be a tiny bit - or perhaps a lot- poorer if you didn't exist.
- Purpose is a sense of direction in life; having personally important long-term aims we strive towards, or a higher purpose that drives us. Purpose might show up as our goals, but not necessarily. It could be more general deeply felt intentions or values, such as to be a good parent, friend and/or romantic partner; help others in our community or leave the world a better place.
There is no single prescription to what meaning means in our own lives. What it means for us may evolve over time, the course of our lives, emerging from reflecting on our experiences and exploring our strengths, interest and motivations.
How can we cultivate meaning in life? It could be something as simple as contacting friends frequently, belonging to social groups, become a volunteer or maintaining healthy habits relating to sleep, diet and exercise.
Need a quick boost, activities documented for benefiting meaning in the short term include: envisioning a happier future, writing a note of gratitude or bringing to mind one's close relationships. For the days that are less than perfect practice creating a state of coherence with The Quick Coherence Technique for Adults by HeartMath Institute.
Follow Town of Battleford on Facebook to get additional tips and thoughts every Sunday.
Action for Happiness Talks Library - Browse their full library of speakers for insight and inspiration on happier living.
May Talks:
May 11 - Building Resilience with Dr. Neeta Bhushan
May 24 - Rewire Your Mind with Dr. Shauna Shapiro
Follow Town of Battleford on Facebook to get additional tips every Sunday.
