Meaningful May – Be a part of something bigger

May 1, 2025

A new month means a new Action for Happiness Calendar with daily prompts to guide you through the monthly theme. The theme for this month is Meaningful May.

The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, described a form of happiness that he argued was more important than pleasure alone – ‘activities of the soul that are in accord with virtue’, in other words, help us strive towards the best within us. He called this Eudaimonia [1]. Meaning in life is integral to this and alongside pleasure, is incorporated into modern-day psychological theories and models of happiness, wellbeing and flourishing [2].

Psychologists certainly agree that meaning matters for happiness and there are actions that can help us find or create it. In fact, all the other Keys to Happier Living can contribute to finding and creating meaning in your life.

How do psychologists define meaning?

Leading expert on meaning in life Dr Michael Steger describes meaning as having three, interrelated elements, that contribute to having a sense of meaning in our lives [4]:

Coherence – feeling we can make sense of our lives and how the parts fit together; an understanding of the world around us, how it works and how we fit into it.
Mattering – feeling that we have inherent value; that we can make a difference in some small or larger ways; that life is worth living or fulfilling (Steger calls this significance).
Purpose – a sense of direction in life; having personally important longer-term aims we strive towards, or a higher purpose(s) 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’s 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, interests and motivations. Steger suggests this process of reflection helps us make connections, interpretations, evaluations, and get clearer on our aspirations, bringing the three parts of meaning together

How do we find or create meaning?

Understandably, feeling that we lack meaning in life is associated with not feeling happy [13]. There are many ways we can discover what meaning means in our own life through a process of reflection. We can also more actively explore and create it .

One of the best places to start is by helping others. It can take our mind off what we’re missing and help us to focus on something bigger than us. There are lots of different ways we can help others.

Exploring the other Keys to Happier Living are also routes to discovering and creating meaning, for example: nurturing connections with others; learning something new or developing a hobby; working towards a personally important goal; using and developing our strengths.

At work, we can find small (or larger) ways to craft what we do to make it more meaningful. For example, this might be cultivating meaningful connections or helping others; adapting our daily tasks to play to our strengths and make work more enjoyable; stepping back to see how what we do connects to the work of others and is part of something bigger.

Reflection: Imagine you are 85 years old and looking back over your life. What is it that you are proudest of or felt to be most meaningful? What advice would you give to your current self about what matters most? You might want to write this down in the form of a letter to yourself.

Meaningful May Calendar

https://www.womenlivingwellafter50.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/May-2025.pdf

Meaningful daily moments

Meaning can be found in simple moments day-to-day as well as in life’s bigger experiences and events. Cultivating the practice of gratitude is a good place to start. It helps us appreciate what we have and value most. Behavioural scientist Dr Paul Dolan suggests that we not only assess our momentary experiences as to whether they are pleasurable or not, but also do they have a purpose .

Having several sources of meaning in our life facilitates resilience [17]. When we are clear on these, it’s important to make sure we give attention to maintaining and nurturing them in our day-to-day lives.

Reflection: Are there any important sources of meaning in your life that you’d like to nurture more? How, when and where can you give some attention or time to do this?