Happiness comes and goes, but having meaning in life – serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within yourself - gives you something to hold onto. The four pillars of a meaningful life that are shared by Emily Esfahani Smith are some of the most foundational: Belonging, Purpose, Transcendence, and Story.
This is meaningful to me because I highly value each of these elements as essential pieces of a meaningful life. Think about the things that matter in your life. They will likely contain one or more of these ingredients.
But, more digging is needed as we consider the meaning of life. Consider the quality of a person's life who lives by these meaningful pillars:
1. I belong to a core group of brothers who were willing to die for each other and with each other.
2. My purpose is to sacrifice for what is right and to destroy what is evil.
3. It's not just about me, but about fulfilling a greater calling no matter the cost.
4. My story is one of truth, love, passion, brotherhood, adventure, justice, hope, and a future paradise.
These statements could have easily come from Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, or the hijackers who killed thousands on Sept. 11, 2001.
There are still foundational questions that undergird these columns. As we consider each column, we must consider how we determine foundational truths like morality and love. Do we create it or is the source outside ourselves?
Is this meaningful to you? Can you think of another example that seems to address meaning in a similar way? Let me know what you think in the comments below?
Keep Digging - Learn more about the difference between being happy and having meaning as Emily Esfshani Smith offers four pillars of a meaningful life in a Ted Talk.
