What Is the Meaning of Life?

Look back to your childhood. The answer is unique to you.

“Meaning can only ever exist within the confines of the human mind and in this way the meaning of life is not somewhere out there but right between our ears.” — Stephen Hawking

From a biological perspective... The answer is simple. Live!

From an emotional perspective... Pleasure, happiness and the avoidance of pain are the focus. What about all of the spaces in between?

From a spiritual perspective... Do we merely exist, reproduce, acquire power and indulge in pleasure? Is there nothing bigger or more lasting?

Life, from the perspective of the lowly rock, is painfully uninteresting outside of a purely geological sense.

Animals of all shapes and sizes make the subject vastly more interesting, but not in the spiritual sense. After all, most animals are not introspective. They obsess primarily over biological concerns in the struggle for survival.

We humans have the gift of self-reflection. We routinely question our own existence and the mysteries of life. This innate curiosity is the driver of our creativity and innovation.

We dream from an early age about who we want to become and what we want to achieve. The possibilities are endless. The adventures we imagine are magical.

But the necessities of life soon crowd out such thoughts. We coast along, reacting to what life throws at us. We forget that we have the power, the free will, to affect change. We forget what children understand from an early age...

We decide who we will become, and in so doing, we determine our own meaning and purpose in life.

What is the meaning of life? It is what we want it to be. It is who we want to be.

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What is your meaning in life? If you are unsure, take some time to reflect. Your success and happiness depend on it!

Some further reading to spur your thinking:

• Life As a Quest for Meaning

• The Sources of Meaning

• Take the High Road