137: Six Powerful Strategies to Increase Meaning in Your Life

More Happy Life with Andy Proctor

Today's episode is all about finding more meaning. It's a solo episode that I hope you enjoy. Here is a sneak peek:

1. Decrease Regret by Taking Action

What’s something you can just do today to decrease the regret you would have in the future?

Here are the top 5 regrets of the dying:

1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself rather than the life others expected of me
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
5. I wish I had let myself be happier

What can you do to connect with your friends more? How can you arrange your life to work less? How can you be more yourself? What are you doing express your true feelings? How are you deliberately adding to your levels of happiness?

2. Commit Something to Your Life List

I have a list that is growing. I had a bucket list before, but after hearing about Stacy Taniguchi’s 100 LIFE list, I changed the name. I don’t like the focus on avoidance of death or hurrying before you kick the bucket. I like the focus on LIVING and celebrating the life we have now.

Here are a few things from my LIFE list:

I have two categories: to accomplish and to experience.

In the “To accomplish: category:

• Get a doctorate degree
• Write a lastingly relevant book
• Deliver a TED talk
• Teach over 10,000 students about how to thrive in life
• Give my mom a home to live in
• Become a blackbelt in some martial art

In the “to experience” category:

• experience Being a dad
• Experience the summer Olympic Games in person
• A photographic tour circumnavigating the globe
• Thank J.K. Rowling in person
• Swimming next to a whale
• A bioluminescent beach at night with my camera

Your list will be different than mine, but what I have found is that as I contemplate these experiences and accomplishments that I want to have, it makes me excited to be alive. It brings meaning to the struggle in my life. The hard stuff becomes a little less hard because I’m headed toward something.

There is a book called The Happiness of Pursuit that I highly recommend. In this book, the author often talks about the importance of always having a “life-affirming quest”.

What is your life affirming quest? Do you have one right now or are you just kind of floating along? No judgement. I have definitely had some moments of floating along.

No matter what your job or your current vocation, adding something to your life list can be a catalyst for a life-affirming quest and make your life more meaningful.

If you have things to live for, you’ll be more likely to live.

Read the show notes here: https://morehappylife.co/6-powerful-strategies-to-increase-meaning-in-your-life/