The meaning of life is...
And you thought this was just a podcast about alcohol-free advantages!! Here we are wrestling with the biggest questions of all. So, before we move on, thank you for being courageous enough to join me on this adventure to meaning and purpose. It is so rare that we take the time to reflect on these important questions. Before we attempt to answer the BIG question, I will turn to one of my favourite mentors and researcher, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and his genius book, ‘Flow: The Psychology of Happiness’. Flow is a scientific concept for what athletes call being in the zone. These are moments when time seems to disappear, the self dissolves into the activity and you become one with what you are doing. Equally you can experience this sense of flow within any activity from gardening, to spending time with friends, writing, work, or on the sporting field. Also our life goals will often provide the feedback and structure to elicit the experience of a flow state. Mihaly’s research found that flow states are incredible for our overall well-being. The more time in flow, the happier and healthier we become. However, there is also something much bigger at play. Imagine you found a goal big enough and challenging enough that enveloped your whole live. A life mission or life project. In essence, trying to reach this goal could bring flow to every element of your life. Even the mundane could be transformed into part of your overall goal. Mihaly puts it like this: “What this involves is turning all life into a unified flow experience. If a person sets out to achieve a difficult enough goal, from which all other goals logically follow, and if he or she invests all energy in developing skills to reach that goal, then actions and feelings will be in harmony, and the separate parts of life will fit together—and each activity will “make sense” in the present, as well as in view of the past and of the future. In such a way, it is possible to give meaning to one’s entire life.” Yes, for most of us fortunate ones, we could all do a million things and have a million goals. But what if you had just one super goal, and you put all your life energy into it? This singular focus could turn your whole life into a meaningful experience. Mihaly continues, “In this sense the answer to the old riddle “What is the meaning of life?” turns out to be astonishingly simple. The meaning of life is meaning: whatever it is, wherever it comes from, a unified purpose is what gives meaning to life.” Here is the major point - it does not matter what the goal is. This is not a goal-off who has the best goal competition. The goal must matter to you and be big enough to fuel you with meaning for the rest of your days. “The challenge might involve the desire to have the best beer-bottle collection in the neighbourhood, the resolution to find a cure for cancer, or simply the biological imperative to have children who will survive and prosper. As long as it provides clear objectives, clear rules for action, and a way to concentrate and become involved, any goal can serve to give meaning to a person’s life.” So, for a bit of fun, here is your reflection: Now we have the answer to the meaning of life!! All you need to do is find your one BIG goal. Don’t worry about the how-to - Take some time this week to try to answer this question: What goal or goals could you think of that could be big enough to provide a life of flow? Let me know how you get on. After 50 years of searching, I found mine - Transform the world’s relationship with alcohol. Your coach Andy
