MEANING
Shot for The Inner Citizen by Alexandre Souêtre
The Inner Citizen newsletters are meant to be a moment to breathe, not another task. Just a beat.
Meaning.
"I have everything but feel nothing." I underlined that on page 4 of Arthur Brooks' book The Meaning of Your Life. Wasn't sure I was going to like the book but ended up binging it in a day. If there's a feeling you can't quite put your finger on, an itch you can't quite scratch, or if you're feeling a bit existential, this book’s for you.
Brooks writes about what he calls a psychogenic epidemic, suffering with a social or psychological root rather than a biological one. As a happiness researcher, he noticed something strange: the people who looked most successful, the hardworking strivers, were often suffering the most. That sent him looking for the cause. He expected to find enjoyment and satisfaction declining, but they hadn't. Meaning had.
His equation for Happiness = Enjoyment + Satisfaction + Meaning.
His equation for Meaning = Coherence + Purpose + Significance.
The book's rich, and he gets into real complexity. But he teaches in a way you feel connected from beginning to end.
Meaning, he says, can't be simulated. And yet many of us try, with scrolling, watching videos, gaming, fill in the blank with your preference. But a simulation of meaning isn't meaning, and leaning on it only deepens the emptiness.
He backs this with stories that will land for a lot of people. Maybe you'll hear your experience in one of them.
If you want help breaking out of the simulation, this book's a great place to start.