{"id":91,"date":"2007-03-27T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2007-03-27T18:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/finding-meaning-in-life\/"},"modified":"2013-08-14T10:06:29","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T18:06:29","slug":"finding-meaning-in-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/finding-meaning-in-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Meaning in Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Scott Adams of the Dilbert Blog wrote a great post titled The Meaning of Meaning<\/a>. It’s about finding a higher purpose in life and how success alone isn’t satisfying. Scott provides some great examples from his personal experience. This is my favorite passage:<\/p>\n

I remember when Dilbert hit it big and it became clear that I would never again have to worry about money. It was a wonderful feeling, but it didn\u2019t last. I went from happy to hollow with no warning. The first moment that I could afford any car I wanted, I lost interest in having a nice car. I simply couldn\u2019t see the point, if there ever was one. Success is surprisingly disorienting.<\/p>\n

One day, about ten years ago, I was alone in my office, sitting on the couch and reflecting on the fact that I had managed to become rich and famous in my dream job. For the first time in my life, I had no goals. And for a goal-oriented guy, that\u2019s an empty feeling. Success was supposed to feel good and stay that way. But it tricked me. There was a huge hole in my soul. I sat in my office and sobbed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This immediately reminded me of an article I wrote a ways back about the power of a Life Lie<\/a>. The lie isn’t believing that you can reach your goals, the lie is believing that reaching your goals will solve all your problems.<\/p>\n

As you can see from Scott’s experience, becoming wealthy in your dream job won’t make you happy forever. It’s actually depressing. We’re happiest when we’re on our way towards a goal. It follows that actually accomplishing our goals isn’t essential. The most important thing is making positive progress and having a higher purpose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I remember when Dilbert hit it big and it became clear that I would never again have to worry about money. It was a wonderful feeling, but it didn\u2019t last. I went from happy to hollow with no warning. The first moment that I could afford any car I wanted, I lost interest in having a nice car. I simply couldn\u2019t see the point, if there ever was one. Success is surprisingly disorienting. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[5],"tags":[2327,280,2016,66],"yoast_head":"\nFinding Meaning in Life - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We're happiest when we're on our way towards a goal. 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