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126 reviews for:
The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness
Emily Esfahani Smith
3.92 AVERAGE
126 reviews for:
The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness
Emily Esfahani Smith
3.92 AVERAGE
I found this very readable, and very interesting. I’ve made quite a lot of notes to come back and look at.
To find life meaningful one needs belonging + purpose + storytelling + transcendence. Belonging is still something I’m struggling to understand. For self-compassion we need to remember that we share a human condition with everybody else. But yet we need to belong to make our life meaningful. I guess they’re related.
I’m very grateful to Brighton and Hove libraries for stocking books like this.
To find life meaningful one needs belonging + purpose + storytelling + transcendence. Belonging is still something I’m struggling to understand. For self-compassion we need to remember that we share a human condition with everybody else. But yet we need to belong to make our life meaningful. I guess they’re related.
I’m very grateful to Brighton and Hove libraries for stocking books like this.
*I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways*
This book lays out four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence. However, it doesn't tell you how to achieve those four pillars. It gives examples of each of the four pillars and lists a fifth element to meaning -- growth. But achieving the pillars and growth may remain at the end of the book as out of reach as at the beginning. Still it's an okay book about how people find meaning in their lives and if there was a ranking among the pillars purpose would be first as it seems to come up most often, even when the book is talking about another pillar entirely.
This book lays out four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence. However, it doesn't tell you how to achieve those four pillars. It gives examples of each of the four pillars and lists a fifth element to meaning -- growth. But achieving the pillars and growth may remain at the end of the book as out of reach as at the beginning. Still it's an okay book about how people find meaning in their lives and if there was a ranking among the pillars purpose would be first as it seems to come up most often, even when the book is talking about another pillar entirely.
Solid, impactful and thought-provoking book. I spent a long time reading it because with every turn of the page it had me pause, and reflect on how the pillars were or could be applied in my life. I really enjoyed how the concepts of the book are explained through the stories of others, very powerful, inspiring and enjoyable to read. This is definitely the type of book I will keep on thinking about even in the far future.
Self-help books are not usually the types of books that I pick up, but I am happy that I decided to read this one. Although the four "pillars" of meaning that the author talks about are nothing new, I really enjoyed the stories and interviews of the brave and courageous people that were able to shape these pillars in their lives. This book forced me to look at things in my life differently and in a more positive light.
In a market saturated to the brim with happiness this and joy that, it was AMAZINGLY refreshing to read a contemporary book that emphatically argued (with *tons* of scientific data) the point that was first articulated by the grandfather of meaning, psychiatrist and World War II Holocaust Survivor Viktor Frankl, that "For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself."
Emily Esfahani Smith has managed to compile and weave a large body of research studies and anecdotal stories into a fairly strong picture of what brings meaning to the lives of us humans as we pass our turns through this world.
She starts off by telling a few stories that exemplify the "crisis" of life without a sense of meaning, and then tours through four "pillars" that she sees as comprising meaning—Belonging, Purpose, Storytelling, and Transcendence—and illustrates each with some storytelling of her own crafted from various studies both clinical and informal. Finally, she ties off the lot with a look at how they collectively lead to personal and cultural growth.
The storytelling style throughout is very readable and mostly flows neatly from one illustrative example to the next. There are a very few points at which she seems to bog in the fallacy that study results "prove" anything (correlation is not causation and all that), but otherwise does a very nice job of telling a meaningful story about what basic themes (without depending on any specific religion or philosophy) fuel a sense of meaning in people's lives and the power that meaning can have to bring value, success, and happiness to those lives.
Note that this is not a how-to book that'll teach you the Ten Easy Steps to Bring Meaning to Your Life. Rather, its concepts and ideas shine some thoughtful light on what many of us may be missing as we stumble around lost among increasing billions in a universe that may not seem to care, and may even help inspire us toward seeking out some of those pillars on the way to meaning. At the very least, it's certainly an easy and enjoyable enough read.
She starts off by telling a few stories that exemplify the "crisis" of life without a sense of meaning, and then tours through four "pillars" that she sees as comprising meaning—Belonging, Purpose, Storytelling, and Transcendence—and illustrates each with some storytelling of her own crafted from various studies both clinical and informal. Finally, she ties off the lot with a look at how they collectively lead to personal and cultural growth.
The storytelling style throughout is very readable and mostly flows neatly from one illustrative example to the next. There are a very few points at which she seems to bog in the fallacy that study results "prove" anything (correlation is not causation and all that), but otherwise does a very nice job of telling a meaningful story about what basic themes (without depending on any specific religion or philosophy) fuel a sense of meaning in people's lives and the power that meaning can have to bring value, success, and happiness to those lives.
Note that this is not a how-to book that'll teach you the Ten Easy Steps to Bring Meaning to Your Life. Rather, its concepts and ideas shine some thoughtful light on what many of us may be missing as we stumble around lost among increasing billions in a universe that may not seem to care, and may even help inspire us toward seeking out some of those pillars on the way to meaning. At the very least, it's certainly an easy and enjoyable enough read.
I'm not usually into self help books as I feel they can sometimes be too anecdotal and don't expound on concrete methods or strategies for change, but I found this book to be extremely eye opening. Emily does a great job in examining the role of happiness in our society and replacing that obsession with something more meaningful. This book added to the discussions of Man's Search for Meaning and the Myth of Sysiphus, but with a modern, more tangible angle. Would recommend!
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced