It’s a weird but true fact that many people who you would naturally tend to consider very successful, are actually deeply unhappy, and struggle with trying to find a sense of meaning in their lives, while apparently being unable to.It doesn’t take a lot of research to find stories of wealthy, popular celebrities who seem to be having a terrible time in life, even in spite of all the wealth and luxury they are surrounded with. Just think of the number of famous musicians and artists who end up with serious substance abuse issues, and ongoing personal dramas, throughout their lives.

It’s great to have wealth, nice cars, and all the rest. But, none of those things can make up for a lack of meaning in your life.

Obviously, the real deep sources of meaning in a person’s life always have to do with things like their interpersonal relationships, their major goals and aspirations, their spiritual beliefs, and things of that nature.

This article isn’t about identifying things that can introduce that level of meaning to your life. But, it is about small habits you can adopt, that may help to make your life a bit more meaningful as a whole.

Here are a few simple habits that can make your life more meaningful.

Keeping an old-fashioned physical journal

 

 

These days, traditional, old-fashioned, physical journals seem more or less redundant. After all, if we want to plan out our days, record our to-dos and plans, keep track of our obligations, and things of that nature – well, there are hundreds and hundreds of highly polished apps and digital services that can get the job done.

Interestingly, though, even in spite of the fact that apps like Todoist make it an absolute breeze to track your to-dos and checklists, and services like Google Calendar mean you get to keep your schedule synced up between all your different devices as if by magic, there is a resurgence of interest in the paper journals and planners of yesteryear.

The Bullet Journal Method, created by Ryder Carroll, for example, uses a simple set of techniques and structures, to turn a paper notebook into an all-in-one life planner, journal, and personal reflection device.

There are various ways that keeping an old-fashioned, physical journal may help to make your life more meaningful.

For one thing, the simple act of writing things out by hand engages your mind very differently to how typing things out, or checking boxes off on a web app, does. Research has shown, for example, that people who write things out by hand remember them better, and reflect on the subject matter more.

Keeping an old-fashioned journal can be a lot like meditation. It’s just you, the pen, and the notebook, with all distractions removed from the equation. As you sit there and write, you naturally end up reflecting on your life as a whole, and develop a deeper sense of perspective on how you’re spending your time, what you’d prefer to be doing with your life, your overall values and ambitions, and so on.

Taking up DIY and developing your crafting skills

 

It’s never been as easy as it is now, to just locate and call up a professional repair man, when something goes wrong in your home.

In fact, the ease with which we can contact professionals to take care of issues in the home, is part of a wider trend of life becoming “easier” across the board, and of there being less reasons for us to be autonomous, and self-reliant, in general.

More and more things are becoming automated, and there are more and more ways of getting our problems taken care of, without having to engage with them directly.

The thing is – if you don’t get into the habit of taking care of issues in your life, yourself, it can be easy to end up in a position where you feel more or less helpless, vulnerable, and dependent.

For centuries, people have been writing about the benefits of self-reliance, and the ways in which rolling up your sleeves and getting things done on your own, can help to build confidence, and increase your overall sense of vitality.

Looking up Bench Grinder Reviews, and beginning to put together your own workshop, so that you can get involved in DIY, can be a great way of beginning to turn the tide and reclaim a sense of self-reliance and control over your destiny.

It might seem like a small thing in and of itself. But the psychological benefits of taking the initiative in this way can be pretty profound.

Limiting the distractions in your life, and using your time more intentionally

 

 

Everyone enjoys taking it easy from time to time, catching up on their favorite TV shows, casually surfing the web for funny pictures and interesting videos, and just generally unwinding.

But when these types of casual distractions end up capitalizing the vast majority of your free time, you can quickly end up finding yourself losing your grip on your goals, and “killing time” more than using it.

It’s very difficult to feel like you’re living a meaningful life, when all you do is find ways to pass the time until tomorrow.

By limiting the distractions in your life and using your time more intentionally, you can massively increase your sense of how meaningful your life is – and can seriously increase the odds that you’re actually going to achieve things you can be proud of, too.

Use tools like web blockers, unplug your gaming consoles, and take whatever steps you feel you need to do, in order to reduce the ever-present temptation to procrastinate, and give in to distractions.

So, what should you do with all the newfound time that you have suddenly freed up? Well, to put it simply, do things that you can feel proud of afterwards.

Ideally, you’ll spend most of this time on hobbies and projects that may genuinely improve your life in some way. And if you’re going to “kill time,” it’s still best to do it in a way that may return some benefit. Like watching documentaries instead of soap operas.