In this post, I discuss the findings of two recent studies into how to live a happier and more meaningful life. These papers examine two techniques: “life crafting” and “becoming the hero of your own story.”
What is life crafting?
Life crafting refers to intentional changes people make to take control of their destiny, satisfy important psychological needs (e.g., for autonomy and independence), and live a life that is authentic and meaningful.
In a recent paper published in Emerging Adulthood, Napier and collaborators discuss how a life-crafting intervention can help emerging adults live a more authentic and meaningful life.
Life crafting interventions typically involve exploring personal values, developing intrinsic interests, nurturing caring relationships, setting goals, and creating a meaningful life story.
Components of life-crafting interventions
These are some components of life-crafting interventions, along with examples of statements and questions that can help with the process of reflecting on and crafting one’s life.
- Values: From a list of values, choose the ones you consider most important. Think about what makes these values special and how they are reflected in your daily activities.
- Intrinsic interests: Are any of your daily activities intrinsically motivated? Intrinsically motivated activities refer to those that are inherently meaningful and enjoyable—as opposed to those performed only because of external pressure or rewards. Try including more intrinsically rewarding activities in your daily life.
- Relationships: Who are the most important people in your life and why? Reflect on ways of improving your close relationships with them.
- Social contributions: Does what you do impact others and society? How? Consider different ways your behavior, attitude, and goals influence other people’s happiness and well-being.
- Meaningful life story: Imagine your life as a book with different chapters. How did the book begin? Which chapter are you in? What needs to happen for you to move to the next? What lessons have been learned thus far? Does the book have a theme?
- Goals: What do you want to achieve in life? These can be goals in domains like romantic relationships, work, academics, health, and hobbies. Use your values and interests to set realistic short-term and long-term goals.
By becoming more aware of our interests, working toward valued goals, shaping and directing the story of our lives, and helping others lead better lives, we can satisfy important psychological needs, making our lives feel “more integrated, authentic, and meaningful.”
Becoming the hero of your own story
A second technique involves becoming the “hero of your own story.”
We tend to see our lives as stories that unfold in time, and we play characters not only in our own stories but also in other people’s.
Sometimes, we see ourselves as major characters—those whose decisions advance the story, whose actions bring them closer to their goals, and whose influence is felt even in others’ lives.
Other times, we see ourselves as minor characters—powerless spectators controlled by events and people, lacking the ability to shape their story, let alone influence anybody else’s life.
A recent investigation by Goffredi and Sheldon explored the effects of perceiving oneself as a major (vs. minor) character.
Their paper, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, concluded that seeing oneself as a major character positively impacts well-being and feelings of autonomy, competence, and belonging.
The investigators conducted three studies. The first assessed the association between feeling like a major/minor character and future well-being. The second instructed participants to recall a time they felt like major/minor characters in their life story to see whether that would predict well-being and psychological need satisfaction (e.g., for belonging, independence, satisfactory relationships). The third examined the relationship between autonomous goal pursuit and perceptions of being a major character in one’s life story. It also evaluated the role of feelings of agency.
The studies found that people who saw themselves as major (vs. minor) characters in their life stories or recalled such experiences had higher well-being, psychological need satisfaction, sense of agency, and autonomous goal pursuit.
So, seeing oneself as a major character—capable of controlling external events through one’s actions and decisions—positively influences well-being and happiness.
In contrast, perceiving oneself as a minor character, at the mercy of external events or controlled by other people, results in feeling incompetent and unable to fulfill basic psychological needs.
An exercise: Feeling like a major character in your life
Think of a time you felt like a major character in the story of your life or in another person’s. Some examples: Taking charge at work, standing up to a bully, playing a major role in helping your team win a game, successfully applying to colleges of your choice, and planning an event (e.g., birthday party, vacation, wedding).
What was going on? What did you do? And how did your actions or decisions impact the outcome?
Recall how it felt to be the one running the show and calling the shots, in control of your destiny and of value to others. Recreate that feeling and stay with it for a while.
Reflect on how the exercise influenced your sense of meaning in life, happiness, and well-being.
This post was originally published on here
