Meaningful Living: What is it and how can we achieve it?

Many individuals strive to attain meaningful living, but have not been able to fully achieve it or to actually achieve it. It seems as if it evades most people and only a selected few can truly say that they are living a life that is meaningful. What is meaningful living has to be defined as a place in one's life, where one arrives at — that is no longer mundane, but it has meaning. It is a state of being where the individual fully enjoys each day that is gifted to them, and find gratitude and contentment in living each day to the fullest. 

Last year I explored this topic of "meaningful living" by introducing a segment on my online radio show Women in Business Radio and I interviewed three women who were willing to share their perception of what meaningful living means to them, and how she has achieved it. In order to gain a full understanding of the phenomenon, I generated a series of questions to couch this modern day concept.

These are the questions that were generated: 

1. What exactly is meaningful living? What does it look like — what are some things that we see and feel? 
2. You are an entrepreneur, living a life that is meaningful — how does that make you feel given that you are doing what you love? 
3. How important is support to arrive at that place where you can live a life of meaning? Or is it something that you can do it alone? 
4. Do we always need to always experience an adversity in order to get to that stage of development whereby our lives become meaningful? What are some of the benefit you gained? What were some things that we learn about ourselves? 
5. Is it an easy road to transition from? Or may I say, from meaninglessness to meaningfulness? 
6. If your life seems useless, with every day the same mundane happens, do you give up or do you look for alternative solution? Will that help you find a path that is meaningful? 
7. Does looking inwardly and reflecting help us to find that life path? Or is it some thing deeper, like being spiritually gifted or it just simply is innate for some?
8. Do you think that to achieve meaningful living, one has to be mature and experienced or can it come much younger? 
9. How important is the role of society or community in facilitating one's search for meaning and the acquisition of meaningful living?
10. Do you think that one must have love for something, passion and commitment to achieve success? 
11. You had a love for self and passion for living and doing what you love? What are some things you have done to achieve it? 
12. Do you think that self-confidence, high self-worth and self-love have anything to do with achieving this state of being? 
13. Do you meet a lot of people who have experienced meaningful living? 
14. What recommendation (s) will you give to someone who will like to achieve that life path?

Some of the lessons learned were:

1. We learned that there is consistency in the meaning of meaningful living — in that when we are living a meaningful life we live a life where we see our world through the lenses of love and compassion. Where we are connected to the world and the people in it; and where "me-ism" does not exist. The individual also lives a life of love, and passion and compassion, doing what she or he loves and that which is not driven by wealth or money, but the foci is in creating and empowering others
2. Meaningful living can be attained by anyone, but it is also identified as a state of being that one may arrive at after experiencing a spiritual transformation after going through experience that has been very traumatic — through a discovery passage, but one can also achieve it because it is innate. 
3. We also learned that to live meaningfully, we must find something that we love, and that it should also be an endeavor that will help to build or empower others to grow and to strive.
4. We also learned that whatever you choose to do, you should also have passion and commitment towards it, so that it will continue to absorb you and ignite your creativity and love within you.
5. We also learned that age is not a factor in one's achievement of living a life that is meaningful. Some might experience it at a more mature stage in their lives while others may achieve it in their youth. A lot depend on ones awareness. 
6. We also learn the role that self-love, self-worth, high self-confidence and high self-esteem have to do with one achieving meaningful living.
7. And we also learned the importance of having the love and support from others in your environment; and how that love nurtures your transition..
8. And lastly the importance of forgiveness — the forgiveness of self and others.

These are some of the lessons learned about meaningful living. You can listen to the pod casts provided here to follow the interview between myself and guests on Women in Business Radio on the segment that looks at " meaningful living: What it is and can we achieve it? 
 

From the Editor
 
Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Dr Cheryl Cottle on BlogTalkRadio

Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Dr Cheryl Cottle on BlogTalkRadio