The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness by Arthur C. Brooks

“…Matter-of-factly, he told me about his virtual job, dating apps, social media friends, and video gaming. But then, flatly, he said this: “I feel like I’m living in a simulation.” I asked others if they felt the same way. “Yes, yes—that’s it,” they told me. Life felt unreal: full of false rewards, empty accomplishments, therapeutic talk, and fake experiences, all curated to pass the time as painlessly as possible. I drilled down further: What exactly was missing? And this is where the penny finally dropped for me. What was missing was the one thing that can never be simulated: meaning. Again and again, people said that life was busy but not meaningful. That experiences and relationships felt meaningless. Or that they didn’t know what they were meant to do in work and life. The meaning of life: such a big question that it is the root of a lot of jokes. But it’s no joke in real life, especially when you can’t find it, like millions of people today. To understand why, let’s back up a little to talk more broadly about happiness, which happens to be the subject I study and teach. Researchers define happiness in a variety of ways, but the clearest characterization for me is one that brings meaning into the happiness equation, literally: Happiness = Enjoyment + Satisfaction + Meaning In other words, the happiest people enjoy their lives, take satisfaction in their activities and accomplishments, and have a sense of the meaning of their existence. Enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning…” — The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness by Arthur C. Brooks https://a.co/012tqBz8