Evaluating Stress: Seeking Purpose and Meaning in Life

Understanding our needs around the presence and pursuit of meaning in life can significantly influence our mental health and well-being.

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Having a sense of meaning in life comprises two main components[1]:

  • Feeling a sense of purpose, overarching aim, or mission 
  • Recognizing the inherent value in living 

Finding meaning is a personal journey.  Men often derive meaning and purpose from specific achievements and successes, career milestones, fulfilling roles within their families, or more simply through living a healthy life.

Having a strong sense of meaning in life is positively associated with life satisfaction, subjective well-being (how you feel about your life), high self-esteem, and lower levels of substance abuse.[2]

STRUGGLING WITH FINDING PURPOSE?

Difficulty identifying a clear purpose in life is one of the most cited stressors by men who have taken our Stress Test, and is something many people deal with at various points in their lives. While not always easy, it is absolutely possible to find a sense of purpose or meaning in life. 

Those who struggle to identify purpose/meaning in life are more likely to suffer from psychological distress, often manifesting as anxiety and depression, and experience increased feelings of hopelessness characterized by a “negative belief and expectation about the future”.[3,4]

As noted above, there are many ways people can find purpose in their lives. As an example, religion is often cited as a key aspect of finding meaning. People who find meaning in religion usually do so through specific activities such as prayer, meditation, spiritual introspection, social gathering, and shared community.[2] These practices provide frameworks for understanding existence and purpose, and offer profound connections to something greater than oneself.

Others discover meaning through secular pursuits such as art, relationships, professional pursuits, experiencing awe, or performing acts of kindness. The search for meaning exists beyond religious boundaries and manifests in diverse personal experiences and philosophies.

The questionnaire presented below assesses two aspects of meaning: 

  • Presence of meaning
  • Search for meaning 

At the end of the questionnaire, we will provide some direction on how to interpret your results. This tool can be used to provide:

  • Insights into how the pursuit and presence of meaning in your life is currently affecting your well-being 
  • A way to track how these aspects of your life are changing over time

Come back and track your progress

This questionnaire can be taken at different times to track how the presence or lack of meaning in your life is affecting you over time. This can be helpful in identifying other aspects of your life and circumstances that influence your ability to find and identify meaning.

Disclaimer 

The Meaning in Life Questionnaire is used in a wide variety of research and clinical settings, but is not designed to give specific advice or diagnoses.[4] It is best used as a starting point for identifying whether or not a lack of purpose is having an impact on your well-being, and for tracking how this changes over time. 

To address any issues brought up by this assessment, the best course of action is to reach out to a qualified mental health professional who will be able to offer personalized guidance and counselling. 

Discussing these matters with family members, close friends or other confidants is another way to start finding purpose/meaning in your life.

Privacy

The questionnaire presented here is anonymous and no personally identifying information is required. It includes an opt-in demographic section that helps inform our understanding of our visitors and the development of our content.

Contact information for our email newsletter (if you choose to opt-in) and your MLQ responses are stored separately. See our terms, privacy, and conditions for more information.

References

  1. Steger, M. F. (2009). Meaning in life. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 679–687). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  2. Steger, M. F., & Frazier, P. (2005). Meaning in life: One link in the chain from religiousness to well-being. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(4), 574-582. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.4.574
  3. Sun, F., Wu, M., Yao, Y., Chiang, C., & Lu, C. (2022). Meaning in life as a mediator of the associations among depression, hopelessness and suicidal ideation: A path analysis. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 29(1), 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12739
  4. Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80-93. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80