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How to Live Meaningfully: Practices for Work, Ritual & Community – with Jeffrey Hanson
If happiness isn’t the goal, what practices actually make life meaningful?
In Part 2 of my conversation with philosopher Jeffrey Hanson, we move beyond definitions to explore how meaning is actually cultivated in the messy reality of daily life. We discuss why a meaningful life is often the opposite of a purely productive one, and why “getting more done” is rarely the answer to feeling fulfilled.
In this episode, we explore:
- The Work Trap: Why “workism” threatens flourishing, and how “job crafting” can help us reconnect our work to a larger sense of purpose.
- The Infrastructure of Meaning: Why habits, rituals, and even seemingly “pointless” activities like play are essential structures that anchor us in coherence.
- The Power of the Collective: The surprising link between shared rituals and wellbeing, and why community is indispensable for a meaningful life.
- The Role of Struggle: Why meaning doesn’t require constant happiness, but does require embracing difficulty, growth, and coherence over time.
Jeff offers a refreshing, no-nonsense look at how we can anchor ourselves in a distracted world through the very things we often overlook: our work, our rituals, and each other.
Further resources (from Parts 1 and 2)
Global Flourishing Study – a large international longitudinal study (≈220,000 participants across 22 countries) led by the Harvard Human Flourishing Program.
Hanson, J. & Tyler VanderWeele (2021). The Comprehensive Measure of Meaning: Psychological and Philosophical Foundations.
Harvard Human Flourishing Program – interdisciplinary research on human flourishing.
Joshua Seachris – What Makes Life Meaningful? (2020)
Roy Baumeister – foundational psychological work on meaning, purpose, and narrative.
Susan Wolf – Meaning in Life and Why It Matters (2010)
Jeffrey Hanson – Imagination, Suffering, and Perfection: A Kierkegaardian Reflection on Meaning in Life (2011), drawing on Søren Kierkegaard.
Hannah Arendt – The Human Condition (1958)
Thomas Nagel – The View from Nowhere (1986)
- Hanson, J. et al. (2022). Suffering, authenticity, and meaning in life: Toward an integrated conceptualization of well-being (Frontiers in Psychology).
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By Olivia HicksIf happiness isn’t the goal, what practices actually make life meaningful?
In Part 2 of my conversation with philosopher Jeffrey Hanson, we move beyond definitions to explore how meaning is actually cultivated in the messy reality of daily life. We discuss why a meaningful life is often the opposite of a purely productive one, and why “getting more done” is rarely the answer to feeling fulfilled.
In this episode, we explore:
- The Work Trap: Why “workism” threatens flourishing, and how “job crafting” can help us reconnect our work to a larger sense of purpose.
- The Infrastructure of Meaning: Why habits, rituals, and even seemingly “pointless” activities like play are essential structures that anchor us in coherence.
- The Power of the Collective: The surprising link between shared rituals and wellbeing, and why community is indispensable for a meaningful life.
- The Role of Struggle: Why meaning doesn’t require constant happiness, but does require embracing difficulty, growth, and coherence over time.
Jeff offers a refreshing, no-nonsense look at how we can anchor ourselves in a distracted world through the very things we often overlook: our work, our rituals, and each other.
Further resources (from Parts 1 and 2)
Global Flourishing Study – a large international longitudinal study (≈220,000 participants across 22 countries) led by the Harvard Human Flourishing Program.
Hanson, J. & Tyler VanderWeele (2021). The Comprehensive Measure of Meaning: Psychological and Philosophical Foundations.
Harvard Human Flourishing Program – interdisciplinary research on human flourishing.
Joshua Seachris – What Makes Life Meaningful? (2020)
Roy Baumeister – foundational psychological work on meaning, purpose, and narrative.
Susan Wolf – Meaning in Life and Why It Matters (2010)
Jeffrey Hanson – Imagination, Suffering, and Perfection: A Kierkegaardian Reflection on Meaning in Life (2011), drawing on Søren Kierkegaard.
Hannah Arendt – The Human Condition (1958)
Thomas Nagel – The View from Nowhere (1986)
- Hanson, J. et al. (2022). Suffering, authenticity, and meaning in life: Toward an integrated conceptualization of well-being (Frontiers in Psychology).