Finding meaning in everyday life
Meaning is rarely one big answer. It’s usually built from small, ordinary moments that matter to you.
By the numbers
Where people say they find meaning.
United States
World
Research
What is meaning, really?
Three simple ingredients researchers describe.
Meaning can sound grand, like something only philosophers find. In everyday life, it’s simpler. It’s the sense that your life makes some sense, is heading somewhere, and matters.
Psychologists Frank Martela and Michael Steger describe three parts of meaning: coherence, purpose and significance. You can have more of one than another, and each can grow on its own.
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Coherence is the feeling that your life is understandable. Your past, present and hopes connect in a way that makes sense to you.
It often grows when you reflect: journaling, talking things through, or noticing how hard chapters shaped who you are now.
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Purpose is the motivational part of meaning: the goals and directions that pull you forward.
Purpose doesn’t need to be a big mission. Raising a child, caring for a garden, learning a skill or being a good neighbour all count.
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Significance is the sense that your life has value in itself. It’s often felt most strongly through the people, animals and places you love.
Your worth doesn’t depend on how productive or impressive you are. Being kind, present and yourself matters.
Everyday sources of meaning
Family, work, faith, friends, pets, hobbies and more.
When Pew asked thousands of Americans what gives their life meaning, family came first by far. Career, money, faith, friends, hobbies and pets came up too. Many people named several.
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Family was mentioned by 69% of U.S. adults, and about a third mentioned children or grandchildren. About one in five mentioned friends.
“Family” can mean the family you were born into, the one you made, or the people who feel like home. All of these count.
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About a third of Americans mentioned their career or job as a source of meaning.
Meaning at work often comes from the people you help or the skill you bring, even in jobs that aren’t glamorous. Unpaid roles, like caring for family, count just as much.
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When asked to rate sources, 45% of U.S. adults said caring for pets gives them a great deal of meaning.
Feeding, walking and being greeted by an animal gives shape to the day and a feeling of being needed.
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About one in five Americans mentioned hobbies and activities as a source of meaning.
Ideas people often name
- Cooking for others
- Gardening
- Making music or art
- Reading
- Sport, as a player or a fan
- Travel and exploring new places
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20% of Americans mentioned faith or spirituality in their own words. When asked to rate it, 36% said religion gives them a great deal of meaning.
Many people find meaning without religion too. See the section on faith or no faith below.
Connection: meaning through people
Relationships are one of the strongest roots of a good life.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed people for nearly 80 years. Its researchers found that close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy across their lives.
The CDC says social connection can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, depression and anxiety. It also helps people cope with stress.
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Meaningful connection isn’t only deep talks. Saying hello to the same people, sharing a joke or asking how someone’s day went builds a sense of belonging over time.
Try one this week
- Ask a follow-up question and really listen
- Eat one meal with someone, phones away
- Send a “thinking of you” message
- Thank someone by name
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The CDC describes social connectedness as having the number, quality and variety of relationships you want, and feeling you belong and are supported.
One or two trusted people can matter more than a big network.
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Feeling disconnected can make life feel emptier. That’s a signal, like hunger, telling you that you need connection, not a sign that something is wrong with you.
Contribution: helping & mattering
Doing something for others can make your own life feel fuller.
In a two-week study, on days when people helped others more than usual, stress had less effect on their mood and mental health. The helpful acts were small, like holding a door or asking someone if they needed help.
Volunteering can bring a sense of purpose, connection with others and a lift in mood.
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- Check on a neighbour
- Hold a door or let someone go ahead
- Leave a kind review for a small business
- Pick up litter on your walk
- Text someone who is having a hard time
These count. Meaning often hides in the small things we do without thinking.
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Being part of something regular, like a food bank shift, a youth team, an animal shelter or a faith group’s meal service, gives your week shape and a feeling of being needed.
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Showing a younger colleague the ropes, teaching a grandchild to cook, or sharing your story with someone going through what you went through can all feel deeply meaningful.
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If you already care for others a lot, adding more may not help. Meaning can also come from receiving care, resting and letting others give to you.
Living by your values
Values are a compass you can follow every day.
Values are the qualities you want to live by, like honesty, kindness, curiosity or courage. Goals can be finished. Values are never “done”, so they can guide you every single day.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a talking therapy built around this idea. It helps people make room for hard thoughts and feelings while taking steps that fit their values.
Find your values in 10 minutes
- Think of a moment you felt proud of yourself. What quality were you showing?
- Think of someone you admire. What do you admire about how they live?
- Write down 5 to 10 words that came up, like fairness, family, fun or learning.
- Circle the three that feel most like you.
- For each one, pick one small action you could take this week.
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- Courage: say one honest thing you usually hold back
- Curiosity: try a food, song or route you never have
- Kindness: do one thing for someone without being asked
- Health: take a 10-minute walk
- Family: call a relative just to chat
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Sometimes two values pull in different directions. That’s normal. You don’t have to pick one forever. Ask which value needs a bit more attention this week.
Awe & wonder in ordinary days
Noticing something bigger than yourself.
Awe is the feeling of being near something vast that stretches how you understand the world. It can come from nature, music, art, other people’s kindness, or a brilliant idea.
Researchers at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center report that people feel higher wellbeing on days they experience awe, and that awe can make people more generous and curious. They also note this research is still young.
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- Leave your phone behind or on silent
- Walk somewhere, even a city street
- Look up, look close, look far
- Notice one thing that surprises or amazes you
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Awe doesn’t need a mountain trip. Spending time with children, visiting a museum or watching a nature documentary can help you see ordinary things with fresh eyes.
Awe depends on novelty, so mix it up. The same view every day may lose its spark.
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Many people feel awe watching someone do something extraordinary: a musician on stage, an athlete, a nurse staying calm in a crisis, or a stranger helping another.
Faith, spirituality or no faith
Many paths to meaning, all worthy of respect.
Among Americans who said religion gives them a great deal of meaning, more than half called it their most important source. Many other people find meaning without any religion at all.
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For people of faith, meaning often comes from a relationship with God or the sacred, from teachings that make sense of life, and from a community that shares it.
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Some people feel connected to something bigger through nature, quiet reflection, music or a sense that all life is linked, without a religious label.
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Atheist, agnostic and humanist people often find meaning in relationships, helping others, creativity, learning and leaving the world a little better.
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Losing or questioning faith can leave a big hole where meaning used to be. That’s a real loss, and it deserves care. Many people rebuild meaning over time, in or outside their tradition.
Meaning in hard times
Finding something worth holding on to, without forcing it.
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl survived Nazi concentration camps and later wrote about meaning. He believed people can find meaning through creating, through love, and through the attitude they take toward suffering they cannot avoid.
His ideas became a therapy called logotherapy. Some experts see his views as too simple, and suffering does not have to be “worth it” to be survived.
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Being told “everything happens for a reason” can hurt. Some losses are just loss. Meaning, if it comes, often comes later, and in how you carry on rather than in the event itself.
What helps more to hear
- “This is so hard. I’m here.”
- “You don’t have to make sense of it right now.”
- “I’m not going anywhere.”
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On hard days, meaning can be very small: feeding the cat, watering a plant, keeping a promise to a friend, making it to the end of the day.
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Some people find meaning by carrying on a loved one’s traditions, telling their stories, or supporting a cause they cared about.
How community helps, and supporting someone
Meaning grows in good company.
The CDC notes that neighbourhoods, schools, places of worship, workplaces and parks are all places where connection forms. Shared spaces help people feel less isolated and more likely to give back.
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- Book clubs and libraries
- Community gardens
- Faith or interfaith groups
- Local sports teams or walking groups
- Mutual aid or neighbourhood groups
- Volunteer centres
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Helpful
- “That sounds really heavy. Tell me more.”
- “What used to light you up? Do you miss it?”
- “Want to come with me on Saturday? No pressure.”
Less helpful
- “Just think positive.”
- “Others have it worse.”
- “You have so much to be grateful for.”
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Asking someone to help with a project, join a walk or volunteer alongside you lets them feel useful and connected, without making a big deal of it.
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If someone says life has no point, it’s okay to ask kindly and directly if they’re thinking about suicide. Asking does not put the idea in their head. Stay with them and call or text 988 together.
When and where to get help
When emptiness lingers, you don’t have to wait it out alone.
Everyone goes through seasons where life feels flat. Talk with your clinical provider or a therapist if feeling empty or pointless lasts two weeks or more, or makes it hard to work, sleep, eat or enjoy anything. These can be signs of depression, which is treatable.
Talking therapies that can help
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), focused on values
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
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Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, to reach a trained counselor any time, for free. You don’t have to be suicidal to call. Emotional distress of any kind is a reason to reach out.
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Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the U.S. to reach a trained crisis counselor. Free and confidential.
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Find A Helpline lists free, confidential helplines by phone, text or chat in many countries. In immediate danger, call your local emergency number.
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Sources
- Pew Research Center (2018). Where Americans Find Meaning in Life
- Pew Research Center (2021). What Makes Life Meaningful? Views From 17 Advanced Economies
- JAMA Network Open (peer-reviewed) (2019). Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years (Alimujiang et al., JAMA Network Open 2(5):e194270)
- Journal of Positive Psychology (peer-reviewed), via Aalto University research portal (2016). The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance (Martela & Steger, Journal of Positive Psychology 11(5): 531–545)
- Harvard Gazette (Harvard University) (2017). Good genes are nice, but joy is better (Harvard Study of Adult Development)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024). Social Connection
- Peer-reviewed research, via PubMed Central (NIH) (2016). Prosocial Behavior Mitigates the Negative Effects of Stress in Everyday Life (Raposa, Laws & Ansell, Clinical Psychological Science 4(4): 691–698)
- Cleveland Clinic Newsroom (2022). Why Volunteering Can Benefit Your Mental Health
- Cleveland Clinic (2024). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): What It Is
- Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley. What Is Awe?
- Europe’s Journal of Psychology (peer-reviewed), via PubMed Central (NIH) (2021). Searching for Meaning in Chaos: Viktor Frankl’s Story (Bushkin, van Niekerk & Stroud, Europe’s Journal of Psychology 17(3): 233–242)
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Depression
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help Someone Else
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (#BeThe1To). #BeThe1To: The 5 Action Steps and the evidence behind them
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- Crisis Text Line. Crisis Text Line
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Crisis Text Line
- Find A Helpline (ThroughLine). Find A Helpline
- American Association of Suicidology (AAS) (2021). Find a Helpline Tool Expands to the United States in Partnership with the American Association of Suicidology
This guide is for education and self-care. It is not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional care. Please talk to a counselor or clinical provider about your health. Reviewed October 2026.
