Are you living a VIP life?

I first asked myself about purpose after attending the One Young World summit in South Africa in 2013. Since then I have been searching. Trying to understand how to bring more purpose to my life. That is why I took Jennifer Aaker's class RETHINKING PURPOSE. One of my favorite readings in the class was about happiness vs meaning. And it helped me understand why I have been searching for more. Here are some notes, the article and a great video:

1. VIP lives: Lives full of Value, Impact and Purpose. "Social psychologists define MEANING as a cognitive and emotional assessment of the degree to which we feel our lives have value, impact and purpose (VIP)"

2. Meaning mind-set — that is, they seek connections, give to others, and orient themselves to a larger purpose.

3. It’s also important to understand what meaning is not. Having a sense of meaning is not the same as feeling happy.

4. Happiness is largely present-oriented, whereas meaningfulness involves integrating past, present, and future. Happiness was linked to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaningfulness went with being a giver rather than a taker.

5. Research has proved that having meaning improves your results at work and makes you a healthier person.

What this means for me is that the search is worth it and I will continue to pursue it!