vision in life essay

Essay on Vision In Life

Students are often asked to write an essay on Vision In Life in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Vision In Life

Vision – a guiding light in life’s journey.

A vision in life is like a North Star that guides us through the dark and uncertain paths of life. It is a clear and vivid mental picture of what we want to achieve in life, the person we aspire to be, and the impact we want to make on the world. Having a vision gives us direction, purpose, and motivation to take action and overcome obstacles.

Vision as a Catalyst for Action

A vision is not just a dream or wishful thinking; it is a powerful force that drives us to take action. When we have a clear vision of what we want to achieve, we are more likely to set goals, make plans, and take steps to move forward. A vision helps us stay focused and motivated, even when faced with challenges and setbacks.

Vision as a Source of Inspiration

A vision can be a source of inspiration for ourselves and others. When we share our vision with others, we can inspire them to dream big and work towards their own goals. A shared vision can bring people together and create a sense of community and purpose. A vision can also inspire us to be better versions of ourselves, to live with integrity, and to make a positive contribution to the world.

Conclusion: A Vision as a Compass for Life

In conclusion, a vision in life is like a compass that guides us through the journey of life. It gives us direction, purpose, and motivation to take action and overcome obstacles. A vision can inspire us to dream big, set goals, and make a positive impact on the world. It can also inspire others to join us on our journey and create a better future for all.

250 Words Essay on Vision In Life

What is vision in life.

Vision in life is like having a roadmap that helps you navigate your journey. It’s a picture of what you want to achieve in the future, whether it’s graduating from college, becoming a successful doctor, or starting your own business.

Why Is Vision Important?

Having a clear vision is important because it gives you direction and purpose. It helps you prioritize your goals and make decisions that align with your long-term plans. A vision also keeps you motivated and focused, even when you face challenges along the way.

How to Develop a Vision

To develop a vision, think about what you’re passionate about and what you want to accomplish in life. Consider your strengths, weaknesses, and values. Talk to your family and friends to get their insights and support. Once you have a good idea of what you want, write it down and make it specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Living Your Vision

Once you have your vision, start taking steps to make it a reality. Set goals, create a plan, and work hard every day. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments along the way. Remember, setbacks are a part of life, and it’s how you respond to them that matters.

Benefits of Having a Vision

Having a vision can make a big difference in your life. It can help you achieve success, find happiness, and live a more fulfilling life. When you know what you want, it becomes easier to find the motivation and determination to go after it.

500 Words Essay on Vision In Life

What is vision.

Vision is a clear idea of what you want to achieve in the future. It is a goal or a dream that you are working towards. When you have a vision, you are more likely to be motivated and persistent in your efforts. You are also more likely to be successful in achieving your goals.

Why is Vision Important?

Vision is important because it gives you direction and purpose. It helps you to focus on what is important and to prioritize your goals. When you have a vision, you are more likely to take action and to persevere even when faced with challenges.

There are a few things you can do to develop a vision for your life. First, take some time to reflect on your values and what is important to you. What do you want to achieve in your life? What kind of person do you want to be? Once you have a good understanding of your values, you can start to develop a vision that is aligned with them.

Setting Goals

Once you have a vision, you can start to set goals. Goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By setting goals, you are breaking down your vision into smaller, more manageable steps. This makes it easier to track your progress and to stay motivated.

Taking Action

The most important thing is to take action. Once you have a vision and you have set goals, you need to start taking action to achieve them. This means taking small steps every day that will move you closer to your goals. It is important to be patient and persistent.

Vision and Success

Vision is essential for success. When you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, you are more likely to be motivated and persistent in your efforts. You are also more likely to be successful in achieving your goals. So if you want to be successful in life, start by developing a vision for your future.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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15 Personal Vision Statement Examples

Now that you recognize it's time to approach your life proactively, you need to create a personal vision statement .

Clearly defining the vision you have for your life requires more than just thinking about it. You need to write it down.

The act of writing something down and then reading it daily reinforces the message and makes it more real.

Even better, print out your personal vision statement and post it where you can see it frequently.

This reminder will increase your motivation and foster the self-growth you desire.

What Is a Personal Vision Statement?

How to write a personal vision statement, final thoughts.

A personal vision statement is a clear, concise summary of your personal goals and dreams for the future . It serves as an anchor when life pulls you in different directions.

It is also a guide for making decisions based on your values, and it helps you stay focused on the goals you want to achieve.

The process of writing one compels you to think about the purpose of your life and how to achieve that.

You'll identify your most important guiding principles and describe how you intend to apply them to your life.

Your statement also introduces you to the power of setting concrete goals. Research by psychologist Gail Matthews found that people who wrote down their goals succeeded 33% more often than people who only thought about their goals.

If you want to live the life you envision, you need to avoid the trap of abandoning your dreams in the realm of the abstract. Writing down your vision is the best way to actualize it.

To get started, you can study personal vision statement examples to get ideas about how to write yours.

Writing a personal vision statement begins with free writing. At this point, you simply ask yourself questions and write down whatever comes to mind. Don't impose any judgments at this point because you want to uncover your hopes and dreams for the future.

List your personal strengths .
List your personal weaknesses.
Write down your core values .
Think about how your values should guide interactions with family, at work, and within your community.
Consider the best uses for your life energy based on your inner compass and values.
Identify some specific goals that you want to pursue.
Imagine the legacy of your purpose, goals, and actions.
Examine your notes to see what jumps out as most important.
Compose a paragraph that summarizes your priorities in the form of a vision statement.

It's important to keep your vision statement as a single paragraph. This way, you'll be able to read it easily and frequently.

If you want to write more paragraphs to address specific goals, that's fine, but these would be supplemental to your main vision statement.

Here are several vision statement examples you can use to help you brainstorm your own. There are no strict rules here related to the words you choose and the concepts you include.

man sitting at desk with computer personal vision statements

But if any of the statements in these examples resonate with you, feel free to make them your own and rewrite them to suit your goals and dreams.

I want to be a source of stability and inspiration for my family. I commit myself to succeed in my career while balancing my emotional needs with those of family members. I want my actions to promote harmony and increase everyone's chance for future happiness. When stress threatens to overtake me, I consciously take time to calm down to prevent acting with hostility or annoyance toward others. I also express my needs and seek support from others instead of letting my problems stew inside me as I've been prone to do in the past.

My life's work has a greater purpose beyond my own material needs. I identify a problem in my community and take responsibility for contributing to its solution. My purpose is to serve others in a way that best matches my skills and values, and I am committed to making choices in my personal and professional life that furthers that purpose.

My personal vision recognizes that I am a small part of a living Earth. I want to live in a way that represents authentic participation in a sustainable ecosystem. My guiding principle is reducing my negative impact on the environment. I direct my spare time toward regenerative practices that nurture the soil, such as gardening and tree planting. I control my consumption by choosing a modestly-sized home and reducing my production of plastic waste through conscious consumer choices and actions. I become an example to others for the purpose of spreading a greater appreciation for green living.

My vital role in the lives of my children automatically means that I have a great purpose in life. Instead of dreaming about the world seeing my value, I strive every day to be the hero of my family. My job as a parent is to mindfully raise my children in an environment of acceptance, love, and affirmation.

Advancing my career is important for me at this point in life. If I achieve my career goals, I'll have greater financial stability and peace of mind. To make these things happen, I intend to set certain standards for my professional life and only make strategic compromises. I want to keep myself accountable for my career instead of falling back into the habit of blaming others for my disappointments. I cannot control everything that influences my career, but I can persist after setbacks and focus on what I can do to improve my skills and increase my value. This means that I should seek continuing education and make time for networking with colleagues. I must put myself out there to connect with opportunities.

My rough childhood has inspired me to choose a career in teaching. I accept the challenges of this occupation with grace because children need positive adults in their lives. For some children, a caring adult within their community can give them hope when things aren't good at home. I believe that this purpose helps me be content with my life and heal the wounds from my past.

Where Do I See Myself in 10 Years: Envisioning a Decade Ahead

Table of contents, where i see myself in 10 years: a profound exploration, 10 years from now: nurturing personal and professional growth, how do i see myself 10 years from now: a commitment to values, embracing the journey of the next decade, turning dreams into reality: the road to my future, navigating the career landscape: a fulfilling professional journey, fostering personal growth: a holistic approach to well-being, a global citizen: making a positive impact on society, conclusion: a journey of transformation and purpose.

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What is your vision (purpose) in life? Sample interview answers

It is much easier to deal with everyday struggles once you have a vision in life . Following some meaningful purpose –meaningful for you, because at the end of the day what others think about your vision doesn’t matter–you enjoy the process of overcoming challenges, and always getting one step closer to turning your vision into reality . And while we do not achieve all our goals, and may fail to materialize our dreams, it is still better living with some vision, seeing a purpose in what you do, simply because people with vision enjoy their life and jobs more… But what do the hiring managers (or people at school, should you apply for a place in a study program) want to hear from you, once inquiring about your vision in life? We will try to find the answers on the following lines.

First of all, they want to hear that you have some vision, some purpose . You do not go to school or job just because everyone does the same thing. On the contrary, you try to achieve something with your everyday activities, and it drives you forward, and helps you to overcome the obstacles. Secondly, the vision you present in the interviews should make sense in the context of your job/study program application . Let me explain. Applying for a job of a logistics manager, it makes little sense saying that your vision is to become the best veterinarian in LA. Such vision would make sense in a vet school interview, but not in a logistics interview.

Anyway, let’s have a look at 7 sample answers to this question. Read them for your inspiration, but do not copy any of them . Vision or purpose of life is a very personal thing , and not something you should simply copy from somewhere. The answers on my list should help you find the answers within you , while you try to discover your vision and purpose, one you can talk about in the interview but perhaps also pursue in your life. I tried to come up with some variety , and hope that once you are done with the answers, you will know what you want to say in your next interview. Enjoy!

7 sample answers to “What is your vision in life?” interview question

My vision is to lead a balanced and successful life . I know it may seems a bit general, but my idea is to make a successful corporate career , and at the same time start a family, being a good husband and eventually a good father. I know it isn’t easy nowadays, with the pressure in the workplace and the distractions around us, not to speak about climate change, pandemics, and what not. But I believe that if I approach each day with the right mindset , and with a plan, and limit distractions to minimum, I can attain my vision, and enjoy my everyday life . I see the job in your corporation as the next step on my way, and hope you will give me a chance to prove my motivation and skills.
My vision in life is to run my own veterinary clinic one day . It seems far-fetched, considering I’m just in my early twenties and applying for a place at vet school, but it is the final goal, and the image of the clinic in my head motivates me to try hard , to prepare for the interviews, to become the best student I can be, and to overcome the obstacles I will undoubtedly face. You know, I want to work primarily with horses, and have a specific idea of the place–where it will be, the building, the staff members, the marketing. I get goosebumps talking about it , and feel fortunate to be in a position to pursue such a vision.
My biggest vision in life is to help to stop the climate catastrophe . Now I know it won’t be easy, and that my activity–whatever it may be, will be just a drop in the ocean. Having said that, even the biggest ocean consists of drops of water, and just to contribute to stopping the global warming is motivating for me enough to pursue my career in this field, and to apply for a job in your NGO . Because I believe you make an impact, and with the right people onboard the impact can be even bigger. Actually I feel that I am on my way towards the vision already, just interviewing for a job with you. There’s nothing better than to live with purpose , and you can be sure I do not find it hard getting up from bed in the morning!
To be honest, I am till trying to formulate my vision , to find my calling in life. As a good student and intellectually gifted person, I know I have many options. And I definitely want to identify my purpose, since down the road it will help me make the right career decisions . At the time being, however, I do not have it yet, and it is one of the reasons why I want to study business management at your college. Any organization–private or public, needs good managers and leaders. Hence whatever I decide to do with my life in the future, whatever vision I will pursue, the education at your place will only help me on my way…
More than anything else, my vision is to live every day with purpose, and play a positive role in the lives of people I interact with . In my opinion, it doesn’t matter that much what exactly you do–be it employment, business, traveling, or even just hanging around with people. Regardless of your activity or occupation, you always have interactions with other people , and with the environment. My vision is to play a positive role in these interactions , and simply have a positive impact in this great and complicated puzzle called life. And I believe that to some extend I am already living this vision, which is the reason why I am satisfied with myself and my life.
My vision in life is to become financially independent by the age of 40 . It doesn’t mean that I do not want to work once I reach forty. I enjoy working, but I want to be financially independent and have a freedom of choice when it comes to my daily activities and occupation . Where else can one achieve such goals than on Wall Street? I know thousands try each year and just dozens make it, but I want to be the best account executive, and I am ready to sacrifice the next five years for my job , and for eventually attaining my vision.
My vision is to become a professional tennis player one day . This is what I wake up for, a train for hours daily. But I also realize life is not simple, and one injury can put a dent to your dreams, regardless of how hard you try. That’s why I apply for a scholarship with your college , because I want to have a great education I can fall back on, instead of relying just on my sporting career. I also want to add that regardless of how hard I try and want to become a pro, I realize that there are many meaningful walks of life. If I do not become a professional tennis player, I can still imagine myself doing a lot of other things, contributing to the society, and living a happy family life…

Ready to answer this one? I hope so! Do not forget to check also 7 sample answers to other tricky interview questions:

What is your dream in life?
What are your career aspirations?
What is the most challenging goal you’ve ever set for yourself?
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Why Having A Vision Is The Most Important Aspect Of Your Life

Photo by Phong Nguyen

The million dollar question that we all asked ourselves at one time or the other is, why are we here? And where do we see ourselves in life? We all are here with a specific purpose but what helps us move and direct our purpose is a vision. What exactly is vision? The dictionary defines vision as an act or power of anticipating which will or may come to be. Vision gives direction and a glimpse over our life to make our goals and purpose become a reality. In order to understand where we want ourselves to be in life, we must have a clear vision over our life. So, once you understand that vision clarifies purpose, life will become simpler and more meaningful. It’s so important to have vision and purpose because; it actually controls and makes our decisions, which ultimately creates our lifestyle. I will highlight and break down three ways how vision directs us to our purpose.

The great thing about vision is, once you realize your vision, you will slowly detach from people who don’t fit in your vision and you will align yourself with people who do. No one will be able to fulfill one’s purpose alone, because one’s purpose is bigger than oneself at the moment and that is the intended purpose! The great thing about purpose is, it will not only benefit and help you, but it will also make room for other people to learn and grow in your purpose and in your vision as well. So when you hear people say, “I’m a Self-Made Millionaire”, please do not be fooled by the propaganda because no one is a self-made millionaire, anyone who is successful financially, is successful because of their ability to communicate their vision and surround themselves with people who were willing to invest in their vision. Your friends should be the same way; they should be able to help you fulfill your purpose and vision by adding value to it. Once you understand your vision it will direct people who are willing to sew in it, if you’re open and honest.

This example supports that time is the most important resource we have as it is the only resource that is not renewable. Time wasted today, we cannot get back tomorrow because tomorrow is not guaranteed. Money, people, and opportunities can always come again later in life, but once the time is gone it is gone forever. Vision will not allow you to waste time.

To prepare for this you might take time to read business books for 30 minutes, first thing every morning, to give you a better understanding on what it means to run a business, once you get in the office, you might listen to business interviews from other entrepreneurs on Forbes and Bloomberg, to learn common threads on what made them successful and you might even attend monthly seminars in the Network and learn from other entrepreneurs in the field first hand for a better understanding.

Habits are things we do every day most of the time without even thinking about it, but the people who are successful are the ones who are conscious of their habits.

Create and follow habits that bring you closer to your vision and purpose. It’s important to know that the way we spend our time, energy and resources can contribute and bring us one step closer than we were yesterday.

Finding and realizing your purpose is not easy. With everyone telling us what we’re good at, and how we should live our life and what careers we should explore, it can be pretty confusing and chaotic at times. But once you realize your purpose for yourself and write down your vision, life becomes simple and less complex. Society has made us believe, the busier we are, the more successful and important we are, which, most times is far from the truth. Once we understand our purpose our life becomes more narrow, more focused and much clearer because, we know what we want . Discover your purpose and create your vision and watch where life takes you. Just make sure you buckle up and enjoy the ride.

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How to Craft an Inspiring Personal Vision Statement

This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to write a compelling personal vision statement that will inspire you toward your Future Self.

Ready to get started?

Let’s dive in …

What is a Personal Vision?

Outperforming businesses have a clear vision to help their organizations stay in alignment and move toward shared goals.

Personal vision statements do the same thing for the individual: they clarify where you want to go in the future and help keep you in alignment.

A personal vision can focus on your professional aspirations, personal development goals, or both.

A personal vision statement describes your future state—also called your Future Self. Think of it as your personal North Star.

The goal of crafting your vision is to simply capture the things that are most important to you .

Why Create a Personal Vision Statement?

Why? Because it’s easy to get distracted and to lose sight of what’s important to us.

When we get disconnected from our life’s focus, other people’s agendas come before our own. (Oftentimes, these agendas are cultural or societal.)

Have you noticed how at times every phone call, email, and notification on your screen draws your full attention, w hile at other times, you’re absorbed in your work regardless of the distractions?

Vision doesn’t eliminate distraction. It inspires and helps us focus on what matters most to us.

Vision provides clarity for the future while directing us to pay attention to the present.

As W. Timothy Gallwey writes in The Inner Game of Work :

If you have a clear vision of where you want to go, you are not as easily distracted by the many possibilities and agendas that otherwise divert you.

A compelling personal vision statement can illuminate our way in periods of darkness. It can inspire us to shed all the stuff that holds us back.

As Steven Covey wrote in his best-selling classic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , “Begin with the end in mind.” Our personal vision IS the end.

Finally, a compelling vision statement directs us toward self-actualization .

4 Reasons Why Many People Struggle With Vision

Even though many people can see the value in crafting a vision for their lives, we often resist the process and avoid arriving at clarity. Why?

There are at least four underlying reasons. Understanding these blocks can free us from the resistance that keeps us from creating a personal vision statement.

1 – Cultural Conditioning

From our early education onward, we have been conditioned to make decisions based on limited options. (Think multiple-choice tests like A, B, C, or D.)

We make choices based on what’s in front of us; what we believe to be available to us.

Creating a vision demands that we draw from an infinite range of choices, which makes us uncomfortable. So we tend to stay within what’s known to us.

2 – Visualization is a Skill

Visualization is a skill that operates like a muscle. Many of us stopped exercising this muscle during childhood.

Now, it feels uncomfortable to try to visualize and imagine our future.

Many people mistakenly convince themselves they can’t visualize or it doesn’t work for them. That’s simply a belief; it’s ungrounded and untrue.

The more we visualize, the better we get at creating from our imagination .

3 – Fear

We’re afraid we may not succeed. We question our competence, our ability to persevere.

We are uncertain of our value: are we worthy of dreaming big? What if we fail?

A part of us is used to playing small. To this part, safety is more important than growth. Yet, a vision is a roadmap toward growth.

The unlimited range of options we must draw upon scares us too.

4 – Perfectionism

We believe we need the “right” vision—the perfect vision.

The perfectionist in us needs to craft an ideal vision statement that’s timeless and true for all eternity.

Naturally, this doesn’t reflect reality. In becoming aware of this false belief, it no longer limits us.

6 Personal Vision Statement Examples

How long should your vision statement be?

While that’s entirely up to you, in my experience as a coach for over 25 years, I’ve found that a functional vision statement is usually somewhere between two and five sentences.

Vision statements can be personally oriented, professionally oriented, or a combination thereof.

Let’s look at some examples.

Personal Vision Statement Examples – Professional

Here are two professional-oriented vision statement examples:

1) “I am a strong, bold, and compassionate leader committed to growing as a steward of my business and as a provider for my family. My leadership team members are self-directed and trust each other and themselves.”

2) “I am a skillful writer, coach, and educator who is highly respected in my industry. My work is read by millions of people each year. I communicate with lucidity, integrity, and wisdom.”

Notice how these vision examples are oriented toward the person’s career and professional life while still highlighting their personal values .

Personal Vision Statement Examples – Personal

Here are two vision statement examples with an emphasis on the personal:

3) “I put my spirit and soul first in making important decisions. I derive personal meaning from my learning and growth and who am becoming. I feel secure in myself regardless of how others may perceive me.”

4) “I am constantly learning and developing new skills that enrich my life and provide a greater feeling of confidence and completeness. I naturally inspire others to realize their best selves too.”

Both of these aspirational vision statement examples provide clear direction to the individual’s Future Self.

Personal Vision Statement Examples – Personal + Professional

Here are two vision statement examples that combine both personal and professional:

5) “I feel awake, alive, joyful, grateful, and free in the present moment. My heart, body, and mind operate as a single organism. I conduct myself with compassion and awareness in both my work and personal relationships, especially my marriage.”

6) “I am the messenger for the energy of my work which flows through me spontaneously. I move toward integration and wholeness each day, able to be more vulnerable, honest, and open in how I present myself. Having reparented myself and healed my inner child, I am once again playful and creative in my way of being.”

The above vision statement examples are chock full of specific, emotionally charged words that will inspire the individual. Vision statements that combine both personal and professional goals tend to be longer.

5 Qualities of an Effective Personal Vision Statement

What can we observe from the above examples?

You’ll often see vision statements written in the future tense. (For example, I will be …)

In my experience, however, it’s best to craft your life vision in the present tense . You are essentially taking a snapshot of the future and bringing it into the present.

This way, your subconscious mind begins to identify with your future vision right now instead of at some ambiguous and unknown time in the future (a moving target).

Also, try to avoid speaking in terms of the negative. That is, don’t focus on what you don’t want; clarify and state what you do want.

For example, instead of saying that you don’t want to feel chronic anxiety anymore, say that you want to feel calm and centered.

Here are five key elements of an effective personal vision:

Present tense-oriented
Focuses on what you want (not what you want to avoid)
Aspirational
Uses emotional words that are meaningful to you
Evokes a clear image in your mind

Regarding point #5, you want your vision statement to evoke a clear image of your Future Self. This is how you’ll know if you’re moving toward your vision or not.

9 Ingredients for Your Personal Vision Statement

Below is a list of elements to consider when you’re ready to create your personal vision statement. Don’t worry. You don’t need to know all of these ingredients.

1) Core Values

What are the five to ten things you stand by and value the most? If you need assistance determining your values, here’s a list of core values to review. Also, here’s my 7-Step DIY Values Assessment you can use to discover your values when you’re ready.

2) Primary Interests

What are about five things you enjoy doing the most? What lights you up? What can’t you live without?

3) Areas of Focus

What are the major categories of your life that always need your attention? (A list of sample categories is found in the Wheel of Life Assessment. )

4) Character Strengths

What are you naturally good at? Positive psychology has found that individuals who play to their natural strengths have more happiness in the present moment. Here’s a summary of their findings on authentic happiness . (You can take a free assessment from the VIA Institute to discover your strengths here. )

5) Aspirational Dreams

If this was your last day on earth, what would you regret not doing, seeing, or creating?

6) Desired Skills

What are up to three areas you strongly want to cultivate skills in that will in some way enrich your life experience? Some of these skills may be tied to your vocation while others may not.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow often told his students: 1 Maslow, Abraham H. (1943) “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review , 50, 370-396.

“A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization .”

So what do you find enjoyment in doing? What do you want to immerse yourself in?

7) Vocational Goals

What are the three to five things you must do to feel fulfilled in your work?

8) Primary Life Goals

What are the key goals you’re committed to achieving in your life? Perhaps within the next five to ten years.

9) Key Virtues

Are any of the universal virtues for a strong moral character important for your vision? Review this list of virtues and see what speaks to you.

___________________

How many of the above elements are essential for your vision statement? That’s up to you.

Remember, your vision statement can be as short or long as you need it to be.

Exercises to Use Before Capturing Your Vision

Okay, so there’s a fifth reason people struggle with finding their vision: they don’t get into the right mental and physical state before going through this type of process .

You create a personal vision by going through a discovery process to clarify what’s most important to you (the ingredients listed above).

To do this, you must be in a frame of mind that’s open, alert, centered, and ready. We might call this mindset the state of mastery. Years ago, I created a simple and effective method for helping individuals enter this state at will. (You can learn more about this program here .)

Below are three exercises to help you access this state quickly and easily.

If you already have your own methods for finding your center, terrific. Use them.

Or, try using the following exercises to prime yourself before you go through any of the discovery questions listed above.

Exercise #1: Quiet Your Mind with Your Breath

To get in the right frame of mind, t he key is to find your center .

When you’re in your center, you are fully present. Your mind isn’t racing to the future or ruminating in the past. Instead, it’s calm, empty, and alert.

In your center, you aren’t inflated or deflated. You avoid extremes in either direction.

To help center yourself, make sure you’re breathing properly : quietly, deeply, steadily, and slowly.

Exercise #2: Connect to Your Heart

Next, place your awareness on your heart. Gently smile inwardly at your heart.

Breathe in and acknowledge your heart. Breathe out and say to your heart, “Thank you.”

Do this for three full breaths, still inhaling and exhaling calmly, smoothly, and quietly.

Feel the warmth of being connected to your heart.

Exercise #3: Remember WHY You’re Focus on Vision

Finally, remind yourself: The goal of crafting your vision is to capture what’s most important to you.

You are clarifying your Future Self—who you want to become.

Keep the words of the late mythologist Joseph Campbell in mind: 2 Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth , 1991.

“Just sheer life cannot be said to have a purpose because look at all the different purposes it has all over the place. But each incarnation, you might say, has a potentiality, and the mission of life is to live that potentiality. How do you do it? My answer is, ‘Follow your bliss.’ There’s something inside you that knows when you’re in the center, that knows when you’re on the beam or off the beam. And if you get off the beam to earn money, you’ve lost your life. And if you stay in the center and don’t get any money, you still have your bliss.”

What is your “potentiality”? What’s your vision for yourself that transcends basic human needs and society’s values?

4 Steps to Craft Your Personal Vision Statement

Here’s a 4-step process you can use to craft your vision:

Step 1: Collect the necessary discovery process data.

You’ll want to have clarity on at least the first four of the nine ingredients listed above:

Core values
Primary interests
Areas of Focus

These ingredients represent the raw material for your vision statement. However, the more data you can collect in this step, the better.

You might, for example, block off time to go through Steps 1 through 3 for each ingredient .

You block off Saturday and Sunday morning to discover your personal values .

Tuesday, you schedule an hour to define your character strengths . And so.

Then, when you feel like you have amassed sufficient personal data, move on to Step 4.

Step 2: Block off time and remove unnecessary distractions.

Block off time when you can focus without distractions to write your vision statement.

Shut off your phone. Close your email application.

Make sure you do this any time you’re working on a personal discovery process.

Step 3: Get in the right frame of mind.

Use the exercises above to enter the right frame of mind to delve into these discovery processes.

The point of these exercises is to help remove internal resistance so you can arrive at clarity faster.

The process will go more smoothly if you perform the above exercises to quiet your mind and connect to your heart before crafting your vision.

Step 4: Craft your personal vision statement.

Remind yourself that this process doesn’t have to yield a “perfect” vision statement.

Any vision is better than no vision. Whatever you create is not set in stone. It can evolve with you over time.

So for now, with all of your keywords and data from Step 3, write down a “working vision.”

Look at it as a first draft.

Allow your vision to paint a mental picture of your life 5 to 20 years from now.

Have it highlight what matters most to you, what you stand for, and who you are committed to becoming.

Write it in the present tense so that it feels as if it exists right now .

Personal Vision Statement Template

Here’s a sample template you can use to write out your vision statement:

Each day I uphold the values of [insert values] in all that I do. I am filled with vitality and passion when I [insert primary interests]. Each week I grow in the key areas of my life including [insert areas of focus]. I feel content and enriched each day because I capitalize on my natural strengths of [insert strengths] by doing [insert how you apply these strengths in your work and home life]. I’m continuously developing [insert skills] for the sheer joy of doing something I love doing.

Only use this template as a guide if it helps you.

Otherwise, craft your statement in Step 4 however you see fit.

Personal Vision Statement FAQ

Here are a few common questions about creating a personal vision statement.

How Long Does It Take to Write Your Vision Statement?

Writing your vision statement is straightforward. (I provide you with a personal vision statement template below.)

I think the mistake many people make is that they think they’re going to write their vision statement in one sitting. This is a highly unrealistic expectation, in my experience.

The time-consuming part is clarifying the most essential ingredients for your vision statement. Examine the list of 9 ingredients above.

It won’t serve you to rush through this process to complete your vision as quickly as possible. (It might take weeks, if not longer.)

Instead, allow the questions above to percolate in your mind. Ask these questions before you go to sleep. Keep a pen and pad by your bedside.

You don’t need to use force to draw these answers out of you. You need only allow them to come forward.

When Should You Use Your Life Vision?

Once you have a draft of your personal vision statement, consider reviewing it:

At the start of the week.
Sunday night. Take a few minutes to connect with your vision to prime you for the week ahead.
When you feel lost or confused. When you’re distracted by 10,000 things, pause and review your vision.
When you feel a part of you questioning the purpose and meaning of your life. Remind yourself that you have created personal meaning. Then, return to your life vision statement.

Review it frequently until it becomes a part of you.

How Do Use Your Personal Vision?

A few words on a screen or a piece of paper don’t hold much power.

If you want your vision to drive you to your desired destination, don’t just read it. Embody it. Bring it to life.

Create a mental picture of it in your mind’s eye. See yourself in the end picture with your vision actualized.

What do you look like?
What are you doing?
As you’re actualizing your vision, how do you feel ?

The more clearly you can connect with the images and feelings reflected in your vision, the more likely you are to take the right actions toward manifesting it.

And somehow, when you’re living your vision, you get external help too.

As author Paulo Coelho put it in The Alchemist :

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Two Essential Self-Development Tools for Lasting Change

While willpower is an essential element of creating positive change in our lives, the reality is that it has its limitations: that is, our mental energy is finite.

So when it comes to establishing good habits and making them stick, as a coach, I’ve found there to be two essential ingredients:

A personal vision for your Future Self that guides you forward
A clear set of values that highlight your ideal behavior

Armed with vision and values, it’s way easier to make behavioral course corrections that lead to positive change .

You now have a method to craft your personal vision statement.

Enjoy the process!

profound meditation program for visioning

Use Sound Tech to Help You Access Your Vision

Music is powerful. But music encoded with biofield technology is a whole lot more powerful.

iAwake Technology’s programs can help you access a state of mind more conducive to realizing your vision.

I’ve used iAwake’s catalog of programs for years.

Download free sample tracks here.

Disclaimer: affiliate link above.

Self-Mastery: How to Break Through Internal Resistance

A Complete Guide to Self-Actualization

The Four Stages of Learning Anything

About the Author

Scott Jeffrey is the founder of CEOsage, a self-leadership resource publishing in-depth guides read by millions of self-actualizing individuals. He writes about self-development, practical psychology, Eastern philosophy, and integrated practices. For 25 years, Scott was a business coach to high-performing entrepreneurs, CEOs, and best-selling authors. He's the author of four books including Creativity Revealed .

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What is Your Vision and Mission Statement for Life?

Jane 1 Comment

March 1, 2019

What is your vision and mission statements for your life? Are they clear? Do you take conscious steps each day to fulfil your mission and vision?

In this post I am going to discuss –

What is a Vision for Life ?
Why Have a Vision for Your Life?

What is a Mission Statement for Life?

Why have a mission statement for your life, what is the difference between a vision and mission statement.

Let’s get started…

What is a Vision for Life?

A vision is your vision of the future – what you want to create and achieve in the future. It is your inspiration and guides your planning, As Stephen Covey writes in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – “Begin with the End in Mind” and Timothy Gallwey in the Inner Game of Work –

“If you have a clear vision of where you want to go, you are not as easily distracted by the many possibilities and agendas that otherwise divert you.”

The timeframe for a vision is up to you.

Why Have a Vision for Your Life ?

Having a vision helps you to –

stay focused ,
make conscious choices – especially about your prioritises ,
eliminate or at least minimise distractions (or bright shiny objects 🙂 ),

The first time I heard of a mission statement was reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey . In that book, Covey’s definition of a personal mission statement says –

“… it focuses on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.” (p1598).

A personal mission statement becomes a standard or personal constitution for the individual. The basis for making major and life-directing decisions. It allows the individual to flow with changes in life. A personal mission statement is not something you write overnight – it takes time and –

helps you keep your personal ‘why’ and purpose (reason for being) clear,
is personal, positive, in the present tense, visual and emotional, and
can align to your specific roles and goals in life.

Having a mission statement is similar to having a vision for your life in that it helps you –

eliminate or at least minimise distractions (or bright shiny objects 🙂 ) as well as
align to your capabilities, roles, intentions and goals in life.

Many people use a vision and mission statement interchangeably, however I see a difference. Most notably – a vision is about your future and who you want to BE, whilst the mission statement focuses on today and what you do through your actions and behaviours .

Over to You…

I hope this post has give you some insight in to a vision and mission statement and how they are different. Once you know your vision and mission, it will help you prioritise your quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily actions and behaviours . Any questions, please write them below! Also – if you want to create your own vision, you can find out more here .

If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and opening your heart , why not join our Toolkit ?

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Essay on Actions

My Personal Vision Statement Essay

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Actions , Life , Learning , Money , Milestone , Goals , Vision , People

Published: 12/13/2021

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I. Introduction As I mature each day, I realize how important it is to develop and refine my personal vision statement, which would serve to guide the course of my life as I make decisions and actions. In other words, my personal vision statement is what I feel and think most of the time to achieve my objectives in life. I believe that a well-thought of and worthwhile personal vision will help me chart my career and life by setting goals with critical decisions and actions. Hence, in this essay, I offered three learning goals, as well as, two milestones and one action plan for each goal. II. Learning Goals, Milestones, and Action Steps My initial learning goal is to be a manager within a span of five years. For my first milestone, I have to climb the organizational ladder each year until such time I attain managerial position. To do so, I need to apply whatever relevant things I learned in my courses on leadership. Second, I have to surround myself with people (such as, expert leadership mentor and trustworthy colleagues) to attain my desired organizational rank. Personally, I have to use decision-oriented and action-directed style to fulfill these milestones. My initial action plan is to build my career from the company where I would work with passion, dedication, sense of fulfillment, loyalty, love, inter alia. My second learning goal is to be financially stable throughout my career. My first milestone is to save money and later on invest it. It is always good to save money in order to avoid loans and related debts. My second milestone is to work smartly and fruitfully by, say, working overtime without sacrificing my well-being, family and social life. I think that success also lies beneath those people we come to have contact with as we forge lasting relationship with them. With those milestones in mind, my initial action plan is to perform at my best in my work, social and personal life. I need a balanced outlook and lifestyle to stay fit – physically, mentally, socially, etc. – as I fulfill my life’s desire. My last learning goal is to do philanthropic activities, locally and abroad. As I perform the tasks of giving and helping out people and groups in need, I would also be travelling abroad by those times. To be able to do my third goal, my initial milestone is to work productively to earn more money from my work and investments. Moreover, I need to apply what I learned from my continuing professional studies, such as about saving and investing my hard-earned money. My second milestone is to create a network of local and international philanthropist organization so that we can do better in giving hope to disadvantaged people. My action plan is to learn from the stories of successful philanthropists on how they were able to help others despite the temptations of using their money primarily for their own selves, families and relatives. III. Conclusing Remarks I strongly believe that my learning goals of becoming a manager, a financially stable person, and philanthropist are all worth them to live by a meaningful life with lasting impact to my loved ones and the world over. Likewise, with the milestones or significant events in my life’s projects, I would then be an example to others to emulate. With each action plan in my personal vision statement, nothing should get in the way of fulfilling them all by being true to myself and others who would benefit from my decisions and actions.

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The Meaning of Life

Many major historical figures in philosophy have provided an answer to the question of what, if anything, makes life meaningful, although they typically have not put it in these terms (with such talk having arisen only in the past 250 years or so, on which see Landau 1997). Consider, for instance, Aristotle on the human function, Aquinas on the beatific vision, and Kant on the highest good. Relatedly, think about Koheleth, the presumed author of the Biblical book Ecclesiastes, describing life as “futility” and akin to “the pursuit of wind,” Nietzsche on nihilism, as well as Schopenhauer when he remarks that whenever we reach a goal we have longed for we discover “how vain and empty it is.” While these concepts have some bearing on happiness and virtue (and their opposites), they are straightforwardly construed (roughly) as accounts of which highly ranked purposes a person ought to realize that would make her life significant (if any would).

Despite the venerable pedigree, it is only since the 1980s or so that a distinct field of the meaning of life has been established in Anglo-American-Australasian philosophy, on which this survey focuses, and it is only in the past 20 years that debate with real depth and intricacy has appeared. Two decades ago analytic reflection on life’s meaning was described as a “backwater” compared to that on well-being or good character, and it was possible to cite nearly all the literature in a given critical discussion of the field (Metz 2002). Neither is true any longer. Anglo-American-Australasian philosophy of life’s meaning has become vibrant, such that there is now way too much literature to be able to cite comprehensively in this survey. To obtain focus, it tends to discuss books, influential essays, and more recent works, and it leaves aside contributions from other philosophical traditions (such as the Continental or African) and from non-philosophical fields (e.g., psychology or literature). This survey’s central aim is to acquaint the reader with current analytic approaches to life’s meaning, sketching major debates and pointing out neglected topics that merit further consideration.

When the topic of the meaning of life comes up, people tend to pose one of three questions: “What are you talking about?”, “What is the meaning of life?”, and “Is life in fact meaningful?”. The literature on life's meaning composed by those working in the analytic tradition (on which this entry focuses) can be usefully organized according to which question it seeks to answer. This survey starts off with recent work that addresses the first, abstract (or “meta”) question regarding the sense of talk of “life’s meaning,” i.e., that aims to clarify what we have in mind when inquiring into the meaning of life (section 1). Afterward, it considers texts that provide answers to the more substantive question about the nature of meaningfulness (sections 2–3). There is in the making a sub-field of applied meaning that parallels applied ethics, in which meaningfulness is considered in the context of particular cases or specific themes. Examples include downshifting (Levy 2005), implementing genetic enhancements (Agar 2013), making achievements (Bradford 2015), getting an education (Schinkel et al. 2015), interacting with research participants (Olson 2016), automating labor (Danaher 2017), and creating children (Ferracioli 2018). In contrast, this survey focuses nearly exclusively on contemporary normative-theoretical approaches to life’s meanining, that is, attempts to capture in a single, general principle all the variegated conditions that could confer meaning on life. Finally, this survey examines fresh arguments for the nihilist view that the conditions necessary for a meaningful life do not obtain for any of us, i.e., that all our lives are meaningless (section 4).

1. The Meaning of “Meaning”

2.1. god-centered views, 2.2. soul-centered views, 3.1. subjectivism, 3.2. objectivism, 3.3. rejecting god and a soul, 4. nihilism, works cited, classic works, collections, books for the general reader, other internet resources, related entries.

One of the field's aims consists of the systematic attempt to identify what people (essentially or characteristically) have in mind when they think about the topic of life’s meaning. For many in the field, terms such as “importance” and “significance” are synonyms of “meaningfulness” and so are insufficiently revealing, but there are those who draw a distinction between meaningfulness and significance (Singer 1996, 112–18; Belliotti 2019, 145–50, 186). There is also debate about how the concept of a meaningless life relates to the ideas of a life that is absurd (Nagel 1970, 1986, 214–23; Feinberg 1980; Belliotti 2019), futile (Trisel 2002), and not worth living (Landau 2017, 12–15; Matheson 2017).

A useful way to begin to get clear about what thinking about life’s meaning involves is to specify the bearer. Which life does the inquirer have in mind? A standard distinction to draw is between the meaning “in” life, where a human person is what can exhibit meaning, and the meaning “of” life in a narrow sense, where the human species as a whole is what can be meaningful or not. There has also been a bit of recent consideration of whether animals or human infants can have meaning in their lives, with most rejecting that possibility (e.g., Wong 2008, 131, 147; Fischer 2019, 1–24), but a handful of others beginning to make a case for it (Purves and Delon 2018; Thomas 2018). Also under-explored is the issue of whether groups, such as a people or an organization, can be bearers of meaning, and, if so, under what conditions.

Most analytic philosophers have been interested in meaning in life, that is, in the meaningfulness that a person’s life could exhibit, with comparatively few these days addressing the meaning of life in the narrow sense. Even those who believe that God is or would be central to life’s meaning have lately addressed how an individual’s life might be meaningful in virtue of God more often than how the human race might be. Although some have argued that the meaningfulness of human life as such merits inquiry to no less a degree (if not more) than the meaning in a life (Seachris 2013; Tartaglia 2015; cf. Trisel 2016), a large majority of the field has instead been interested in whether their lives as individual persons (and the lives of those they care about) are meaningful and how they could become more so.

Focusing on meaning in life, it is quite common to maintain that it is conceptually something good for its own sake or, relatedly, something that provides a basic reason for action (on which see Visak 2017). There are a few who have recently suggested otherwise, maintaining that there can be neutral or even undesirable kinds of meaning in a person’s life (e.g., Mawson 2016, 90, 193; Thomas 2018, 291, 294). However, these are outliers, with most analytic philosophers, and presumably laypeople, instead wanting to know when an individual’s life exhibits a certain kind of final value (or non-instrumental reason for action).

Another claim about which there is substantial consensus is that meaningfulness is not all or nothing and instead comes in degrees, such that some periods of life are more meaningful than others and that some lives as a whole are more meaningful than others. Note that one can coherently hold the view that some people’s lives are less meaningful (or even in a certain sense less “important”) than others, or are even meaningless (unimportant), and still maintain that people have an equal standing from a moral point of view. Consider a consequentialist moral principle according to which each individual counts for one in virtue of having a capacity for a meaningful life, or a Kantian approach according to which all people have a dignity in virtue of their capacity for autonomous decision-making, where meaning is a function of the exercise of this capacity. For both moral outlooks, we could be required to help people with relatively meaningless lives.

Yet another relatively uncontroversial element of the concept of meaningfulness in respect of individual persons is that it is logically distinct from happiness or rightness (emphasized in Wolf 2010, 2016). First, to ask whether someone’s life is meaningful is not one and the same as asking whether her life is pleasant or she is subjectively well off. A life in an experience machine or virtual reality device would surely be a happy one, but very few take it to be a prima facie candidate for meaningfulness (Nozick 1974: 42–45). Indeed, a number would say that one’s life logically could become meaningful precisely by sacrificing one’s well-being, e.g., by helping others at the expense of one’s self-interest. Second, asking whether a person’s existence over time is meaningful is not identical to considering whether she has been morally upright; there are intuitively ways to enhance meaning that have nothing to do with right action or moral virtue, such as making a scientific discovery or becoming an excellent dancer. Now, one might argue that a life would be meaningless if, or even because, it were unhappy or immoral, but that would be to posit a synthetic, substantive relationship between the concepts, far from indicating that speaking of “meaningfulness” is analytically a matter of connoting ideas regarding happiness or rightness. The question of what (if anything) makes a person’s life meaningful is conceptually distinct from the questions of what makes a life happy or moral, although it could turn out that the best answer to the former question appeals to an answer to one of the latter questions.

Supposing, then, that talk of “meaning in life” connotes something good for its own sake that can come in degrees and that is not analytically equivalent to happiness or rightness, what else does it involve? What more can we say about this final value, by definition? Most contemporary analytic philosophers would say that the relevant value is absent from spending time in an experience machine (but see Goetz 2012 for a different view) or living akin to Sisyphus, the mythic figure doomed by the Greek gods to roll a stone up a hill for eternity (famously discussed by Albert Camus and Taylor 1970). In addition, many would say that the relevant value is typified by the classic triad of “the good, the true, and the beautiful” (or would be under certain conditions). These terms are not to be taken literally, but instead are rough catchwords for beneficent relationships (love, collegiality, morality), intellectual reflection (wisdom, education, discoveries), and creativity (particularly the arts, but also potentially things like humor or gardening).

Pressing further, is there something that the values of the good, the true, the beautiful, and any other logically possible sources of meaning involve? There is as yet no consensus in the field. One salient view is that the concept of meaning in life is a cluster or amalgam of overlapping ideas, such as fulfilling higher-order purposes, meriting substantial esteem or admiration, having a noteworthy impact, transcending one’s animal nature, making sense, or exhibiting a compelling life-story (Markus 2003; Thomson 2003; Metz 2013, 24–35; Seachris 2013, 3–4; Mawson 2016). However, there are philosophers who maintain that something much more monistic is true of the concept, so that (nearly) all thought about meaningfulness in a person’s life is essentially about a single property. Suggestions include being devoted to or in awe of qualitatively superior goods (Taylor 1989, 3–24), transcending one’s limits (Levy 2005), or making a contribution (Martela 2016).

Recently there has been something of an “interpretive turn” in the field, one instance of which is the strong view that meaning-talk is logically about whether and how a life is intelligible within a wider frame of reference (Goldman 2018, 116–29; Seachris 2019; Thomas 2019; cf. Repp 2018). According to this approach, inquiring into life’s meaning is nothing other than seeking out sense-making information, perhaps a narrative about life or an explanation of its source and destiny. This analysis has the advantage of promising to unify a wide array of uses of the term “meaning.” However, it has the disadvantages of being unable to capture the intuitions that meaning in life is essentially good for its own sake (Landau 2017, 12–15), that it is not logically contradictory to maintain that an ineffable condition is what confers meaning on life (as per Cooper 2003, 126–42; Bennett-Hunter 2014; Waghorn 2014), and that often human actions themselves (as distinct from an interpretation of them), such as rescuing a child from a burning building, are what bear meaning.

Some thinkers have suggested that a complete analysis of the concept of life’s meaning should include what has been called “anti-matter” (Metz 2002, 805–07, 2013, 63–65, 71–73) or “anti-meaning” (Campbell and Nyholm 2015; Egerstrom 2015), conditions that reduce the meaningfulness of a life. The thought is that meaning is well represented by a bipolar scale, where there is a dimension of not merely positive conditions, but also negative ones. Gratuitous cruelty or destructiveness are prima facie candidates for actions that not merely fail to add meaning, but also subtract from any meaning one’s life might have had.

Despite the ongoing debates about how to analyze the concept of life’s meaning (or articulate the definition of the phrase “meaning in life”), the field remains in a good position to make progress on the other key questions posed above, viz., of what would make a life meaningful and whether any lives are in fact meaningful. A certain amount of common ground is provided by the point that meaningfulness at least involves a gradient final value in a person’s life that is conceptually distinct from happiness and rightness, with exemplars of it potentially being the good, the true, and the beautiful. The rest of this discussion addresses philosophical attempts to capture the nature of this value theoretically and to ascertain whether it exists in at least some of our lives.

2. Supernaturalism

Most analytic philosophers writing on meaning in life have been trying to develop and evaluate theories, i.e., fundamental and general principles, that are meant to capture all the particular ways that a life could obtain meaning. As in moral philosophy, there are recognizable “anti-theorists,” i.e., those who maintain that there is too much pluralism among meaning conditions to be able to unify them in the form of a principle (e.g., Kekes 2000; Hosseini 2015). Arguably, though, the systematic search for unity is too nascent to be able to draw a firm conclusion about whether it is available.

The theories are standardly divided on a metaphysical basis, that is, in terms of which kinds of properties are held to constitute the meaning. Supernaturalist theories are views according to which a spiritual realm is central to meaning in life. Most Western philosophers have conceived of the spiritual in terms of God or a soul as commonly understood in the Abrahamic faiths (but see Mulgan 2015 for discussion of meaning in the context of a God uninterested in us). In contrast, naturalist theories are views that the physical world as known particularly well by the scientific method is central to life’s meaning.

There is logical space for a non-naturalist theory, according to which central to meaning is an abstract property that is neither spiritual nor physical. However, only scant attention has been paid to this possibility in the recent Anglo-American-Australasian literature (Audi 2005).

It is important to note that supernaturalism, a claim that God (or a soul) would confer meaning on a life, is logically distinct from theism, the claim that God (or a soul) exists. Although most who hold supernaturalism also hold theism, one could accept the former without the latter (as Camus more or less did), committing one to the view that life is meaningless or at least lacks substantial meaning. Similarly, while most naturalists are atheists, it is not contradictory to maintain that God exists but has nothing to do with meaning in life or perhaps even detracts from it. Although these combinations of positions are logically possible, some of them might be substantively implausible. The field could benefit from discussion of the comparative attractiveness of various combinations of evaluative claims about what would make life meaningful and metaphysical claims about whether spiritual conditions exist.

Over the past 15 years or so, two different types of supernaturalism have become distinguished on a regular basis (Metz 2019). That is true not only in the literature on life’s meaning, but also in that on the related pro-theism/anti-theism debate, about whether it would be desirable for God or a soul to exist (e.g., Kahane 2011; Kraay 2018; Lougheed 2020). On the one hand, there is extreme supernaturalism, according to which spiritual conditions are necessary for any meaning in life. If neither God nor a soul exists, then, by this view, everyone’s life is meaningless. On the other hand, there is moderate supernaturalism, according to which spiritual conditions are necessary for a great or ultimate meaning in life, although not meaning in life as such. If neither God nor a soul exists, then, by this view, everyone’s life could have some meaning, or even be meaningful, but no one’s life could exhibit the most desirable meaning. For a moderate supernaturalist, God or a soul would substantially enhance meaningfulness or be a major contributory condition for it.

There are a variety of ways that great or ultimate meaning has been described, sometimes quantitatively as “infinite” (Mawson 2016), qualitatively as “deeper” (Swinburne 2016), relationally as “unlimited” (Nozick 1981, 618–19; cf. Waghorn 2014), temporally as “eternal” (Cottingham 2016), and perspectivally as “from the point of view of the universe” (Benatar 2017). There has been no reflection as yet on the crucial question of how these distinctions might bear on each another, for instance, on whether some are more basic than others or some are more valuable than others.

Cross-cutting the extreme/moderate distinction is one between God-centered theories and soul-centered ones. According to the former, some kind of connection with God (understood to be a spiritual person who is all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful and who is the ground of the physical universe) constitutes meaning in life, even if one lacks a soul (construed as an immortal, spiritual substance that contains one’s identity). In contrast, by the latter, having a soul and putting it into a certain state is what makes life meaningful, even if God does not exist. Many supernaturalists of course believe that God and a soul are jointly necessary for a (greatly) meaningful existence. However, the simpler view, that only one of them is necessary, is common, and sometimes arguments proffered for the complex view fail to support it any more than the simpler one.

The most influential God-based account of meaning in life has been the extreme view that one’s existence is significant if and only if one fulfills a purpose God has assigned. The familiar idea is that God has a plan for the universe and that one’s life is meaningful just to the degree that one helps God realize this plan, perhaps in a particular way that God wants one to do so. If a person failed to do what God intends her to do with her life (or if God does not even exist), then, on the current view, her life would be meaningless.

Thinkers differ over what it is about God’s purpose that might make it uniquely able to confer meaning on human lives, but the most influential argument has been that only God’s purpose could be the source of invariant moral rules (Davis 1987, 296, 304–05; Moreland 1987, 124–29; Craig 1994/2013, 161–67) or of objective values more generally (Cottingham 2005, 37–57), where a lack of such would render our lives nonsensical. According to this argument, lower goods such as animal pleasure or desire satisfaction could exist without God, but higher ones pertaining to meaning in life, particularly moral virtue, could not. However, critics point to many non-moral sources of meaning in life (e.g., Kekes 2000; Wolf 2010), with one arguing that a universal moral code is not necessary for meaning in life, even if, say, beneficent actions are (Ellin 1995, 327). In addition, there are a variety of naturalist and non-naturalist accounts of objective morality––and of value more generally––on offer these days, so that it is not clear that it must have a supernatural source in God’s will.

One recurrent objection to the idea that God’s purpose could make life meaningful is that if God had created us with a purpose in mind, then God would have degraded us and thereby undercut the possibility of us obtaining meaning from fulfilling the purpose. The objection harks back to Jean-Paul Sartre, but in the analytic literature it appears that Kurt Baier was the first to articulate it (1957/2000, 118–20; see also Murphy 1982, 14–15; Singer 1996, 29; Kahane 2011; Lougheed 2020, 121–41). Sometimes the concern is the threat of punishment God would make so that we do God’s bidding, while other times it is that the source of meaning would be constrictive and not up to us, and still other times it is that our dignity would be maligned simply by having been created with a certain end in mind (for some replies to such concerns, see Hanfling 1987, 45–46; Cottingham 2005, 37–57; Lougheed 2020, 111–21).

There is a different argument for an extreme God-based view that focuses less on God as purposive and more on God as infinite, unlimited, or ineffable, which Robert Nozick first articulated with care (Nozick 1981, 594–618; see also Bennett-Hunter 2014; Waghorn 2014). The core idea is that for a finite condition to be meaningful, it must obtain its meaning from another condition that has meaning. So, if one’s life is meaningful, it might be so in virtue of being married to a person, who is important. Being finite, the spouse must obtain his or her importance from elsewhere, perhaps from the sort of work he or she does. This work also must obtain its meaning by being related to something else that is meaningful, and so on. A regress on meaningful conditions is present, and the suggestion is that the regress can terminate only in something so all-encompassing that it need not (indeed, cannot) go beyond itself to obtain meaning from anything else. And that is God. The standard objection to this relational rationale is that a finite condition could be meaningful without obtaining its meaning from another meaningful condition. Perhaps it could be meaningful in itself, without being connected to something beyond it, or maybe it could obtain its meaning by being related to something else that is beautiful or otherwise valuable for its own sake but not meaningful (Nozick 1989, 167–68; Thomson 2003, 25–26, 48).

A serious concern for any extreme God-based view is the existence of apparent counterexamples. If we think of the stereotypical lives of Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, and Pablo Picasso, they seem meaningful even if we suppose there is no all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good spiritual person who is the ground of the physical world (e.g., Wielenberg 2005, 31–37, 49–50; Landau 2017). Even religiously inclined philosophers have found this hard to deny these days (Quinn 2000, 58; Audi 2005; Mawson 2016, 5; Williams 2020, 132–34).

Largely for that reason, contemporary supernaturalists have tended to opt for moderation, that is, to maintain that God would greatly enhance the meaning in our lives, even if some meaning would be possible in a world without God. One approach is to invoke the relational argument to show that God is necessary, not for any meaning whatsoever, but rather for an ultimate meaning. “Limited transcendence, the transcending of our limits so as to connect with a wider context of value which itself is limited, does give our lives meaning––but a limited one. We may thirst for more” (Nozick 1981, 618). Another angle is to appeal to playing a role in God’s plan, again to claim, not that it is essential for meaning as such, but rather for “a cosmic significance....intead of a significance very limited in time and space” (Swinburne 2016, 154; see also Quinn 2000; Cottingham 2016, 131). Another rationale is that by fulfilling God’s purpose, we would meaningfully please God, a perfect person, as well as be remembered favorably by God forever (Cottingham 2016, 135; Williams 2020, 21–22, 29, 101, 108). Still another argument is that only with God could the deepest desires of human nature be satisfied (e.g., Goetz 2012; Seachris 2013, 20; Cottingham 2016, 127, 136), even if more surface desires could be satisfied without God.

In reply to such rationales for a moderate supernaturalism, there has been the suggestion that it is precisely by virtue of being alone in the universe that our lives would be particularly significant; otherwise, God’s greatness would overshadow us (Kahane 2014). There has also been the response that, with the opportunity for greater meaning from God would also come that for greater anti-meaning, so that it is not clear that a world with God would offer a net gain in respect of meaning (Metz 2019, 34–35). For example, if pleasing God would greatly enhance meaning in our lives, then presumably displeasing God would greatly reduce it and to a comparable degree. In addition, there are arguments for extreme naturalism (or its “anti-theist” cousin) mentioned below (sub-section 3.3).

Notice that none of the above arguments for supernaturalism appeals to the prospect of eternal life (at least not explicitly). Arguments that do make such an appeal are soul-centered, holding that meaning in life mainly comes from having an immortal, spiritual substance that is contiguous with one’s body when it is alive and that will forever outlive its death. Some think of the afterlife in terms of one’s soul entering a transcendent, spiritual realm (Heaven), while others conceive of one’s soul getting reincarnated into another body on Earth. According to the extreme version, if one has a soul but fails to put it in the right state (or if one lacks a soul altogether), then one’s life is meaningless.

There are three prominent arguments for an extreme soul-based perspective. One argument, made famous by Leo Tolstoy, is the suggestion that for life to be meaningful something must be worth doing, that something is worth doing only if it will make a permanent difference to the world, and that making a permanent difference requires being immortal (see also Hanfling 1987, 22–24; Morris 1992, 26; Craig 1994). Critics most often appeal to counterexamples, suggesting for instance that it is surely worth your time and effort to help prevent people from suffering, even if you and they are mortal. Indeed, some have gone on the offensive and argued that helping people is worth the sacrifice only if and because they are mortal, for otherwise they could invariably be compensated in an afterlife (e.g., Wielenberg 2005, 91–94). Another recent and interesting criticism is that the major motivations for the claim that nothing matters now if one day it will end are incoherent (Greene 2021).

A second argument for the view that life would be meaningless without a soul is that it is necessary for justice to be done, which, in turn, is necessary for a meaningful life. Life seems nonsensical when the wicked flourish and the righteous suffer, at least supposing there is no other world in which these injustices will be rectified, whether by God or a Karmic force. Something like this argument can be found in Ecclesiastes, and it continues to be defended (e.g., Davis 1987; Craig 1994). However, even granting that an afterlife is required for perfectly just outcomes, it is far from obvious that an eternal afterlife is necessary for them, and, then, there is the suggestion that some lives, such as Mandela’s, have been meaningful precisely in virtue of encountering injustice and fighting it.

A third argument for thinking that having a soul is essential for any meaning is that it is required to have the sort of free will without which our lives would be meaningless. Immanuel Kant is known for having maintained that if we were merely physical beings, subjected to the laws of nature like everything else in the material world, then we could not act for moral reasons and hence would be unimportant. More recently, one theologian has eloquently put the point in religious terms: “The moral spirit finds the meaning of life in choice. It finds it in that which proceeds from man and remains with him as his inner essence rather than in the accidents of circumstances turns of external fortune....(W)henever a human being rubs the lamp of his moral conscience, a Spirit does appear. This Spirit is God....It is in the ‘Thou must’ of God and man’s ‘I can’ that the divine image of God in human life is contained” (Swenson 1949/2000, 27–28). Notice that, even if moral norms did not spring from God’s commands, the logic of the argument entails that one’s life could be meaningful, so long as one had the inherent ability to make the morally correct choice in any situation. That, in turn, arguably requires something non-physical about one’s self, so as to be able to overcome whichever physical laws and forces one might confront. The standard objection to this reasoning is to advance a compatibilism about having a determined physical nature and being able to act for moral reasons (e.g., Arpaly 2006; Fischer 2009, 145–77). It is also worth wondering whether, if one had to have a spiritual essence in order to make free choices, it would have to be one that never perished.

Like God-centered theorists, many soul-centered theorists these days advance a moderate view, accepting that some meaning in life would be possible without immortality, but arguing that a much greater meaning would be possible with it. Granting that Einstein, Mandela, and Picasso had somewhat meaningful lives despite not having survived the deaths of their bodies (as per, e.g., Trisel 2004; Wolf 2015, 89–140; Landau 2017), there remains a powerful thought: more is better. If a finite life with the good, the true, and the beautiful has meaning in it to some degree, then surely it would have all the more meaning if it exhibited such higher values––including a relationship with God––for an eternity (Cottingham 2016, 132–35; Mawson 2016, 2019, 52–53; Williams 2020, 112–34; cf. Benatar 2017, 35–63). One objection to this reasoning is that the infinity of meaning that would be possible with a soul would be “too big,” rendering it difficult for the moderate supernaturalist to make sense of the intution that a finite life such as Einstein’s can indeed count as meaningful by comparison (Metz 2019, 30–31; cf. Mawson 2019, 53–54). More common, though, is the objection that an eternal life would include anti-meaning of various kinds, such as boredom and repetition, discussed below in the context of extreme naturalism (sub-section 3.3).

3. Naturalism

Recall that naturalism is the view that a physical life is central to life’s meaning, that even if there is no spiritual realm, a substantially meaningful life is possible. Like supernaturalism, contemporary naturalism admits of two distinguishable variants, moderate and extreme (Metz 2019). The moderate version is that, while a genuinely meaningful life could be had in a purely physical universe as known well by science, a somewhat more meaningful life would be possible if a spiritual realm also existed. God or a soul could enhance meaning in life, although they would not be major contributors. The extreme version of naturalism is the view that it would be better in respect of life’s meaning if there were no spiritual realm. From this perspective, God or a soul would be anti-matter, i.e., would detract from the meaning available to us, making a purely physical world (even if not this particular one) preferable.

Cross-cutting the moderate/extreme distinction is that between subjectivism and objectivism, which are theoretical accounts of the nature of meaningfulness insofar as it is physical. They differ in terms of the extent to which the human mind constitutes meaning and whether there are conditions of meaning that are invariant among human beings. Subjectivists believe that there are no invariant standards of meaning because meaning is relative to the subject, i.e., depends on an individual’s pro-attitudes such as her particular desires or ends, which are not shared by everyone. Roughly, something is meaningful for a person if she strongly wants it or intends to seek it out and she gets it. Objectivists maintain, in contrast, that there are some invariant standards for meaning because meaning is at least partly mind-independent, i.e., obtains not merely in virtue of being the object of anyone’s mental states. Here, something is meaningful (partially) because of its intrinsic nature, in the sense of being independent of whether it is wanted or intended; meaning is instead (to some extent) the sort of thing that merits these reactions.

There is logical space for an orthogonal view, according to which there are invariant standards of meaningfulness constituted by what all human beings would converge on from a certain standpoint. However, it has not been much of a player in the field (Darwall 1983, 164–66).

According to this version of naturalism, meaning in life varies from person to person, depending on each one’s variable pro-attitudes. Common instances are views that one’s life is more meaningful, the more one gets what one happens to want strongly, achieves one’s highly ranked goals, or does what one believes to be really important (Trisel 2002; Hooker 2008). One influential subjectivist has recently maintained that the relevant mental state is caring or loving, so that life is meaningful just to the extent that one cares about or loves something (Frankfurt 1988, 80–94, 2004). Another recent proposal is that meaningfulness consists of “an active engagement and affirmation that vivifies the person who has freely created or accepted and now promotes and nurtures the projects of her highest concern” (Belliotti 2019, 183).

Subjectivism was dominant in the middle of the twentieth century, when positivism, noncognitivism, existentialism, and Humeanism were influential (Ayer 1947; Hare 1957; Barnes 1967; Taylor 1970; Williams 1976). However, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, inference to the best explanation and reflective equilibrium became accepted forms of normative argumentation and were frequently used to defend claims about the existence and nature of objective value (or of “external reasons,” ones obtaining independently of one’s extant attitudes). As a result, subjectivism about meaning lost its dominance. Those who continue to hold subjectivism often remain suspicious of attempts to justify beliefs about objective value (e.g., Trisel 2002, 73, 79, 2004, 378–79; Frankfurt 2004, 47–48, 55–57; Wong 2008, 138–39; Evers 2017, 32, 36; Svensson 2017, 54). Theorists are moved to accept subjectivism typically because the alternatives are unpalatable; they are reasonably sure that meaning in life obtains for some people, but do not see how it could be grounded on something independent of the mind, whether it be the natural or the supernatural (or the non-natural). In contrast to these possibilities, it appears straightforward to account for what is meaningful in terms of what people find meaningful or what people want out of their lives. Wide-ranging meta-ethical debates in epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of language are necessary to address this rationale for subjectivism.

There is a cluster of other, more circumscribed arguments for subjectivism, according to which this theory best explains certain intuitive features of meaning in life. For one, subjectivism seems plausible since it is reasonable to think that a meaningful life is an authentic one (Frankfurt 1988, 80–94). If a person’s life is significant insofar as she is true to herself or her deepest nature, then we have some reason to believe that meaning simply is a function of those matters for which the person cares. For another, it is uncontroversial that often meaning comes from losing oneself, i.e., in becoming absorbed in an activity or experience, as opposed to being bored by it or finding it frustrating (Frankfurt 1988, 80–94; Belliotti 2019, 162–70). Work that concentrates the mind and relationships that are engrossing seem central to meaning and to be so because of the subjective elements involved. For a third, meaning is often taken to be something that makes life worth continuing for a specific person, i.e., that gives her a reason to get out of bed in the morning, which subjectivism is thought to account for best (Williams 1976; Svensson 2017; Calhoun 2018).

Critics maintain that these arguments are vulnerable to a common objection: they neglect the role of objective value (or an external reason) in realizing oneself, losing oneself, and having a reason to live (Taylor 1989, 1992; Wolf 2010, 2015, 89–140). One is not really being true to oneself, losing oneself in a meaningful way, or having a genuine reason to live insofar as one, say, successfully maintains 3,732 hairs on one’s head (Taylor 1992, 36), cultivates one’s prowess at long-distance spitting (Wolf 2010, 104), collects a big ball of string (Wolf 2010, 104), or, well, eats one’s own excrement (Wielenberg 2005, 22). The counterexamples suggest that subjective conditions are insufficient to ground meaning in life; there seem to be certain actions, relationships, and states that are objectively valuable (but see Evers 2017, 30–32) and toward which one’s pro-attitudes ought to be oriented, if meaning is to accrue.

So say objectivists, but subjectivists feel the pull of the point and usually seek to avoid the counterexamples, lest they have to bite the bullet by accepting the meaningfulness of maintaining 3,732 hairs on one’s head and all the rest (for some who do, see Svensson 2017, 54–55; Belliotti 2019, 181–83). One important strategy is to suggest that subjectivists can avoid the counterexamples by appealing to the right sort of pro-attitude. Instead of whatever an individual happens to want, perhaps the relevant mental state is an emotional-perceptual one of seeing-as (Alexis 2011; cf. Hosseini 2015, 47–66), a “categorical” desire, that is, an intrinsic desire constitutive of one’s identity that one takes to make life worth continuing (Svensson 2017), or a judgment that one has a good reason to value something highly for its own sake (Calhoun 2018). Even here, though, objectivists will argue that it might “appear that whatever the will chooses to treat as a good reason to engage itself is, for the will, a good reason. But the will itself....craves objective reasons; and often it could not go forward unless it thought it had them” (Wiggins 1988, 136). And without any appeal to objectivity, it is perhaps likely that counterexamples would resurface.

Another subjectivist strategy by which to deal with the counterexamples is the attempt to ground meaningfulness, not on the pro-attitudes of an individual valuer, but on those of a group (Darwall 1983, 164–66; Brogaard and Smith 2005; Wong 2008). Does such an intersubjective move avoid (more of) the counterexamples? If so, does it do so more plausibly than an objective theory?

Objective naturalists believe that meaning in life is constituted at least in part by something physical beyond merely the fact that it is the object of a pro-attitude. Obtaining the object of some emotion, desire, or judgment is not sufficient for meaningfulness, on this view. Instead, there are certain conditions of the material world that could confer meaning on anyone’s life, not merely because they are viewed as meaningful, wanted for their own sake, or believed to be choiceworthy, but instead (at least partially) because they are inherently worthwhile or valuable in themselves.

Morality (the good), enquiry (the true), and creativity (the beautiful) are widely held instances of activities that confer meaning on life, while trimming toenails and eating snow––along with the counterexamples to subjectivism above––are not. Objectivism is widely thought to be a powerful general explanation of these particular judgments: the former are meaningful not merely because some agent (whether it is an individual, her society, or even God) cares about them or judges them to be worth doing, while the latter simply lack significance and cannot obtain it even if some agent does care about them or judge them to be worth doing. From an objective perspective, it is possible for an individual to care about the wrong thing or to be mistaken that something is worthwhile, and not merely because of something she cares about all the more or judges to be still more choiceworthy. Of course, meta-ethical debates about the existence and nature of value are again relevant to appraising this rationale.

Some objectivists think that being the object of a person’s mental states plays no constitutive role in making that person’s life meaningful, although they of course contend that it often plays an instrumental role––liking a certain activity, after all, is likely to motivate one to do it. Relatively few objectivists are “pure” in that way, although consequentialists do stand out as clear instances (e.g., Singer 1995; Smuts 2018, 75–99). Most objectivists instead try to account for the above intuitions driving subjectivism by holding that a life is more meaningful, not merely because of objective factors, but also in part because of propositional attitudes such as cognition, conation, and emotion. Particularly influential has been Susan Wolf’s hybrid view, captured by this pithy slogan: “Meaning arises when subjective attraction meets objective attractiveness” (Wolf 2015, 112; see also Kekes 1986, 2000; Wiggins 1988; Raz 2001, 10–40; Mintoff 2008; Wolf 2010, 2016; Fischer 2019, 9–23; Belshaw 2021, 160–81). This theory implies that no meaning accrues to one’s life if one believes in, is satisfied by, or cares about a project that is not truly worthwhile, or if one takes up a truly worthwhile project but fails to judge it important, be satisfied by it, or care about it. A related approach is that, while subjective attraction is not necessary for meaning, it could enhance it (e.g., Audi 2005, 344; Metz 2013, 183–84, 196–98, 220–25). For instance, a stereotypical Mother Teresa who is bored by and alienated from her substantial charity work might have a somewhat significant existence because of it, even if she would have an even more significant existence if she felt pride in it or identified with it.

There have been several attempts to capture theoretically what all objectively attractive, inherently worthwhile, or finally valuable conditions have in common insofar as they bear on meaning in a person’s life. Over the past few decades, one encounters the proposals that objectively meaningful conditions are just those that involve: positively connecting with organic unity beyond oneself (Nozick 1981, 594–619); being creative (Taylor 1987; Matheson 2018); living an emotional life (Solomon 1993; cf. Williams 2020, 56–78); promoting good consequences, such as improving the quality of life of oneself and others (Singer 1995; Audi 2005; Smuts 2018, 75–99); exercising or fostering rational nature in exceptional ways (Smith 1997, 179–221; Gewirth 1998, 177–82; Metz 2013, 222–36); progressing toward ends that can never be fully realized because one’s knowledge of them changes as one approaches them (Levy 2005); realizing goals that are transcendent for being long-lasting in duration and broad in scope (Mintoff 2008); living virtuously (May 2015, 61–138; McPherson 2020); and loving what is worth loving (Wolf 2016). There is as yet no convergence in the field on one, or even a small cluster, of these accounts.

One feature of a large majority of the above naturalist theories is that they are aggregative or additive, objectionably treating a life as a mere “container” of bits of life that are meaningful considered in isolation from other bits (Brännmark 2003, 330). It has become increasingly common for philosophers of life’s meaning, especially objectivists, to hold that life as a whole, or at least long stretches of it, can substantially affect its meaningfulness beyond the amount of meaning (if any) in its parts.

For instance, a life that has lots of beneficence and otherwise intuitively meaning-conferring conditions but that is also extremely repetitive (à la the movie Groundhog Day ) is less than maximally meaningful (Taylor 1987; Blumenfeld 2009). Furthermore, a life that not only avoids repetition but also ends with a substantial amount of meaningful (or otherwise desirable) parts seems to have more meaning overall than one that has the same amount of meaningful (desirable) parts but ends with few or none of them (Kamm 2013, 18–22; Dorsey 2015). Still more, a life in which its meaningless (or otherwise undesirable parts) cause its meaningful (desirable) parts to come about through a process of personal growth seems meaningful in virtue of this redemptive pattern, “good life-story,” or narrative self-expression (Taylor 1989, 48–51; Wong 2008; Fischer 2009, 145–77; Kauppinen 2012; May 2015, 61–138; Velleman 2015, 141–73). These three cases suggest that meaning can inhere in life as a whole, that is, in the relationships between its parts, and not merely in the parts considered in isolation. However, some would maintain that it is, strictly speaking, the story that is or could be told of a life that matters, not so much the life-story qua relations between events themselves (de Bres 2018).

There are pure or extreme versions of holism present in the literature, according to which the only possible bearer of meaning in life is a person’s life as a whole, and not any isolated activities, relationships, or states (Taylor 1989, 48–51; Tabensky 2003; Levinson 2004). A salient argument for this position is that judgments of the meaningfulness of a part of someone’s life are merely provisional, open to revision upon considering how they fit into a wider perspective. So, for example, it would initially appear that taking an ax away from a madman and thereby protecting innocent parties confers some meaning on one’s life, but one might well revise that judgment upon learning that the intention behind it was merely to steal an ax, not to save lives, or that the madman then took out a machine gun, causing much more harm than his ax would have. It is worth considering how far this sort of case is generalizable, and, if it can be to a substantial extent, whether that provides strong evidence that only life as a whole can exhibit meaningfulness.

Perhaps most objectivists would, at least upon reflection, accept that both the parts of a life and the whole-life relationships among the parts can exhibit meaning. Supposing there are two bearers of meaning in a life, important questions arise. One is whether a certain narrative can be meaningful even if its parts are not, while a second is whether the meaningfulness of a part increases if it is an aspect of a meaningful whole (on which see Brännmark 2003), and a third is whether there is anything revealing to say about how to make tradeoffs between the parts and whole in cases where one must choose between them (Blumenfeld 2009 appears to assign lexical priority to the whole).

Naturalists until recently had been largely concerned to show that meaning in life is possible without God or a soul; they have not spent much time considering how such spiritual conditions might enhance meaning, but have, in moderate fashion, tended to leave that possibility open (an exception is Hooker 2008). Lately, however, an extreme form of naturalism has arisen, according to which our lives would probably, if not unavoidably, have less meaning in a world with God or a soul than in one without. Although such an approach was voiced early on by Baier (1957), it is really in the past decade or so that this “anti-theist” position has become widely and intricately discussed.

One rationale, mentioned above as an objection to the view that God’s purpose constitutes meaning in life, has also been deployed to argue that the existence of God as such would necessarily reduce meaning, that is, would consist of anti-matter. It is the idea that master/servant and parent/child analogies so prominent in the monotheist religious traditions reveal something about our status in a world where there is a qualitatively higher being who has created us with certain ends in mind: our independence or dignity as adult persons would be violated (e.g., Baier 1957/2000, 118–20; Kahane 2011, 681–85; Lougheed 2020, 121–41). One interesting objection to this reasoning has been to accept that God’s existence is necessarily incompatible with the sort of meaning that would come (roughly stated) from being one’s own boss, but to argue that God would also make greater sorts of meaning available, offering a net gain to us (Mawson 2016, 110–58).

Another salient argument for thinking that God would detract from meaning in life appeals to the value of privacy (Kahane 2011, 681–85; Lougheed 2020, 55–110). God’s omniscience would unavoidably make it impossible for us to control another person’s access to the most intimate details about ourselves, which, for some, amounts to a less meaningful life than one with such control. Beyond questioning the value of our privacy in relation to God, one thought-provoking criticism has been to suggest that, if a lack of privacy really would substantially reduce meaning in our lives, then God, qua morally perfect person, would simply avoid knowing everything about us (Tooley 2018). Lacking complete knowledge of our mental states would be compatible with describing God as “omniscient,” so the criticism goes, insofar as that is plausibly understood as having as much knowledge as is morally permissible.

Turn, now, to major arguments for thinking that having a soul would reduce life’s meaning, so that if one wants a maximally meaningful life, one should prefer a purely physical world, or at least one in which people are mortal. First and foremost, there has been the argument that an immortal life could not avoid becoming boring (Williams 1973), rendering life pointless according to many subjective and objective theories. The literature on this topic has become enormous, with the central reply being that immortality need not get boring (for more recent discussions, see Fischer 2009, 79–101, 2019, 117–42; Mawson 2019, 51–52; Williams 2020, 30–41, 123–29; Belshaw 2021, 182–97). However, it might also be worth questioning whether boredom is sufficient for meaninglessness. Suppose, for instance, that one volunteers to be bored so that many others will not be bored; perhaps this would be a meaningful sacrifice to make. Being bored for an eternity would not be blissful or even satisfying, to be sure, but if it served the function of preventing others from being bored for an eternity, would it be meaningful (at least to some degree)? If, as is commonly held, sacrificing one’s life could be meaningful, why not also sacrificing one’s liveliness?

Another reason given to reject eternal life is that it would become repetitive, which would substantially drain it of meaning (Scarre 2007, 54–55; May 2009, 46–47, 64–65, 71; Smuts 2011, 142–44; cf. Blumenfeld 2009). If, as it appears, there are only a finite number of actions one could perform, relationships one could have, and states one could be in during an eternity, one would have to end up doing the same things again. Even though one’s activities might be more valuable than rolling a stone up a hill forever à la Sisyphus, the prospect of doing them over and over again forever is disheartening for many. To be sure, one might not remember having done them before and hence could avoid boredom, but for some philosophers that would make it all the worse, akin to having dementia and forgetting that one has told the same stories. Others, however, still find meaning in such a life (e.g., Belshaw 2021, 197, 205n41).

A third meaning-based argument against immortality invokes considerations of narrative. If the pattern of one’s life as a whole substantially matters, and if a proper pattern would include a beginning, a middle, and an end, it appears that a life that never ends would lack the relevant narrative structure. “Because it would drag on endlessly, it would, sooner or later, just be a string of events lacking all form....With immortality, the novel never ends....How meaningful can such a novel be?” (May 2009, 68, 72; see also Scarre 2007, 58–60). Notice that this objection is distinct from considerations of boredom and repetition (which concern novelty ); even if one were stimulated and active, and even if one found a way not to repeat one’s life in the course of eternity, an immortal life would appear to lack shape. In reply, some reject the idea that a meaningful life must be akin to a novel, and intead opt for narrativity in the form of something like a string of short stories that build on each other (Fischer 2009, 145–77, 2019, 101–16). Others, though, have sought to show that eternity could still be novel-like, deeming the sort of ending that matters to be a function of what the content is and how it relates to the content that came before (e.g., Seachris 2011; Williams 2020, 112–19).

There have been additional objections to immortality as undercutting meaningfulness, but they are prima facie less powerful than the previous three in that, if sound, they arguably show that an eternal life would have a cost, but probably not one that would utterly occlude the prospect of meaning in it. For example, there have been the suggestions that eternal lives would lack a sense of preciousness and urgency (Nussbaum 1989, 339; Kass 2002, 266–67), could not exemplify virtues such as courageously risking one’s life for others (Kass 2002, 267–68; Wielenberg 2005, 91–94), and could not obtain meaning from sustaining or saving others’ lives (Nussbaum 1989, 338; Wielenberg 2005, 91–94). Note that at least the first two rationales turn substantially on the belief in immortality, not quite immortality itself: if one were immortal but forgot that one is or did not know that at all, then one could appreciate life and obtain much of the virtue of courage (and, conversely, if one were not immortal, but thought that one is, then, by the logic of these arguments, one would fail to appreciate limits and be unable to exemplify courage).

The previous two sections addressed theoretical accounts of what would confer meaning on a human person’s life. Although these theories do not imply that some people’s lives are in fact meaningful, that has been the presumption of a very large majority of those who have advanced them. Much of the procedure has been to suppose that many lives have had meaning in them and then to consider in virtue of what they have or otherwise could. However, there are nihilist (or pessimist) perspectives that question this supposition. According to nihilism (pessimism), what would make a life meaningful in principle cannot obtain for any of us.

One straightforward rationale for nihilism is the combination of extreme supernaturalism about what makes life meaningful and atheism about whether a spiritual realm exists. If you believe that God or a soul is necessary for meaning in life, and if you believe that neither is real, then you are committed to nihilism, to the denial that life can have any meaning. Athough this rationale for nihilism was prominent in the modern era (and was more or less Camus’ position), it has been on the wane in analytic philosophical circles, as extreme supernaturalism has been eclipsed by the moderate variety.

The most common rationales for nihilism these days do not appeal to supernaturalism, or at least not explicitly. One cluster of ideas appeals to what meta-ethicists call “error theory,” the view that evaluative claims (in this case about meaning in life, or about morality qua necessary for meaning) characteristically posit objectively real or universally justified values, but that such values do not exist. According to one version, value judgments often analytically include a claim to objectivity but there is no reason to think that objective values exist, as they “would be entities or qualities or relations of a very strange sort, utterly different from anything else in the universe” (Mackie 1977/1990, 38). According to a second version, life would be meaningless if there were no set of moral standards that could be fully justified to all rational enquirers, but it so happens that such standards cannot exist for persons who can always reasonably question a given claim (Murphy 1982, 12–17). According to a third, we hold certain beliefs about the objectivity and universality of morality and related values such as meaning because they were evolutionarily advantageous to our ancestors, not because they are true. Humans have been “deceived by their genes into thinking that there is a distinterested, objective morality binding upon them, which all should obey” (Ruse and Wilson 1986, 179; cf. Street 2015). One must draw on the intricate work in meta-ethics that has been underway for the past several decades in order to appraise these arguments.

In contrast to error-theoretic arguments for nihilism, there are rationales for it accepting that objective values exist but denying that our lives can ever exhibit or promote them so as to obtain meaning. One version of this approach maintains that, for our lives to matter, we must be in a position to add objective value to the world, which we are not since the objective value of the world is already infinite (Smith 2003). The key premises for this view are that every bit of space-time (or at least the stars in the physical universe) have some positive value, that these values can be added up, and that space is infinite. If the physical world at present contains an infinite degree of value, nothing we do can make a difference in terms of meaning, for infinity plus any amount of value remains infinity. One way to question this argument, beyond doubting the value of space-time or stars, is to suggest that, even if one cannot add to the value of the universe, meaning plausibly comes from being the source of certain values.

A second rationale for nihilism that accepts the existence of objective value is David Benatar’s (2006, 18–59) intriguing “asymmetry argument” for anti-natalism, the view that it is immoral to bring new people into existence because doing so would always be on balance bad for them. For Benatar, the bads of existing (e.g., pains) are real disadvantages relative to not existing, while the goods of existing (pleasures) are not real advantages relative to not existing, since there is in the latter state no one to be deprived of them. If indeed the state of not existing is no worse than that of experiencing the benefits of existence, then, since existing invariably brings harm in its wake, it follows that existing is always worse compared to not existing. Although this argument is illustrated with experiential goods and bads, it seems generalizable to non-experiential ones, including meaning in life and anti-matter. The literature on this argument has become large (for a recent collection, see Hauskeller and Hallich 2022).

Benatar (2006, 60–92, 2017, 35–63) has advanced an additional argument for nihilism, one that appeals to Thomas Nagel’s (1986, 208–32) widely discussed analysis of the extremely external standpoint that human persons can take on their lives. There exists, to use Henry Sidgwick’s influential phrase, the “point of view of the universe,” that is, the standpoint that considers a human being’s life in relation to all times and all places. When one takes up this most external standpoint and views one’s puny impact on the world, little of one’s life appears to matter. What one does in a certain society on Earth over 75 years or so just does not amount to much, when considering the billions of temporal years and billions of light-years that make up space-time. Although this reasoning grants limited kinds of meaning to human beings, from a personal, social, or human perspective, Benatar both denies that the greatest sort of meaning––a cosmic one––is available to them and contends that this makes their lives bad, hence the “nihilist” tag. Some have objected that our lives could in fact have a cosmic significance, say, if they played a role in God’s plan (Quinn 2000, 65–66; Swinburne 2016, 154), were the sole ones with a dignity in the universe (Kahane 2014), or engaged in valuable activities that could be appreciated by anyone anywhere anytime (Wolf 2016, 261–62). Others naturally maintain that cosmic significance is irrelevant to appraising a human life, with some denying that it would be a genuine source of meaning (Landau 2017, 93–99), and others accepting that it would be but maintaining that the absence of this good would not count as a bad or merit regret (discussed in Benatar 2017, 56–62; Williams 2020, 108–11).

Finally, a distinguishable source of nihilism concerns the ontological, as distinct from axiological, preconditions for meaning in life. Perhaps most radically, there are those who deny that we have selves. Do we indeed lack selves, and, if we do, is a meaningful life impossible for us (see essays in Caruso and Flanagan 2018; Le Bihan 2019)? Somewhat less radically, there are those who grant that we have selves, but deny that they are in charge in the relevant way. That is, some have argued that we lack self-governance or free will of the sort that is essential for meaning in life, at least if determinism is true (Pisciotta 2013; essays in Caruso and Flanagan 2018). Non-quantum events, including human decisions, appear to be necessited by a prior state of the world, such that none could have been otherwise, and many of our decisions are a product of unconscious neurological mechanisms (while quantum events are of course utterly beyond our control). If none of our conscious choices could have been avoided and all were ultimately necessited by something external to them, perhaps they are insufficient to merit pride or admiration or to constitute narrative authorship of a life. In reply, some maintain that a compatibilism between determinism and moral responsibility applies with comparable force to meaning in life (e.g., Arpaly 2006; Fischer 2009, 145–77), while others contend that incompatibilism is true of moral responsibility but not of meaning (Pereboom 2014).

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How to cite this entry . Preview the PDF version of this entry at the Friends of the SEP Society . Look up topics and thinkers related to this entry at the Internet Philosophy Ontology Project (InPhO). Enhanced bibliography for this entry at PhilPapers , with links to its database.

Delon, N., 2021, “ The Meaning of Life ”, a bibliography on PhilPapers.
Metz, T., 2021, “ Life, Meaning of ”, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , E. Mason (ed.).
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Library of Congress Catalog Data: ISSN 1095-5054

10-Year Life Plan Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Educational Plan

Lifestyle plan, works cited.

Planning ten years of my life seems like a kind of challenge now. We can’t predict what will happen to us after several months. However, I believe that great success is impossible without personal motivation and clearly defined goals. Thus, my life plan essay should start with a clear objective.

In ten years, I want to own an event company that can be the best in its field. I have always been fascinated with this idea. The following 10-year life plan essay will consist of three parts that can help me structure my future and achieve all my goals.

I would like to organize great performances at different events every day. Can you imagine a holiday that never ends? And this will be my work. I will make people happier. Now I need to plan all the steps to help me achieve my dream.

The first step of the way of my goal’s achievement is education. My education will be done at the University of Nevada, where I am planning to study hospitality management as a major and event management as a minor. I am sure of the importance of hard study for my future work. I need to get at least a 3.5 GPA. The multiple locations can help me gain a diversified background and extend my knowledge.

Therefore, I want to do some internship while studying. Perhaps, I will visit different countries to explore the modern tendencies of business start and its future development. Swope says: “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: “Try to please everybody” (Swope).

Therefore, I am planning to get experience in different fields because I am sure of their future importance for my business. The examples of some international companies can help me understand how to make my business prosper. To extend my experience, I will start my practice during the study.

I think that education is very important. The lack of knowledge can lead to the business’s incapacity and collapse. Today, the diploma plays a significant role. It gives an appropriate status and respect. A man with a diploma looks more confident and, of course, qualified.

Accreditation provides much more opportunities in life. Therefore, I am planning to study hard and get as much knowledge as possible. I am sure that the university I chose can help me achieve my goals. My education will give me the base for my future business.

It is the most important part of the life plan, which should clarify the goal and approaches to its achievement. Nowadays, the leaders of all companies know the value of settings achievable and understandable goals. Such issues are called smart goals, which need to get better results. These smart ideas help me share my vision of the business with the possible assistants (“Life Planning”).

My attention is turned to the use of certain tools that may help my project. For instance, I need to identify and list all the barriers that may be between me and my goal. I shouldn’t be scared of possible problems because it is an integral part of my future success. Being realistic, I realize all the difficulties I should overcome.

In the beginning, I have to clarify who will be involved in my business. This can be a family company, or I can cooperate with a wide circle of partners. What results do I want to achieve? I want to own a successful company that will be famous around the country.

Choosing the place location, I prefer my native city because it will be easier to find clients and partners. Thinking about these questions, I can clearly understand all the important keys to my goal’s achievement. I will get so many opportunities, so I shouldn’t be lazy in its use (Ashton 8). This is why I think it is the most important period of my life.

My lifestyle should accomplish my educational and professional background and skills. I am planning to do a huge social work and to promote equality among people. I want to help everyone that I can. But I have to learn more from the closest one.

My business will be closely related to people from different communities. Therefore, matching my wants, I should be ready to keep my mind open to different cultural issues and views. I plan to visit many countries to learn about cultural features. This will help in my work with clients.

According to Bukofsky, even my religious and spiritual conditions are very important for my business (34). Family relations also play a huge role in the business success achievement. Life planning is a process that may lead a person to take a more active role and to think about the future. Thinking about my future, I imagine a family that will support me and give me more motivation.

I totally agree with Carlson that “self-actualization is the key to self-help” (9). Although no one can control all life’s events, it is better to try being over random chance and fate.

There is a difference between the person who goes to one’s goal and the man who can easily be influenced by random events. I will structure my life according to the daily plan. This will allow me to follow the main idea, which will lead to success. The life plan is a perfect method to figure out what is really important in life.

I have so many ideas and interests in different fields. I am fascinated by people who can concentrate on the most important idea and follow the plan. However, I should follow my own life plan for the future result. I agree with the statement of Barnett that people should discipline themselves. Following the main idea of life, it is possible to get better results and to make it fast (Barnett).

I have always been a goal-setter. Thereby, my Ten Year Plan is focused on achieving my high ideals and realistic goals. From time to time, it seems that goals are something that we strive to achieve but fail due to personal reasons or social barriers.

However, I am completely sure that a good life plan and motivation can lead to success in spite of all problems that may occur. My Ten Year Life Plan helps me to specify my goals and to see the key moments and the most important steps which can lead me to success.

Ashton, Robert. The Life Plan: 700 Simple Ways to Change Your Life for the Better . 1st ed. UK: Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.

Barnett, John S. Discipline Yourself for Godliness . Tulsa, OK: Mullerhouse Publishing, 2007. Web.

Bykofsky, Sheree, and Richard Carlson. Me: Five Years from Now: The Life-Planning Book You Write Yourself! 1st ed. New York: Hyperion, 1999. Print.

“Life Planning”. myGoals, n.d. Web.

Swope, Herbert. “Failure Quotes.” Wisdom Quotes . Wisdom Quotes. Web.

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Home / Essay Samples / Life / 20 Years From Now / My Vision for the Future: a Fulfilling Life in 20 Years

My Vision for the Future: a Fulfilling Life in 20 Years

Category: Life
Topic: 20 Years From Now , Future Plan

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