4183: [Part 2] The Meaning of Life is a Ham Sandwich by Mark Manson on Purpose

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[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_02] This is Optimal Living Daily. The Meaning of Life is a Ham Sandwich. Part 2 by Mark Manson of markmanson.net and I'm Justin Malik. Happy Friday. Welcome to the old podcast, the OLD podcast, Optimal Living Daily, where I read to you like a big ongoing audio book, but from many different authors. Today is actually from the same author as yesterday. I'd recommend listening to yesterday's episode first as this is a continuation episode.

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_02] But if you're all caught up, let's get right to part two and continue optimizing your life. The Meaning of Life is a Ham Sandwich. Part 2 by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. Here's the kicker, and I swear I'm going to get to the ham sandwich. Meaning is a resource that we must cultivate in our lives. Meaning is not something that exists outside of ourselves.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_02] It is not some cosmic universal truth waiting to be discovered. It's not some grand eureka moment that will change our lives forever. Meaning requires action. Meaning is something that we must continually find and nurture consistently. Meaning is like the water of our psychological health. Without it, our hearts and minds will shrivel and die. And like water, meaning flows through us. What is important today is not what was important years ago.

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_02] And what is important tomorrow will not be the same as what is important today. Meaning must be sought out and replenished frequently. How to find meaning in your life? In a very real sense, the meaning of life is therefore to create meaning. So how does one create meaning? Two ways. Number one, solve problems. The bigger the problem, the more meaning one will feel.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_02] The more work you do towards that problem, also the more meaning you will feel. Solving problems basically means finding ways to make the world a slightly better place. It can be as simple as fixing up your aging mother's dilapidated house. Or as complex as working on the new great breakthrough in physics. The point here is not to be picky. It's easy when we start thinking of how insignificant we are on a cosmic scale of the universe to start

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_02] thinking there's no point in doing anything unless we're going to save the world or something. This is just a distraction. There are tons of small, everyday problems going on around you that need your attention. Start giving it. And number two, help others. This is the biggie. As humans, we're wired to thrive on our relationships. Studies show that our overall well-being is deeply tied to the quality of our relationships.

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_02] And the best way to build healthy relationships is through helping others. In fact, some studies have even found that giving stuff away makes us happier than giving stuff to ourselves. Go figure. As such, it seems to be a hack in our brains that helping out other people gives us a greater sense of meaning and purpose. Just the fact that you can say to yourself, if I died, then someone is better off because I lived, creates that sense of meaning that can propel you forward.

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_02] Find meaning in your life by solving problems and helping others. The trap of setting goals. A lot of people find meaning through setting goals for themselves. They want the corner office, the big car, the fancy pants shoes. It gives them a reason to wake up in the morning, a reason to bust their ass at work. It gives them something that makes them feel important and something to look forward to every day. But goals are a double-edged sword. You have to be careful.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_02] Goals are good tools for building motivation. The problem is that by themselves, they are arbitrary and empty. Unless there's a why behind the goal full of meaning, the goal itself will provide little long-term happiness or satisfaction. Ever seen star athletes flounder after retirement? Or a guy who finally made his millions become deeply miserable because he doesn't know what else to do with his life?

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_02] Goals are dangerous because the meaning they provide when you're working towards them is the meaning that is taken away once you achieve them. This is why all the superficial stuff like make a billion dollars or own a Rolls Royce or get your face plastered on the cover of a magazine all lead to a type of happiness that is shallow and short-lived because the meaning is shallow and short-lived. There has to be a deeper reason for your goals.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_02] Otherwise, the goals themselves will be empty and worthless in the long run. Notice that it's the athletes who aspire to be the best at their sport for some greater reason, to build a charity, to start a business, to transition into another career, who handle retirement the best. Notice it's the millionaires who spent their life working towards a deeper cause that remain content once all of their goals are checked off the checklist. But some goals don't even have to be big and sexy.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_02] Take a ham sandwich. I sat down to write this article, hungry. That's a problem in my life. And I promised myself I'd pump out this draft before going and making myself a sandwich. That gave this hour some extra meaning. And you know what? Maybe my wife's hungry and I can make her one too. You know, make the world a better place and all that while I'm at it. So what's the meaning of life? Well, for me right now, it's a ham sandwich. What will yours be?

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_02] You just listened to part two of the post titled, The Meaning of Life is a Ham Sandwich by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. And I'll be right back with my commentary. The hot weather lately has been a reminder that little habits matter. We spend so much time looking for ways to improve. And sometimes it starts with paying more attention to the basics like hydration. And that's what I love about instant hydration. Their formula includes sodium, potassium, magnesium,

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[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_02] Thank you again to Mark. Kind of funny that he said the meaning of life is to create meaning. Really interesting perspective that we don't hear much. But deep down, it makes sense to me. I do feel like the best times when time has really flown for me was when I felt a lot of meaning. Whether through solving problems or helping others like he mentioned. And sometimes both at the same time. I think an example of that would be when I volunteered at a meditation center

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_02] way up in the Rocky Mountains. Or our network of podcasts as well. I believe it's both solving problems, business problems every day, but also helping people. A listener reached out who helps homeless youth. And that to me is another example of really deep meaning. Both solving problems while helping others. Is this person's life perfect? Unlikely. I can answer that for myself with my own personal experience.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_02] Even with meaning built into my own work, life is definitely not perfect. But on reflection, having that meaning has been really important. And like he said, the arbitrary goals, not so much. So think about that meaning today and where you find it in your own life that will do it for today. But I'll be back over the weekend. So I'll see you there where your optimal life awaits.

[00:09:33] And I'll see you there