Meaning
Also known as communion, mattering, sense-making, spiritual communion
The sense that one’s life, actions and experiences have significance beyond mere survival. A felt coherence that connects the parts of existence into a comprehensible whole.
When met or unmet
When met
- Sense that life makes sense
- Actions feel significant
- Part of something larger than yourself
When unmet
- Existential emptiness. ‘What’s the point?’ Actions feel arbitrary or pointless
Feelings
When this need is met
Calm
Curious
Longing
When this need is unmet
Common expressions
What’s the meaning of all this? I need my life to matter Everything feels meaningless
Strategies
- Reflecting on what truly matters to you, independent of external expectations
- Connecting daily activities to larger purposes or values
- Creating narratives that integrate difficult experiences
- Contributing to something larger than yourself
Recognition questions
- → Does my life feel like it matters?
- → Can I articulate what I’m living for?
- → Do my daily activities connect to anything I care about deeply?
Somatic markers
When met
- A sense of fullness and rightness
- Standing taller, feeling aligned
- Quiet contentment even in difficulty
When unmet
- A gnawing emptiness or existential dread
- Going through motions without engagement
- Asking ‘what’s the point?’ with genuine despair
Shadow side
- Grandiosity, inflating one’s importance to feel meaningful
- Meaning-making that becomes rigid ideology
- Dismissing simple pleasures as meaningless
Cultural considerations
Meaning sources vary: religion, family legacy, creative work, service to community. Secular and religious frameworks both address this fundamental need.
Related needs
Often confused with
- Purpose
Purpose is about direction and goals; meaning is about significance and coherence, which can exist without specific aims.