Experiencing purpose and meaning by taking on a challenge
RESEARCH BRIEF
In our purpose renewal research, we emphasize that people experience a sense of purpose when engaged in endeavors that align with their inner Compass (values, strengths, sources of personal meaning) and that doing so is often joy-inducing. But sometimes our sense of purpose asks something of us and we feel called to take on a project that requires sacrifice, delayed gratification, and importantly, real effort.
Research question: Do we experience a greater sense of meaning and purpose when we’ve engaged in tasks that require real effort more so than tasks that are easy for us?
How researchers studied this question: Researchers from the University of Toronto conducted a series of studies pertaining to the development of the Meaningfulness of Effort Scale. They examined the relationships between the meaning that people derived from exerting effort (using this scale) and their well-being and life satisfaction, among other things. Responses from over 1400 adults were used to develop and evaluate the scale and 284 participants engaged in tasks that demanded various levels of effort.
Answer: Yes, people derive more meaning from engaging in tasks that require effort as compared to those that come easy. This seems to be true for all of us. These researchers also suggest that finding meaning in effort is a trait and people who have it, reap dividends by finding meaning in most everything they do and high levels of life satisfaction. The researchers propose that people acquire this “trait” through repeated experiences of really trying and then realizing a reward.
So What? We humans dislike effort and generally try to avoid it. We tend to look upon “effort” and tasks requiring it in a negative light. Maybe this explains my evening habit of watching TV over working on something like this! These researchers cast a different light on effort and their findings suggest that if we want to fully experience our lives as purposeful, we best take on challenges that call us and really push ourselves to try to do our best. Doing so yields the potential dividends of contributing something worthwhile and experiencing meaning and purpose in our lives.
How about you? Do you shy away from endeavors that call you because you’ve determined that they’re just too hard? Is there something you’d like to do now for which you are willing to give it your all?
Sources:
Campbell AV, Chung JM, & Inzlicht M (2022 ). Meaningfulness of effort: Deriving purpose from really trying. PsyArXiv Published online June 26, 2022.
Find the paper here: https://psyarxiv.com/sg3aw