Throughout history, philosophers and religious leaders have debated the idea of what it is to lead a good life. We all strive to be happy in some sense of the word but is that different than leading a meaningful life? For example, a human rights leader that loses everything for their beliefs may find meaning but not necessarily happiness. Conversely, a wealthy socialite who doesn’t think beyond their own pleasure may be superficially happy but not have any true meaning in their life. Though happiness and purpose do generally go together, they are not necessarily the same thing. So, the real question is, what makes life worth living?

While most people spend their lives in pursuit of things that they think will make them happy, most people fall short. Researchers have found five key differences between meaning and happiness, and it seems that to live your best life means to do things that both give you joy but also have significance to others.

In 2013 Roy Baumeister, a psychology professor at Florida State and Stanford University, and the University of Minnesota, published a study based on 397 surveys. They were trying to find a correlation between happiness, meaning, and other aspects of life such as work, stress, and mood. The researchers found that meaning is more closely related to serving others while happiness has more selfish roots.
Baumeister’s key findings:

1.) Happy people satisfy their wants and needs. Things such as health, wealth, and convenience are all related to happiness.

2.) Happiness involves the present, whereas meaning also includes the past and future and the interconnectedness of all three. Another way to view this concept is that happiness is temporary, but meaning is much more long-lasting.

3.) Meaning comes from what you give to others, while happiness is more closely related to what they can give to you.

4.) Meaningful lives involve challenge and stress, whereas lives based on happiness first focus on ease and one’s own pleasures. Basically, meaningful lives are focused beyond one’s own self-interests.

5.) Self-expression is more closely related to meaning but not necessarily happiness. For example, some of the most creative artists in history were quite miserable but produced art that changed the world.

According to Dr. Jill Suttie, contributing editor for Greater Good magazine, one of the key takeaways from Baumeister’s research was how giving to others was associated with meaning. People that give to others are often happier, but not necessarily because they gave. They were happier because of the meaning they assigned to the act of giving. They didn’t give just to give but because they felt good about it. They knew they were doing something positive. The bottom line is to have your best life; there has to be a balance between serving ourselves and serving others. In addition, serving others gives our lives purpose and a deeper meaning, while periodically serving our own needs of pleasure, comfort, and fun can also add value to our lives. Baumeister cautioned that living simply for hedonistic pleasure does not truly make you happy in the long run and that seeking happiness without deeper meaning would probably result in stress and aggravation. He maintained that the best life would include meaningful relationships, purposeful self-expression, and altruism while including a bit of fun and pleasure.