The following article expands on highlights and insights from one of our Expert Series events, which are exclusive for Young Scholars and their parents.
Authored by: Leon Garber
Summary
Existential crises may occur when we can’t access the “whys” of what we’re doing. Research indicates that emotional well-being is positively correlated with a deep sense of purpose – the more meaningful your life feels, the better you feel. So, if we believe that what we’re doing doesn’t matter, doesn’t coherently fit the big picture of our lives or maybe even the world, we can easily fall into despair. This talk is aimed at helping you consider why people often feel hopeless, where hope tends to stem from, and how to continue to sustain it despite setbacks. Existential thinking teaches us that hope can be found from within, by considering what’s important to us and why it should be. Ultimately, the existentialists teach that our lives are solely our responsibility because an objective blueprint for how to live isn’t provided for us. Luckily, Yalom, Schopenhauer, and others provided us with frameworks and questions to assist us on our journeys. Thus, we’ll consider the distinctions between three different forms of meaning (and how conflating them contributes to our unhappiness), how Schopenhauer found meaning through the power of self-confidence, and the limiting thinking patterns underlying chronic hopelessness. Additionally, we’ll consider the philosophy of nihilism, or the belief that nothing truly matters, and why falling into it is easy when feeling despair, despite its harmful and unsound nature. My goal is to help you deeply consider the significance of meaning, the meaning of meaning, in order to discover that nihilistic thinking and hopelessness aren’t inevitable or even logical conclusions.
Tips:
- Challenge your dysfunctional thinking patterns (e.g., Black and white thinking) when feeling hopeless and stuck.
- Remind yourself that cosmic meaning isn’t the only form of meaning and that you can matter without affecting the universe.
- Remind yourself that most of what you do matters in the moment to you and others, as well as you mattering to them.
- Focus on creating a value system that makes you feel good about yourself when you’re trying your best to live up to it.
Resources:
- Feel free to read my blog on Psychology Today, which covers existential issues and giftedness: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/leon-garber-lmhcSome corrections:
Schopenhauer was not a nihilist, only considered to be a “passive nihilist” by Frederick Nietzsche since Schopenhauer believed meaning was possible through an aesthetic path. However, because he believed this path was a mere escape, it contradicts his obsession with his work, which he treated with the reverence of something that was objectively meaningful.
Speaker Bio:
Leon Garber is a philosophical writer, contemplating and elucidating the deep recesses of the human soul. He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Psychotherapist — specializing in Existential Psychotherapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Trauma Therapy — and manages a blog (Leon’s Existential Cafe) exploring issues of death, self-esteem, love, freedom, life-meaning, and mental health/mental illness, from both empirical and personal viewpoints. He also co-hosts Seize the Moment Podcast.
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