Emily Esfahani Smith

you know, so for example, you know, if you're a teacher, let's say, and you are, you know, in, you know, in meetings, you know, committee meetings, or this and that, and it just feels like a waste of time.

Well, what you're doing is in the service of this larger mission of serving of, you know, educating young people.

And so sometimes small tweaks can help.

But sometimes we do need a bigger change, a more radical change.

And

Again, I think the signal for that, the hint that that's what's needed is if you are living a life that does not feel at all aligned with your values and aligned with what's important to you.

So I think that's one way I would think about it.

Yes.

Yes.

So, you know, the future is, is uncertain and that's always true.

You know, you know, it's, it was true, you know, a hundred years ago, it's true today.

Maybe even, you know, more true than ever today.

Cause there's, you know, the world is changing at such a fast rate.

And I think here, um,

Again, meaning can be a stabilizing force.

If we know, if we're committed to, you know, connecting and contributing to something beyond ourself, whether that's our family or the work that we do, you know, something, you know, more spiritually inclined, perhaps, then that can be an anchor for us, even as things change all around us.

I think saying at the beginning of the episode of the show here with you, Whitney, that when it comes to meaning and happiness, that things can feel uncertain and that when we're setting resolutions for ourselves, goals are these discrete things that we can accomplish.

Happiness is something that we may want, but it comes and goes.

But meaning is something that we can always work towards.

not just, yes, we can frame our New Year's resolutions in terms of meaning, but also our life more generally in terms of meaning.