Ideas worth spreading

There's more to life than being happy

13,159,145 views |

Emily Esfahani Smith |

TED2017

• April 2017

Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but what if there's a more fulfilling path? Happiness comes and goes, says writer Emily Esfahani Smith, but having meaning in life -- serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you -- gives you something to hold onto. Learn more about the difference between being happy and having meaning as Smith offers four pillars of a meaningful life.

Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but what if there's a more fulfilling path? Happiness comes and goes, says writer Emily Esfahani Smith, but having meaning in life -- serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you -- gives you something to hold onto. Learn more about the difference between being happy and having meaning as Smith offers four pillars of a meaningful life.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about Emily's work and The Power of Meaning.

Start a Ben Franklin Circle. This project is a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y, Stanford University's Hoover Institution and Citizen University to build meaning in local communities.

About the speaker

Emily Esfahani Smith

Emily Esfahani Smith

Journalist, author

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In her book "The Power of Meaning," Emily Esfahani Smith rounds up the latest research -- and the stories of fascinating people she interviewed -- to argue that the search for meaning is far more fulfilling than the pursuit of personal happiness.

Viktor Frankl | Book

Man’s Search for Meaning

In 1942, Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist in Vienna, was transported to a Nazi concentration camp. Man’s Search For Meaning, based off of his experiences during the Holocaust, is about how to find meaning amid suffering. He paraphrases Nietzsche in the book: He who knows the “why” for his existence can withstand almost any "how." This is a classic work that shows why human beings have such a powerful need for meaning.

George Eliot | Book

A lot of young adults think that the key to leading a meaningful life is changing the world in some grand way—like by curing some disease or launching the next big company. And that’s basically what Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate think, too. These two young adults yearn for meaning and want to lead epic lives. But as the novel progresses, their hopes and dreams are dashed. Even so, Eliot wants us to see that a meaningful life doesn’t have to be extraordinary or epic. Ordinary lives are also full of meaning, too.

Yann Martel | Book

This novel tells the story of a teenage boy named Pi, who, in the aftermath of a shipwreck that has killed his family, finds himself aboard a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Pi’s story of resilience and growth in the face of tragedy is incredible once you realize what really happened on board the lifeboat. Though what really happened is tragic, Pi chooses to tell a different story. His story parallels what truly happened, but is hopeful and redemptive rather than bleak and nihilistic. The novel is a beautiful illustration of how storytelling helps us make sense of our lives, especially in times of trouble.

Leo Tolstoy | Book

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Many people believe that if they chase career success, material wealth, and status, they will find happiness and fulfillment. In this novella, Tolstoy shatters those assumptions. Ivan Ilyich is a judge who leads a superficial life devoted to climbing the social ladder. Then, one day, he falls and is terminally injured. As a result of dying, he comes to the devastating realization that his life was false and meaningless. But he also comes to see where meaning in life truly lies.

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about Emily's work and The Power of Meaning.

Start a Ben Franklin Circle. This project is a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y, Stanford University's Hoover Institution and Citizen University to build meaning in local communities.