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WORK TITLE: The Power of Meaning
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://emilyesfahanismith.com/
CITY: Washington
STATE: DC
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NATIONALITY:
http://emilyesfahanismith.com/about/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-esfahani-smith-a78a8327/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Zurich, Switzerland; married.
EDUCATION:Dartmouth College, B.A., 2009; University of Pennsylvania, M.A.P.P., 2013.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author, editor, and educator. Hoover Institution, Stanford, CA, 2010—; New Criterion, New York, NY, managing editor, 2013-14; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, instructor in positive psychology, 2013–.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including Atlantic, New York Times, Time, and Wall Street Journal.
SIDELIGHTS
Emily Esfahani Smith is an educator and writer with a degree in positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a personal background in Islamic mysticism. “I draw on psychology, philosophy and literature, as well as my own reporting,” the author stated on her eponymous home page, the Emily Esfahani Smith Website, “to write about the human experience.” Her first book is The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters.
Smith’s background in Sufism influences her writing. “When I was a child, my parents ran a Sufi meetinghouse out of our home in Montreal,” Smith declared on the Emily Esfahani Smith website. “Sufism is the mystical practice of Islam, and Sufis practice loving kindness and service to all. Growing up surrounded by people whose lives were so rich with meaning left its mark.” “When I grew older, we moved out of the Sufi meetinghouse,” the author continued in an interview with Gareth Cook in Scientific American, “but the question of how to lead a meaningful life remained with me. Answering that question first led me to study philosophy in college and then to study psychology in graduate school. In graduate school, I discovered that a new and growing body of research was emerging about meaning and the difference between a meaningful life and a happy life. Because I was working as a journalist at the same time, I started writing about those studies on meaning and happiness.”
In The Power of Meaning, Smith breaks down the psychology of meaningful living into a set of conditions. She “examines what everyone from Camus to Sisyphus, Will Durant to scientists, and even the Society for Creative Anachronism,” said Kathryn Drury Wagner, writing in Spirituality & Health Magazine, “can teach us about the search for life’s meaning.” “She also examines the obstacles that stand in the way of meaning,” stated a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “such as the fast pace of modern life.” “When people say their lives are meaningful, it’s because three conditions have been satisfied, according to psychologists—they feel their lives matter and have worth; they feel their lives are driven by a sense of purpose; and they believe their lives are coherent or comprehensible,” Smith stated in Mappalicious. “Storytelling relates to that third prong of meaning, coherence. Storytelling is the act of taking our disparate experiences and weaving them into a whole. Rather than seeing their experiences as random or disconnected, people who feel their lives are meaningful see their experiences as part of a narrative that explains who they are.” The author uses “empirical studies, abundant anecdotes, and wisdom gleaned from various writers and philosophers,” declared a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “to support the idea that four `pillars’ can give life meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence.” “These … are necessary prerequisites to support a rich existence, Smith illustrates with social science research and tales from her travels,” wrote Alice B. Lloyd in the Weekly Standard Online. “She met a young man searching for belonging beyond his tight-knit island community in the middle of the Chesapeake; stargazers in awe of the unknown infinite at an astronomical observatory in West Texas; and terminally ill patients who tell their stories to recover the will to live their final days.”
Critics enjoyed Smith’s work. Smith “draws together an amply supported architecture of meaning,” Lloyd continued. “It is not a revelatory or groundbreaking philosophy as much as it is a thoughtful and inviting formula for making sense of secular life as it we find it.” “Refreshingly, The Power of Meaning is more a book of description of how people have learned to live lives of meaning, rather than one of prescription promising quick tips for finding meaning in one’s life,” concluded Dan Bowling in the Daily Caller. “The Power of Meaning elevates itself beyond the self-help genre, and offers an important exploration of this under-looked, but critically, important topic. It is a fine debut for this promising young author.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2016, review of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters.
Publishers Weekly, November 7, 2016, review of The Power of Meaning, p. 52.
Scientific American, January 24, 2017, Gareth Cook, “Power of a Meaningful Life.”
Spirituality & Health Magazine, January-February, 2017, Kathryn Drury Wagner, review of The Power of Meaning, p. 75.
Weekly Standard, January 18, 2017, Alice B. Lloyd, review of The Power of Meaning.
ONLINE
Daily Caller, http://dailycaller.com/ (May 11, 2017), Dan Bowling, review of The Power of Meaning.
Emily Esfahani Smith Website, http://emilyesfahanismith.com (August 30, 2017), author interview; author profile.
Mappalicious, https://mappalicious.com/ (January 17, 2017), “3 Questions for Emily Esfahani Smith, Author of `The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters.’”*
ABOUT
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Hello! I am a writer, journalist, and the author of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters (Crown). In my book, articles, and essays, I draw on psychology, philosophy and literature, as well as my own reporting, to write about the human experience—why we are the way we are and how we can find grace and meaning in a world that is full of suffering. My writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Atlantic, and other publications.
I am an editor at the Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where I advise the Ben Franklin Circles project, a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y and Citizen University to build civic engagement in local communities. If you're interested in joining or starting one—it's not hard—please reach out to me here.
Fun fact: I was born in Zurich, Switzerland. But I grew up in Montreal, Canada, and now live in Washington DC with my husband. I graduated from Dartmouth College and earned a master of applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
For speaking engagements, I am exclusively represented by The Lavin Agency. Please visit my speaking page here for bio, topics, and videos. You may contact Charles Yao, Director of Intellectual Talent at Lavin, for more information, at cyao@thelavinagency.com.
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Emily Esfahani Smith is the author of "THE POWER OF MEANING: Crafting a Life That Matters" (Crown). She writes about psychology, relationships, and culture. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Time, The Atlantic, and other publications. She is also an instructor in positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Q&A
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO INVESTIGATE THE TOPIC OF MEANING SO DEEPLY?
When I was a child, my parents ran a Sufi meetinghouse out of our home in Montreal. Sufism is the mystical practice of Islam, and Sufis practice loving kindness and service to all. Growing up surrounded by people whose lives were so rich with meaning left its mark. As I grew older, I was driven to examine meaning in philosophy and psychology and write about it for publications like the New York Times and The Atlantic. I was surprised by how strongly those ideas resonated with readers hungry to find meaning in their own lives.
WHY IS THE SEARCH FOR MEANING SO CRITICAL RIGHT NOW?
Despite our culture’s obsession with happiness, we are more weighed down by despair than ever; suicide rates in the US recently hit a thirty-year high and depression has been trending upward for decades. This growing despair is very often a problem of meaning. To be psychologically and spiritually healthy, we need to believe that our lives matter. We all need to discover ways to feel connected to something larger than ourselves—to feel that our lives make sense and that we have a purpose.
HOW DID THE “FOUR PILLARS OF MEANING” CONCEPT COME ABOUT?
I wanted to know what exactly a meaningful life consists of, so I started poring through old and new social science findings on meaning. I also turned to thinkers and novelists—among them Aristotle, Virginia Woolf, Viktor Frankl, the Buddha—and interviewed all kinds of people—from a former drug dealer to a zookeeper to an astronaut—about their search for meaning and where their sources of meaning lie. In the end, four themes came up again and again, which inspired me to create the four pillars: Belonging, Purpose, Storytelling, and Transcendence.
ARE THERE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS TO LEADING A MEANINGFUL LIFE, BEYOND JUST FEELING MORE COMPLETE?
When you live a meaningful life, the effects cascade into other areas of your life. People leading meaningful lives have better cardiovascular health, are less likely to suffer from cognitive impairments, and their brains respond to adversity better. If they work, they are more engaged and productive. If they’re students, they get better grades and are more empathetic. Beyond these benefits to the self, if you’re living a meaningful life, you’re also more likely to make a positive impact on those around you.
WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING/INTERESTING THING YOU DISCOVERED WHILE WRITING THIS BOOK?
There’s a myth in our culture that the search for meaning is some esoteric pursuit—that you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to figure out life’s great secret. Actually, that’s not true. There are untapped sources of meaning all around us—right here, right now. We can find belonging in a brief connection with a barista or a newspaper vendor. We can find purpose by helping a colleague at work or our children with their assignments. We can reflect on a pivotal experience from our life to understand more deeply who we are. We can look up at a starry night sky and feel awe and transcendence. We need to bring meaning down to earth, and that’s what I do in my book.
Power of a Meaningful Life
Journalist Emily Esfahani Smith offers a guide for building a better approach to living
By Gareth Cook on January 24, 2017
Credit: Paul Bradbury Getty Images
Who could argue with happiness? Count the journalist Emily Esfahani Smith as one. Happiness is not itself a problem, of course, but she worries that its relentless pursuit—and the self-help industry that’s grown up around that mission—has left us feeling empty, dislocated and, well, unhappy. Instead she it would be wiser to pursue “meaning,” a thesis she lays out in her new book, The Power of Meaning. She answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.
Emily Esfahani Smith. Credit: Jonathan Durling
How did you become interested in writing about “meaning”?
When I was a child, I grew up surrounded by spiritual seekers. I lived in a Sufi meetinghouse that my parents administered in Montreal. Sufism is a school of mysticism associated with Islam, and twice a week, Sufis came over to our home and gathered in a large room, where they sat on the floor and meditated as classical Iranian Sufi music played in the background. The Sufis practiced loving-kindness and service to all—and though they didn’t all lead happy or easy lives, they all led lives of meaning, dedicating themselves to something bigger.
When I grew older, we moved out of the Sufi meetinghouse, but the question of how to lead a meaningful life remained with me. Answering that question first led me to study philosophy in college and then to study psychology in graduate school. In graduate school, I discovered that a new and growing body of research was emerging about meaning and the difference between a meaningful life and a happy life. Because I was working as a journalist at the same time, I started writing about those studies on meaning and happiness—and one of my articles, “There’s more to life than being happy,” which was published in The Atlantic, struck a chord with readers and became the basis for my new book, “The Power of Meaning.”
What do you see as the problem with happiness?
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with feeling happy, but I think that setting happiness as your goal and relentlessly chasing it can lead to problems. Research shows that being fixated on happiness can actually make people feel lonely and unhappy—and that the happy life is associated with being a “taker,” to use the language of Wharton’s Adam Grant. But it’s different with meaning. Leading a meaningful life leads to a deeper sense of contentment and peace, and it’s linked to being a “giver” rather than a “taker.”
The happiness frenzy distracts people from what really matters, which is leading a meaningful life. Human beings have a need for meaning. We’re creatures that seek meaning, make meaning, and yearn for meaning. The question is—how can we lead a meaningful life? The route to meaning lies in connecting and contributing to something bigger than yourself—and not in gratifying yourself and focusing on what you, yourself, need and want, as the happiness industry encourages us to do.
You talk about storytelling as one of four “pillars of meaning.” Can you explain what you mean by that?
Storytelling is the act of taking our disparate experiences and weaving them into a coherent whole—a narrative. Psychologists say that one of the building blocks of a meaningful life is coherence or comprehension. That means that people leading meaningful lives don’t conceive of their experiences as random and disconnected. They have worked hard to understand how their experiences fit together into a narrative that explains who they are how they got to be that way.
In my book, I tell the story of Carlos Eire, who grew up in Havana and was a child during the Cuban revolution. After the revolution, he was forced to flee to America without his parents. The revolution, he said, was the point where his life story broke into two—a before and after. Before the revolution, he led a pampered life in Havana. After the revolution, he was essentially a poor orphan who had to fend for himself in a foreign country where he was discriminated against for being Cuban. Carlos spent a lot of time reflecting on the revolution and how it had changed the arc of his life. Eventually, he realized that the adversity he endured, though difficult and painful, ultimately made him a more compassionate person. So that’s how he made sense of a difficult experience—that’s the story he told about it. Storytelling helped him understand himself more deeply and gain more perspective on his life.
If you look at how Americans live today compared with, say, 50 years ago, one striking difference is the amount of time spend consuming media and, most recently, social media. I wonder if you have any thoughts on the role that might be playing?
One thing I think about a lot is what I call “the meaning crisis” in my book. Research shows that there are millions of people who are unsure of what makes their lives meaningful—and that rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and drug addiction have been rising for decades. Because so many of us are struggling to understand our “why,” I think we’re turning to false substitutes for meaning—like technology and the pursuit of happiness—to fill our existential vacuum, or what Louis CK once called “the forever empty” feeling that lurks inside us and rears its head from time to time.
Don’t get me wrong: I think technology has been a powerful force for good in the world. I even think it can build meaning by cultivating connections and opening us up to the stories of others. But there’s a dark side, too, with all of the addictive behaviors that come with it. Leading a meaningful life requires being reflective, being present and aware of others, and being of service to others—and I don’t see how we can do those things when we’re walking around with headphones on, lost in our own little worlds, and constantly checking our phones for updates or filling our minds with dribs and drabs of meaningless stimuli.
But when we look up, when we unplug and engage with the world around us, we’ll see that there are sources of meaning everywhere. Let’s be sure we’re not missing out on these experiences! One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Virginia Woolf, which speaks to this theme. She wrote: “What is the meaning of life? That was all—a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years, the great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead, there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark; here was one.” Meaning is everywhere. It’s up to us to build it into our lives.
Rights & Permissions
Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook. Gareth, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, is the series editor of Best American Infographics and can be reached at garethideas AT gmail.com or Twitter @garethideas.
3 Questions for Emily Esfahani Smith, Author of “The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters”
emily_esfahani_smithEmily Esfahani Smith is a writer and fellow Penn MAPP alum. She writes about culture, relationships, and psychology. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Atlantic, and other publications. A few days ago her first book, The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters, was published. Today, she took some time to talk about her work on Mappalicious.
Emily, in your book, you propose there are four pillars of a meaningful life: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling. I´ve already come across the first three while studying Positive Psychology, the last one seems to be a very unique angle. So what´s the story with storytelling?
When people say their lives are meaningful, it’s because three conditions have been satisfied, according to psychologists—they feel their lives matter and have worth; they feel their lives are driven by a sense of purpose; and they believe their lives are coherent or comprehensible. Storytelling relates to that third prong of meaning, coherence. Storytelling is the act of taking our disparate experiences and weaving them into a whole. Rather than seeing their experiences as random or disconnected, people who feel their lives are meaningful see their experiences as part of a narrative that explains who they are and how they got to be that way. Another word for storytelling is sense-making—when we tell stories, we’re really trying to make sense of our experiences.
One of the people I interviewed for my book, for example, told me that experiencing adversity as a child ultimately made him a more compassionate person—that’s the story he tells about his adversity; that’s how he makes sense of it. But storytelling isn’t just about understanding ourselves more deeply, it’s also about understanding others. When we watch movies or read novels or listen to a friend’s story, we’re ultimately gaining more wisdom and perspective about what it means to be human.
power_meaning_esfahaniIn my day job, I´m heading a department in a multinational corporation. Therefore, I take special interest in the application of Positive Psychology in organizations. Do those four pillars you describe also apply to meaning in work – or are there additional aspects leaders should consider when thinking about their employees´ experience?
One of the most exciting trends of the last few decades has been the emergence of what I call “cultures of meaning” in institutions like corporations. Many companies are actively building cultures of meaning for their consumers and employees by relying on the four pillars of meaning.
A great example is the apparel brand Life Is Good, which sees its purpose as spreading hope and optimism around the world. It does this with its apparel, which has the words Life Is Good emblazoned on it. Many consumers have written to the company saying that its elevating message has helped them get through adversities and tragedies like cancer and losing loved ones. The leaders at Life Is Good have shared those stories with their employees, to show them that their work is making a positive impact on others. Life Is Good also has a non-profit arm that helps children facing adversities. When I spoke to several of the employees at the company—from a receptionist to a designer—they all told me that they are driven by the good that their company is doing in the world. So here, I see Life Is Good relying on the pillars of purpose and storytelling to create cultures of meaning.
It’s important for leaders to be aware of whether employees are experiencing their work as meaningful. Nothing engages or motivates employees quite like meaningful work—and research by Adam Grant suggests that doing meaningful work makes employees more productive, too (Adam´s interview on Mappalicious can be found here).
I feel my life is already pretty meaningful. I´m happily married and have two beautiful kids. Additionally, I can spend a lot of my time working on things I deeply care about and help other people. But I´m not so sure about the storytelling part. What are some steps I could take to enhance my experience of meaning in life via this pillar?
Storytelling requires reflection. I would recommend setting aside some time—maybe 15 minutes a day a few times a week—to either think or write about your life story. That may sound daunting or vague, but here are some specific things you can reflect on during that time.
1. Try dividing your life into chapters. How many chapters are there? What is the title or theme of each chapter? What makes each chapter unique? What chapters are yet to come? How many future chapters are there? What do you want the final chapter to say?
2. When you look back on your life, what were the turning points? What were the high points and the low points? How did those experiences change you? What did you learn from them? Are you still working to process them?
3. Reflect on the places in your life that played a formative role in your development—like where you grew up, perhaps, or where you went to college, or where you first met your husband or wife. While you’re thinking about these places, ask yourself: why were your experiences there so meaningful? How did they change you? What would your life have been life if you had grown up somewhere else or gone to a different school? What does it feel like being back in those places?
I’d like to add that storytelling is a pillar that takes work—sometimes we have to go over and over an experience hundreds of time before we can begin to make sense of it and understand how it fits into the broader arc of our lives. But it’s ultimately worth it, because that sense-making process brings us wisdom, resolution, and even a measure of peace.
Thank you, Emily, and best of luck with your book!
The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That
Matters
Kathryn Drury Wagner
Spirituality & Health Magazine.
20.1 (January-February 2017): p75.
COPYRIGHT 2017 Spirituality & Health Magazine
http://www.spirituality-health.com/spirit/
Full Text:
The Power of Meaning
Crafting a Life That Matters
By Emily Esfahani Smith
CROWN PUBLISHING
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
I WAS bleary-eyed, wrestling to complete a feature story at the end of a long week, yet my copyeditor cheerfully
helped me and emailed, "It was my pleasure to help. I want to meet the deadline, and I don't want other people to be
stressed." And I thought, Wow! She has mastered the concept of meaning. And that, says author Emily Esfahani Smith,
is the secret to everyday transcendence.
In her new book, The Power of Meaning, Smith argues that our society has become overzealous in our pursuit of the
concept of happiness, and that the time, money, and personal effort dedicated to chasing it are wasted. What we need
instead, she says, is to focus on meaning. Smith has a master's degree in positive psychology and frequently writes for
outlets such as the New York Times. She also grew up in an interesting way--her parents hosted a Sufi meetinghouse,
where dervishes in prayer surrounded her. In her wide-ranging and well-researched book, she examines what everyone
from Camus to Sisyphus, Will Durant to scientists, and even the Society for Creative Anachronism can teach us about
the search for life's meaning.
There are four components, she shares, to creating a meaningful life experience: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and
transcendence. (You'll notice that money, career advancement, a hot spouse, and a gorgeous physique aren't among the
criteria, despite our American cultural values.) Smith covers each concept of the four pillars, and inspires us on ways
we can foster a sense of meaning on our own. Who among us hasn't thought, Why am I here? A book like this, which
helps provide answers, is rare indeed.--KDW
Wagner, Kathryn Drury
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Wagner, Kathryn Drury. "The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters." Spirituality & Health Magazine, Jan.-
Feb. 2017, p. 75. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA478697198&it=r&asid=8d1c3312a6b33cc232b68d52ceedd6a4.
Accessed 13 Aug. 2017.
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The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That
Matters
Publishers Weekly.
263.45 (Nov. 7, 2016): p52.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters
Emily Esfahani Smith. Crown, $28 (304p) ISBN 978-0-5534-1999-3
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Journalist Smith, who has an M.A. in applied positive psychology, issues an enlightening guide to discovering meaning
in one's life. She states that despite a culturally ingrained appreciation for the pursuit of happiness, Americans report
being more miserable than ever. Paradoxically, pursuing happiness for its own sake often leads to unhappiness, whereas
studies show that meaningful endeavors instill a deeper sense of wellbeing. Smith shares evocative stories of
individuals who chose to focus on meaning, including famous authors such as Leo Tolstoy and Albert Camus; a
zookeeper who spends much of her time with giraffes, kangaroos, and wallabies; and members of the Dinner Party, a
national support group for young adults who have lost loved ones. Additionally, she explores the concept of growth
through adversity, asking why some people grow after trauma while others do not. She also examines the obstacles that
stand in the way of meaning, such as the fast pace of modern life. This survey concludes with the moving story of
Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist who survived imprisonment in the Nazi concentration camp where
most of his family died and went on to write Man's Search for Meaning. Smith persuasively reshapes the reader's
understanding of what constitutes a well-lived life. Agent: Bridget Matzi, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters." Publishers Weekly, 7 Nov. 2016, p. 52. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA469757526&it=r&asid=a5a0e573d80ef31166874879784a4350.
Accessed 13 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A469757526
8/13/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1502648405643 3/3
Smith, Emily Esfahani: THE POWER OF
MEANING
Kirkus Reviews.
(Nov. 1, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Smith, Emily Esfahani THE POWER OF MEANING Crown (Adult Nonfiction) $28.00 1, 10 ISBN: 978-0-553-41999-
3
Common-sense suggestions on how to feel that life is worth living.In her thoughtful but hardly groundbreaking debut
book, journalist Smith draws on research from applied positive psychology, in which she holds a master's degree, to
offer advice about living a meaningful life. Applied positive psychology, the author explains, was founded by a
research psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who, noting a prevalence of depression, helplessness, and
anxiety, called for an investigation into "what makes life fulfilling." That investigation focused at first on happiness,
resulting in thousands of studies; however, Smith asserts, "there is distinction between a happy life and a meaningful
life." Like many self-help books, this one uses empirical studies, abundant anecdotes, and wisdom gleaned from
various writers and philosophers to support the idea that four "pillars" can give life meaning: belonging, purpose,
storytelling, and transcendence. These pillars "are central to religious and spiritual systems, and they are the reason
why they historically conferred (and continue to confer) meaning in people's lives." Smith found these pillars
emphasized in her own childhood, growing up in a Sufi community whose members did not doubt the value of their
own lives. But even without the bulwark of religion, individuals can build their own pillars. No matter what work one
does, even menial jobs, "when we reframe our tasks as opportunities to help others, our lives and our work feel more
significant." Similarly, when we "feel understood, recognized, and affirmed by our friends, family members, and
romantic partners," that sense of belonging bestows meaning. Creating a narrative about our lives "allows us to
understand our lives as coherent" and helps to define our identity; sharing those stories becomes an important way to
connect with others. Awe when thinking about the vast universe or infinity can make us feel "connected to something
massive and meaningful." Underscoring the power of connection, the author assures readers that finding meaning is not
the result of "some great revelation" but rather small gestures and humble acts. A good choice for self-help seekers but
not likely for others.
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Smith, Emily Esfahani: THE POWER OF MEANING." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2016. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468389121&it=r&asid=0337a609ed3552a47fe2c86d6c74d48c.
Accessed 13 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468389121
‘The Power of Meaning’ Book Review: Describing, Not Prescribing, Purpose
Photo of Dan Bowling
DAN BOWLING
Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke Law School
5:42 PM 05/11/2017
4322 TOP
I have always been skeptical about meaning. It makes me particularly squeamish when someone asks me if I am doing something “meaningful” with my life. I don’t know, that seems to be an ex post facto determination, something for history — or at least others — to decide. To the extent we have something approaching meaning in our lives, it seems to find us, not vice versa, and its obsessive pursuit can be self-aggrandizing at best, existentially depressing at worst.
But Emily Esfhahani Smith has caused me to reconsider.
Ms. Smith, an accomplished young essayist with an advanced degree in psychology, has written a new book, The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life that Matters (Crown: New York, 2017). Her thesis, vividly developed through life stories, character sketches, and empirical evidence, is that the search for meaning and purpose in one’s life – regardless of the scientific proof of its its existence — enriches its living.
This is a notion that causes shudders in the salons of today’s intellectual elite, where God – the traditional source of meaning – has long been dead. and on campus, where instruction in spirituality, values and character development is seen as a tool of oppression. Smith in rich prose details these twin declines of religion in modern intellectual life and in the academy, and the corresponding depreciation of the construct of meaning, but highlights small pockets in the academy where the study of what makes life worth living survives.
One is in the field of positive psychology, most famously at the University of Pennsylvania under the leadership of Dr. Martin Seligman (note: both Ms. Smith and I studied with Dr. Seligman and have served as his teaching assistants). Positive psychology is psychology, thus reliant on empiricism and the scientific method, but is open to exploring broader questions of life and its meaning than most social science disciplines. The “happiness science” of Seligman and his followers has not only grown exponentially in academic circles, but has been embraced by popular culture. Unfortunately, Smith observes, in the popular imagination it is often dumbed down into an ill-defined “happiness” that has more in common with hedonic pleasure-seeking than anything substantial. Smith seeks to change that in this book.
Smith’s theory of meaning centers on four pillars: “belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence.” She explains each pillar through a blend of scientific reporting, philosophical observation, and narrative anecdote. To introduce the topic of transcendence, for example, she tells of a drive through West Texas, “the land of rattlesnakes and armadillos, cowboys and cattle,” to gaze at stars at the famed McDonald Observatory. Looking into deep space through the Hubble telescope, she experiences and explains for the reader how humans throughout history have gazed into the heavens to experience awe, a realization that every life is a part of something far larger and more transcendent.
Most interesting to me is her pillar of belonging. In an era where diversity and inclusion, with their distrust for traditional group norms and values are fetishized, Smith argues that true meaning is often found in small groups, or tribes, with shared values. She provides several stirring examples, such as tiny Tangier Island off the coast of Virginia, where a small fishing community has formed bonds of friendship and trust that go back decades. Meaning lies in the nexus of those relationships. “We all need to feel understood, recognized, and affirmed by our friends, family members, and romantic partners,” Smith writes,” we all need to find our tribe . . . where we belong.” Smith cites research showing that a sense of belonging is a key driver in meaningful lives. Perhaps this powerful need for belonging in a changing, globalized world is behind the recent upsurge in populist sentiment in the democratic West (a topic I encourage Ms. Smith, a talented political essayist in addition to psychological writer, to explore).
Refreshingly, The Power of Meaning is more a book of description of how people have learned to live lives of meaning, rather than one of prescription promising quick tips for finding meaning in one’s life. As such, Smith avoids the annoying artifices used by most writers in the field of happiness studies, who stuff their books with checklists and to-dos. Filling out a page of instructions in a trade paperback isn’t the cure for the anomie of modern man. As such, The Power of Meaning elevates itself beyond the self-help genre, and offers an important exploration of this under-looked, but critically, important topic. It is a fine debut for this promising young author.
The Meaning of Life
Reviewed: "The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters" by Emily Esfahani Smith
7:00 AM, JAN 18, 2017 | By ALICE B. LLOYD
Photo credit: Dano
What makes a meaningful life? It's an often strenuous, and in no way uniformly happy, existence compelled by service to some higher calling—higher, anyway, than selfish gratification. It's also an explainable life, simple enough to be told back to you as a story, but it keeps in touch with the numinous beyond. And without a sense of belonging, absent good humor and loving companions among whom you never doubt that you are home, there's no point.
The meaning of life has these four parts, writes WEEKLY STANDARD alumna Emily Esfahani Smith in The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters—purpose, storytelling, transcendence, and belonging. These "four pillars of meaning" are necessary prerequisites to support a rich existence, Smith illustrates with social science research and tales from her travels. She met a young man searching for belonging beyond his tight-knit island community in the middle of the Chesapeake; stargazers in awe of the unknown infinite at an astronomical observatory in West Texas; and terminally ill patients who tell their stories to recover the will to live their final days.
Smith's findings will strike a familiar chord: The four pillars are common to enduring organized religions and popular spiritual-but-not-religious support groups. She draws as much from classical humanists as from modern social science and her firsthand research. Like predecessor M. Scott Peck—author of 1978's The Road Less Traveled, which The Power of Meaning reflects but does not explicitly recall—Smith couches timeless human truths in a distinctly modern context. Peck's definition of love ("The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth") and his philosophy of mental and spiritual discipline satisfied late-twentieth century conceptions of personal progress: After an era of indulgence and lawless love, readers lapped up Peck's structured dogma. Now, in an even more secular age, one of profound isolation despite extreme "connectedness," hedonistic happiness is a click away. A meaningful lives demands more.
The psychology of happiness has proved a passing fad. In the second half of the last decade, psychology fell victim to a "happiness frenzy," Smith writes. "And yet, there is a major problem with the happiness frenzy: it has failed to deliver on its promise. Though the happiness industry continues to grow, as a society, we're more miserable than ever. Indeed, social scientists have uncovered a sad irony—chasing happiness actually makes people unhappy." A finding that, Smith says, should be "no surprise to students of the humanistic tradition."
She weaves together contemporary social science, research that looks for meaning beyond "happiology," with humanistic philosophy and testimonies gathered firsthand—and ushers our attention from one "pillar of meaning" to the next. Smith also makes her presence known in The Power of Meaning as our sympathetic steward: Her own quest for meaning, what brought her to write this book, serves as a guiding purpose, and glimpses of her own life story structure its narration. She opens with childhood recollections of growing in a Sufi meetinghouse, where, "Twice a week, darvishes—or members of the order—would sit on the floor and meditate for several hours." These are foundational memories, we're to understand, that imbue a pious interest in the mystical reverence absent from most of modern life.
As an undergraduate, she acutely felt the absence of a compelling interest in the divine—"I soon learned that academic philosophy had largely abandoned that quest." Smith's search for meaning gained a new urgency during her college years, when she observed how few of her peers came to school expecting to gain the wisdom to conduct good lives. Fifty years ago, a majority reported "developing a meaningful life philosophy" the top goal for their college years. Now, making money tops the list:
The American Freshman survey has tracked the values of college students since the mid-1960s. In the late sixties, the top priority of college freshmen was "developing a meaningful life philosophy." Nearly all of them—86 percent—said this was an "essential" or "very important" life goal. By the 2000s, their top priority became "being very well off financially" while just 40 percent said meaning was their chief goal. Of course, most students still have a strong yearning for meaning. But that search no longer drives their educations.
Academia's hyper-focus also means that wondering aloud what makes life worth living would be no less out-of-place in a critical theory course than in an econ survey. Smith pursued the meaning of life as a counter-cultural generalist. From Aristotelian eudaimonia to William James on the transcendent yesness of a nitrous high, she draws together an amply supported architecture of meaning—deceptively simple and perhaps too rarely sought. It is not a revelatory or groundbreaking philosophy as much as it is a thoughtful and inviting formula for making sense of secular life as it we find it.
Our souls seek whatever pushes us beyond our selves and holds us there, in contemplative service to something greater. Smith grants primacy to love. A story from the life of Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning, unites the pillars. Frankl, then a prisoner in a concentration camp, was marching on a cold morning with his fellow inmates when he thought of his wife and realized, "love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love." The giving of oneself unto another is always the first best reason to live another day.
Still, in the end, it's hard to ignore the extent to which Smith's four pillars—belonging, transcendence, purpose, storytelling—resemble the same psychic needs served by that old time religion. It's our secular age that relegates to social science such matters, like a person's readiness to face death, that used to be settled more or less exclusively on God's terms.
In fact, reading her accounts of psychological studies and groundbreaking therapies, I couldn't get this one line from the 1980s movie The Creator out of my head: "When science finally peers over the crest of the mountain, it will find religion has been sitting there all along." Peter O'Toole, who plays a scientist bent on cloning his late wife, says this to his young lab assistant. But then I must concede that even in this odd movie, the pillars of meaning play a prominent role. The scientist played by O'Toole befriends his lab assistant, through whom he's able to revisit the story of his youth, and he finds a new purpose. As a result, he, all the while no stranger to the transcendent, manages to overcome his obsessive mission—because of improvements to his "storytelling" and "belonging" pillars. Such, it would seem, is the power of meaning.