Publications

2022
Book

From Strength to Strength: Finding Meaning, Success, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life

By: Arthur C. Brooks

Many of us assume that the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our... View Details

Keywords: Aging; Meaning In Life; Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Success; Happiness; Satisfaction

2022
Article

The Ordinary Concept of a Meaningful Life: The Role of Subjective and Objective Factors in Third-Person Attributions of Meaning

By: Michael Prinzing, Julian De Freitas and Barbara L. Fredrickson

The desire for a meaningful life is ubiquitous, yet the ordinary concept of a meaningful life is poorly understood. Across six experiments (total N = 2,539), we investigated whether third-person attributions of meaning depend on the psychological states an agent... View Details

Keywords: Experimental Philosophy; Folk Theories; Meaning In Life; Moral Psychology; Positive Psychology; Moral Sensibility; Satisfaction

25 May 2020
News

Meaning and Purpose in Life and Work

21 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

You Don’t Have to Quit Your Job to Find More Meaning in Life

life, they can take comfort in the fact that there is still meaning in a job they don’t enjoy that makes a positive difference in the world, or... View Details

Keywords: by Shalene Gupta

Article

The (Perceived) Meaning of Spontaneous Thoughts

By: Carey K. Morewedge, Colleen Giblin and Michael I. Norton

Spontaneous thoughts, the output of a broad category of uncontrolled and inaccessible higher-order mental processes, arise frequently in everyday life. The seeming randomness by which spontaneous thoughts arise might give people good reason to dismiss them as... View Details

Keywords: Spontaneous Thoughts; Self-Insight; Meaning; Attribution; Judgment And Decision Making; Decision Making; Cognition and Thinking

Article

Work Group Rituals Enhance the Meaning of Work

By: Tami Kim, Ovul Sezer, Juliana Schroeder, Jane L. Risen, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton

The many benefits of finding meaning in work suggest the importance of identifying activities that increase job meaningfulness. The current paper identifies one such activity: engaging in rituals with workgroups. Five studies (N = 1,099) provide evidence that... View Details

Keywords: Groups; Meaningfulness; Task Meaning; Ritual; Teams; Organizational Citizenship; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Familiarity

November 2021
Article

The Effects of Retirement on Sense of Purpose in Life: Crisis or Opportunity?

By: Ayse Yemiscigil, Nattavudh Powdthavee and Ashley V. Whillans

Does retirement lead to an existential crisis or present an opportunity to experience a renewed sense of purpose in life? Prior research has documented a negative association between retirement and sense of purpose in life, suggesting that retirement could lead people... View Details

Keywords: Aging; Meaning; Socioeconomic Status; Life Experiences; Retirement; Well-being

01 Oct 1996
News

Tedlow on Tires and the Meaning of Life

edited by Ted A. Adams "When you study the tire industry," HBS professor Richard S. Tedlow told a Class Day audience of graduating MBAs last June, "you are confronting the meaning of life." A distinguished authority on business history,... View Details

July 2022
Article

What Do I Make of the Rest of My Life? Global and Quotidian Life Construal across the Retirement Transition

By: Jeff Steiner and Teresa M. Amabile

Retirement means relinquishing the daily structure that work provides and the career-dependent meanings that it offers life narratives. The retirement transition can therefore involve contemplating both how to spend newly-freed daily time and the implications of... View Details

Keywords: Retirement Transition; Life Narrative; Construal Level Theory; Global Construal; Quotidian Construal; Meanings Of Work And Retirement; Retirement; Transition; Perspective

06 May 2024
News

How Everyday Rituals Can Add Meaning to Your Life

2012
Chapter

An Assessment of How Urban Crime and Victimization Affects Life Satisfaction

By: Carlos Medina and Jorge Tamayo

We use data for Medellín, Colombia, to assess the effect of the homicide rate, individual’s perception of security in their neighborhood of residence, and of the effect of their having been victimized, on life satisfaction. We find a negative effect of the homicide... View Details

Keywords: Security; Life Satisfaction; Crime and Corruption; Housing; Safety; Perception; Colombia

01 Jun 2017
News

Life in Lockdown

Ina Foalea leads a brainstorming session in Morris Hall during this year’s Startup Lockdown. It is 6:30 p.m. on the Wednesday of Spring Break. But Ina Foalea (MBA 2018) is in work mode as she stretches out... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers; photography by Chris Churchill

Article

Exposure to Harmful Workplace Practices Could Account for Inequality in Life Spans Across Different Demographic Groups

By: Joel Goh, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Stefanos A. Zenios

The existence of important socioeconomic disparities in health and mortality is a well-established fact. Many pathways have been adduced to explain inequality in life spans. In this article we examine one factor that has been somewhat neglected: people with different... View Details

Keywords: Occupational Health; Inequality; Life Expectancy; Socioeconomic Issues; Health

November 2, 2023
Article

How to Build a Life: Three Paths Toward the Meaning of Life

By: Arthur C. Brooks

October 1978 (Revised August 1985)
Background Note

Product Life Cycle

Introduces the student to the concept of the product life cycle. The meaning and fundamental underpinnings of the product life cycle are presented. Further, the nature of market and competitive forces at different stages in the life cycle, and the implications for... View Details

Keywords: Product

Educators

November 2022
Article

The Sharp Spikes of Poverty: Financial Scarcity Is Related to Higher Levels of Distress Intensity in Daily Life

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Erin L. Frey, Sandra C. Matz, Bertus F. Jeronimus and Adam D. Galinsky

Although income is an important predictor of life satisfaction, the precise forces that drive this relationship remain unclear. We propose that financial resources afford individuals a path to reducing the distressing impact of everyday hassles, in turn increasing... View Details

Keywords: Distress; Affect; Control; Financial Scarcity; Life Satisfaction; Income; Poverty; Well-being

October 21, 2021
Article

How to Build a Life: The Meaning of Life Is Surprisingly Simple

By: Arthur C. Brooks