Meaningful Living Project:
Overview 2011
Looking Back and
Moving Forward
© Paul T. P. Wong
No part of this presentation may be duplicated or used in any form without the
permission of Paul T. P. Wong
The Biggest Challenge Facing
Humanity
• How do we live the good life in the face of
uncertainty, adversity and mortality?
• How can we prosper and flourish in a
world full of suffering, injustice and
conflict?
• Why can’t we find an scientific answer to
these important questions?
The Human Quest for Meaning
• Down through history, many answers have
been proposed and found wanting
• Life is not a problem to be solved but a
mystery to be lived and appreciated
• The human quest for meaning holds the
key to understanding the mystery of life.
The Mission of the Meaningful
Living (M4L) Project
• Promote mental health for individuals &
communities
• Contribute to global flourishing through
meetup, websites, & education
• Provide a practical guide to meaningful
living based on research, psychological
insights and time-proven wisdoms
Objectives of M4L
• Advance the well-being of individuals and
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communities through meaningful living
Learn how to flourish in spite of fate,
circumstances and human foibles
Develop strengths and overcome weaknesses
Discover your calling and passion for living
Learn the roadmap to meaningful living
Learn how to navigate troubled waters
Learn how to transform negatives to positives
Learn the wisdom of living with paradoxes
The Paradoxes of Human Nature
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Both kind and mean
Both good and evil
Both altruistic and selfish
Both growth-oriented but self-destructive
Both rational and irrational
Both free and determined
Both pleasure-seeking and self-sacrificing
Every virtue can be a vice, and vice versa
The Paradoxes of Life
• Pleasurable things are often harmful
• Beneficial experiences often come from hardship
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and suffering
Don’t know how to live meaningfully until we
face our own mortality
We are free to live fully only when we devote
our lives to serving a higher purpose
Less is more, loss is gain
The tragedies of Life
• Striving for something only to find that
there is nothing at the end of the rainbow
• Realize that we have been busy all our life
but have never really lived
• Engage in self-destructive behavior
• Gain the whole world but lose our soul
Who Benefits from M4L
The M4L Project is for YOU, if any the following applies to you:
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Gain a better understanding of your true self and your place in
the world
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Become the person you are meant to be
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Pack more meaning and purpose in your life
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Discover, pursue and fulfill your dream
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Develop strengths & overcome weaknesses
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Learn more coping skills and life intelligence
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Learn to resolve personal issues & overcome bad habits
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Learn how to live well and die well
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Want to make a difference in the world
Part 1: Meaning & Flourishing
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We live only once: How to live well and make it worthwhile.
Human agency and free will
The human quest for meaning
What is the meaning of life?
What is the good life?
The PURE principle of flourishing.
Living on purpose: Discover your calling and passion.
Life intelligence: Understanding who you are and what life is all
about.
9. Responsible action: Do the right thing
10. Enjoyment: Pathways to happiness and well-being
What You Have Learnt in Part 1
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You are free to create a better future
Be careful what you dream for
Meaning mindset vs. success mindset
Meaning is the royal road to the good life
When you pursue meaningful living, happiness comes in
through the backdoor
The PURE principle of meaningful living
Self-transcendence means to live for something bigger
than yourself
Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”
The positive psychology of meaning and flourishing
Feedback From the Graduates
• Need to have more small group discussion
after the formal presentation
• During the lecture, need more time to ask
questions in order to gain a better
understanding of the key concepts
• Need more emphasis on the skills and
practice of meaningful living
Part II: Meaning and Resilience
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ABCDE: A new formula for resilience.
The wisdom of acceptance.
The magic of belief.
Just do it: The power of commitment.
Discover the hidden dimensions of life.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again: Persistence and
flexibility.
7. Tragic optimism: The hope that never dies.
8. True grit: What does not kill you makes your stronger.
9. The terror and transformation of suffering and death.
10. The Yin-yang of positive psychology: good + bad = the best life.
What You Will Learn in Part II
• Learn the intervention strategy of ABCED
• Learn how to develop tragic optimism
• Learn how to develop resilience
• Learn how to transform death anxiety to
death acceptance
• Learn how to live well and die well by
optimizing the positives and transforming
the negatives
Activities related to M4L
• Taking part in a Meaningful Living Group
• Contributing to The Meaningful Living Project
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page on Facebook
Contributing to the Positive Living Newsletter
Becoming a member of the International
Network on Personal Meaning (INPM)
Taking courses on Meaning-Therapy
Volunteering for M4L and INPM
Doing something meaningful for the community
A New Vision for Global Flourishing
• Transforming individuals and communities through
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meaningful living
Developing interactive websites to provide resources and
training on meaningful living & meaning therapy
Setting up Meaningful Living Groups in various
communities and countries
Training facilitators to start up such groups
Developing an international network of meaningful living
groups
Good people + Good community + World peace = The
good life