WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
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Background
This session is based around the concept of a sense of purpose or meaning. The terms
purpose and meaning are often used interchangeably; in fact, the concept of a sense of
purpose or meaning is often quite difficult to define.
However, having a sense of purpose in life has been associated with a number of different
measures of psychological wellbeing and may act as a protective factor against emotional
problems. Having a sense of purpose in life and a capacity to make sense of experiences
may serve to sustain hope for the future. A sense of ongoing purpose requires a focus on
life endeavours that provide opportunity for success and/or pleasure now and in the future.
In the video, contestants are contemplating the reasons they are still in the house and the
meaning of other issues that are happening in their life. This session will provide students
with an opportunity to explore these concepts and reflect on their own, unique understanding
of what gives their lives purpose and meaning. A key message for students is that there
may be common themes in what gives people a sense of purpose, however, there are also
unique ways in which individuals define their sense of purpose or find meaning in life. It is
also important for students to note that sense of purpose does not need to be defined only
by major activities but can be defined by more minor activities that nonetheless provide the
person with a sense of achievement, enjoyment, or a reason for being.
Learning outcomes
In this session students:
•
Identify what gives them purpose or meaning in their lives
•
Recognise that a sense of purpose or meaning is unique to individuals and can change
over time
•
Challenge unhelpful thoughts related to sense of purpose
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session 6
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
page
Key messages
•
Having a strong sense of purpose in life is related to psychological wellbeing.
•
A sense of purpose helps a person to focus on achieving goals, experiencing
success and enjoying activities.
•
Although there may be common themes in what defines sense of purpose,
everyone has their own, unique sense of purpose and meaning.
•
Our sense of purpose can change in response to things that happen to us in our
lives.
•
Activities that give purpose or meaning to our lives can change over time.
Skills: establishing priorities, defining values, perspective taking, challenging
unhelpful thinking
Session outline
6.1 Video – Episode 6 of Strongbbox
6.2 Activity – What does it all mean?
6.3 Activity – You’ve got purpose
6.4 Extra activity – That changed my life!
6.5 Out of class activity – How’s your sense of purpose?
Materials
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Video set at Episode 6
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OHT of Resource 6.1
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Sticky notes or coloured cards
•
Photocopy of Resource 6.2 OR recent, relevant newspaper articles [optional]
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Session Plan
6.1 Video – Episode 6 of Strongbbox
11 mins
What’s happening this week? One of the contestants decides to leave the house leaving
the other housemates contemplating the reasons they are still there.
6.2 Activity – What does it all mean?
Learning environment
20 mins
Whole class then groups of 5 or 6
Preparation/materials
•
Sticky notes or coloured cards [3 per student]
•
OHT of Resource 6.1 – Definitions of purpose
Procedure
1.
Provide a synopsis of the status of the contestants after 6 weeks in the Strongbbox.
Synopsis……
Each of the contestants has come into the Strongbbox with the purpose of
winning in mind. Each of them has gone about achieving that purpose in a
different way, but suddenly, things are changing, and for some contestants,
things are falling apart. Winning for some is no longer their main purpose.
•
For Justin, his family, looking after David and helping his Mum, has
become the most important thing in his life. He is quite clear about his
purpose.
•
For Charles, even though his girlfriend left him, his purpose is to finish
school and go to university.
•
Erin’s purpose is to study architecture.
•
Rona is heartbroken – if no one cares about you, if no one loves you,
what’s the point?
•
Adam’s purpose is to be famous and to win at all costs.
•
Selena just wants to win.
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2.
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WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
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Discuss some of the different definitions of the words purpose and meaning.
Display OHT of definitions (Resource 6.1). Discuss that both words are often used
interchangeably and are similar concepts.
To have a sense of purpose is to have a sense of determination, resolution
or intention to act.
“I’m training/practising/studying/working every day for one purpose – to
make the team/make the school play/make the band/finish Year 10/make my
parents proud/get into Uni/be a pilot/earn money”.
To have meaning is to have intention or purpose.
A building can be “purpose built”, designed for a particular purpose such as an
indoor bowling alley, a theatre, a hospital, a factory, or it can be a multi-purpose
building like a school gymnasium that can be used for a number of games and
also as an assembly hall.
3.
Discuss with the class the following:
•
What is a sense of purpose?
•
Why is having a sense of purpose in life seen as being important to one’s general
health and wellbeing?
•
How do you know if someone has a sense of purpose?
•
When might a strong sense of purpose be harmful to self or others (e.g.
dictators, people who are so single-minded they harm themselves or others to get
what they want)?
4.
Brainstorm briefly what gives people purpose and meaning in their lives. Allow
students to generate a few ideas to get them started so they can work in their groups
more easily. You might like to list some of these on the board.
5.
Divide the class into groups of 5 or 6 students
6.
Hand out 3 sticky notes to each student and ask them to individually write down 3
things that give them a sense of purpose or meaning in their lives on separate notes.
7.
In their groups, students place all their notes on a table or on the floor. Through
discussion, groups move the notes into clusters of like responses or themes. Make
sure that the owner of the note being moved agrees with the move.
8.
Ask groups to present their major themes to the rest of the class. Write these on the
board. Some examples of themes include: career, school, family, community, altruism,
spirituality/beliefs, etc.
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Discuss any common themes that arise and those things that appear to be different
amongst groups. You might like to emphasise that although there are commonalities,
each person will have their own unique sense of purpose and meaning and that they are
all valid.
Alternative procedure (whole class)
Once the students have written down their 3 ideas on their individual sticky notes
they can combine all of their notes across the class group on one table and
decide upon common themes as a class group.
Discuss any common themes that arise and those things that appear to be
different amongst groups. You might like to emphasise that although there are
commonalities, each person will have their own unique sense of purpose and
meaning and that they are all valid.
6.3 Activity - You’ve got purpose
Learning environment
10 mins
Individual
Preparation/materials
•
No specific requirements
Procedure
1.
Refer students to page 36 of their books.
2.
Discuss with the class how some things that give meaning in your life can become less
meaningful or not important over time (e.g. TV shows, conforming to popular fashion).
3.
Ask students to make 2 lists in the space provided in their books.
•
What meant the most to you when you were 12?
•
What means the most to you now?
For example: family, friends, pets, getting the latest DVD or phone, music, study, doing
well at school, surfing, sport, reading, love, food, beliefs, spirituality etc.
4.
5.
Ask students to reflect on the things that still mean a lot to them and write down:
•
Why that may be the case.
•
How these things give their life a sense of purpose.
•
Whether they will still be important later on in life.
Ask students to reflect on what happens to people like Rona who believe they have lost
their sense of purpose. Reflect on the kinds of things that Rona has still got in her life
that gives her meaning even though she is heartbroken. Ask students to write down
some of the unhelpful thoughts Rona is having and ways she could challenge some of
these thoughts (page 37 of their books).
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WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
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6.4 Extra activity – That changed my life!
Learning environment
10 mins
Small groups
Preparation/materials
•
Photocopy of Resource 6.2 – That changed my life [1 per group] OR recent relevant
newspaper articles [1 per group]
Procedure
1.
Present students with one of the stories from Resource 6.2 or relevant newspaper
articles from recent newspapers/interviews that you have found that describe a
traumatic event, extreme situation or a disaster that someone has experienced that
changed their life (e.g. losing your house to a bush fire, being paralysed by a motor
cycle accident).
2.
Discuss the story or article in groups considering the following:
•
What things might have contributed to the person’s sense of purpose before
the event?
•
What happened to change or threaten their sense of purpose?
•
How did the person regain or change their sense of purpose?
•
What are some of the things that the person may have been thinking,
and consequently feeling, when their sense of purpose was threatened or
challenged by the event?
•
How did/could they challenge some of their unhelpful thoughts?
•
If a friend was in this situation, what would you say to them and who would you
suggest they seek help from?
3.
Groups to discuss their ideas with the rest of the class.
Alternative procedure
Ask students to think about someone they know who has a strong sense of
purpose in a positive way. Ask the students to discuss the following questions:
• What is/are this person’s goal/s?
• What do they do to try to achieve their goal/s?
• What obstacles have they had to overcome?
• What have you learned from them?
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6.5 Out of class activity – How’s your sense of purpose? 1 min
1.
Refer students to the quiz on page 38 of their books.
2.
Instructions:
Complete the quiz.
beyondblue schools research initiative classroom program