You work, work and work and still in the end of the day there’s an unexplainable empty feeling inside. There were dozens of things you did but can’t remember half of it. And this goes on day after day. Sounds familiar?
That feeling has been my reality for the whole autumn. And I can tell it’s not good for you. Not for your mental nor physical health.
Because in the end, having a sense of purpose is one of the most important feelings that bring happiness in to our lives.
I made a list of things that make my life feel meaningful and give me a sense of purpose. Here’s my top 3:
- Splitting firewood
- Searching wild food from the forest
- Taking care of vegetable garden
So it seems that doing very concrete things with my own hands is the best way to have a sense of purpose in my life.
I got interested in to read more about the magic behind doing things with your own hands and found this article “Creativity, Happiness and Your Own Two Hands: How Meaningful Hand Use Enhances Wellbeing” published in Psychology Today (citations in photos are from it).
Professor Kelly Lambert explains how the process is important.
Process of making things with our own hands makes us feel vital. And that’s important for our happiness and meaningful life.
That’s exactly how I feel too when I’m carrying wood or pulling out carrots.
Every job has its good and bad sides. What makes my work a bit problematic is that it’s not physical at all. Everything happens in my mind and I have to constantly leave things unfinished. It’s the same with many of us I think.
That’s why having a counterbalance is crucial for us.
Doing something concrete is so important for meaningful life; To do things where we can see, touch and even smell the results of our work.
For me it’s firewood, wild food and vegetable garden, for you it may be something else.
But the main thing is that in the end of the day we could say: “I made this with my own hands!”
