Based on my first real-world test of Eric Maisel’s call to make our own meaning, which I faced this morning triggered by the prospect of having to go back to work on Monday, here are steps for meaning creation with examples from my experience this morning.

Steps for Meaning Creation

1. Know your symptoms. This is ongoing and probably needs to take place prior to a meaning crisis.
   • One of my depression symptoms is not wanting to get out of bed.
   • Healing tools: Mindfulness meditation and reading about depression.
2. Recognize your symptoms.
   • I was lingering in bed, trying to come up with reasons of why it was okay to stay there.
   • Healing tool: Mindful awareness.
3. Label the underlying problem: you are in a meaning crisis.
   • In my case, I was anxious about facing my meaningless job.
   • Healing tool: Mindful awareness.
4. Step back and analyze your thoughts: what are your expectations here?
   • I am expecting that my job provide me with meaning.
   • Healing tools: Rational-Emotive/Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and The Work.
5. Determine if your thoughts are contributing to the crisis.
   • Yes, my false expectation is certainly contributing to the crisis.
   • Healing tools: Rational-Emotive/Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and The Work.
6. Challenge the thoughts that are contributing.
   • Can I really expect my job to give me meaning? Not really: As Maisel points out, it cannot.
   • Healing tools: Rational-Emotive/Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and The Work.
7. Replace the thought with something that can give you meaning.
   • That was very challenging. I kept going back and forth between the two thoughts: “My job should provide meaning” and “I have to make meaning for my job.” I eventually came up with an answer.
   • Healing tools: Rational-Emotive/Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and The Work.
8. Write down your answer and sense if it really is true.
   • Yes, I can see my job as a testing ground for this. And, yes, I can derive a sense of meaning from that.
   • Healing tool: Focusing.

That’s it! Granted, these steps seem easy yet, especially #7, are rather challenging. Hopefully, though, having a step-by-step approach is helpful.

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