# 373 - Finding meaning and purpose - Dr Michael Steger

Dr Michael Steger is the Founder and Director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose, and Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University.

In this episode we tackle some pretty weighty issues. We discuss the meaning of our lives and the philosphy of appreciating the little moments and I reference Matt Haig and his book Reasons to stay alive, in which he catalogues all the seemingly mundane things in life that are sources of real joy.

We define what purpose is and in doing so Dr Steger tells us what he means by purpose being an anchor we throw out into the future.

We discuss the commodification of meaning which Dr Steger is very much against. Does following your passion really help you find your purpose ? We ask if purpose correlates with living a successful life. Expect to learn how a lack of meaning and purpose are linked to cognitive decline. We learn that the search for meaning is not uniform across the world, different cultures embark on a search for meaning in different ways. We also ask if our relationship with purpose and meaning has advanced since the days of the great greek philosophers.

http://www.michaelfsteger.com/

Dr Steger's Ted Talk : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLFVoEF2RI0