Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most

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Newberry, R.C. Environmental enrichment: Increasing the biological relevance of captive environments. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 1995, 44, 229–243. [ Google Scholar] [ CrossRef] Bekoff, M. Deep ethology, animal rights, and the great ape/animal project: Resisting speciesism and expanding the community of equals. In The Animal Ethics Reader, 2nd ed.; Armstrong, S.L., Botzler, R.G., Eds.; Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group: Abingdon, UK, 2008; pp. 151–156. [ Google Scholar] If again I say that to talk every day about virtue and the other things about which you hear me talking and examining myself and others is the greatest good to man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you will believe me still less.

While human history is far from perfect, it can be comforting to reflect on what challenges and triumphs your ancestors may have experienced throughout the past centuries. Nature Throughout the book, “the Question” is never precisely defined but meant to ignite discussions about topics such as worth, value, good and evil, meaning, purpose, beauty, truth, justice, what we owe one another, what the world is and who we are and how we live. Managing your mood can be difficult. However, there are some techniques that you can use; for example, make time for interests and hobbies, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, eat healthily, and consider developing a mindfulness practice (e.g., through meditation). 5. Take control of your environment (coherence) Anonymous. The Five Freedoms. In Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legal Handbook; 2015; Available online: http://www.animaladvocacy.ie/legislation/the-five-freedoms/#.VcaM0hyyX-I (accessed on 15 September 2015). We are also likely to experience multiple losses as we age. We may lose our parents, our partners, face layoffs, or develop an illness. The stereotypical concept of an older adult is of someone who is frail and requires care; however, older age is not synonymous with a less meaningful or valuable life.Mellor, D.J. Animal emotions, behaviour and the promotion of positive welfare states. N. Z. Vet. J. 2012, 60, 1–8. [ Google Scholar] [ CrossRef] [ PubMed]

Living a meaningful life and deciding what is meaningful are age-old questions (e.g., Marcus Aurelius wrestled with this question when he was Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD). Anonymous. Five Freedoms; Farm Animal Welfare Council, the National Archives, 2012. Available online: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121007104210/http:/www.fawc.org.uk/freedoms.htm (accessed on 5 February 2016).

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Carve out some time for your own interest and commit to that time. If you have a partner, ask your partner to shoulder other responsibilities during that time so that you can indulge your interests. 3. Express what makes you happyTo read this book is to understand how a life is built. In dark, there is light. Everything in Marsha Linehan’s life and remarkable memoir uncovers the dark—the hell of the unhappy self and the hell of inadequate help—and brings us into the light, with humor and detail in describing her grappling and growth, and her courage and vision of how to create a treatment for even the most unhappy of us.” —Amy Bloom, New York Timesbestselling author of White Houses Exercising our own imaginations and creative power can bring joy, but so can admiring the creativity of others in the form of art, music, literature, film, and more. The chance to find your people

So, what can you do to find meaning in your life as you age? The following list can give you some guidance: 1. Make time for friends, family, and social events Reflecting on the parallels between Camus and Montaigne, Zaretsky finds in this ongoing chase one crucial difference of dispositions: Vallerand, R. J. (2012). From motivation to passion: In search of the motivational processes involved in a meaningful life. Canadian Psychology/ Psychologie Canadienne, 51(1), 42–52.Question everything. Challenge your assumptions about yourself, and the world. Reflect often to make sure your life isn’t being defined by rules created by others. All constructs were created by another human, like you. Always be searching for the next set of rules to break, to mold, to re-create in the image of what you know to be true to you.Your life, your rules. Goal direction and mattering are both motivational components and synonymous with purpose and significance, respectively. The third component – one’s life making sense – is a cognitive component, akin to significance. Plato would later comment on how the Athenians – and perhaps societies in general – react when faced with the disruptive force of critical reflection.