“Living the Good Life” requires money…or so many people have assumed. However, in a groundbreaking application of measurement to meaning, researchers have found that meaning trumps money.  According to a new study by MetLife’s Mature Market Institute® (MMI) and based on Richard Leider’s best-selling book, Repacking Your Bags, researchers found that those who have a sense of purpose are more likely to be content with their lives, are optimistic about their future and describe themselves as happy.  The study, entitled Discovering What Matters: Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning, found that key characteristics of people who are living on purpose include a “focus on essential things and vision of the future they want to enjoy.”
   
Focusing on the four key components of Money, Medicine, Meaning and Place, the MMI study found that “people pursue a positive state of being, called the Good Life,” by choosing how to best prioritize allocation of their time between various activities that make up the components.  Results indicated that “three of the top five activities were Meaning-related, and all four component themes were represented in the top six activities.” 

As a result of the study, MMI ~ in conjunction with Leider ~ have developed a workbook and DVD to help people better “plan and focus their activities to better achieve [their] personal vision of the good life.”  A full copy of the study and the workbook, entitled Discovering What Matters, are available on MMI’s Web site.  Search for "Money, Medicine and Meaning" in the upper right corner of the site.