3 dimensions of a good life
jasonleow • 21 Jan 2022 •
The three dimensions of a good life, by social psychologist Erin Westgate:
- A happy life
- A meaningful life
- A psychologically rich life
A happy life
Key features: Comfort, joy, security
Facilitators: Money, time, relationships, positive mindset
Outcomes: Personal satisfaction
Metrics: Life satisfaction, positive affect
A meaningful life
Key features: Significance, purpose, coherence
Facilitators: Moral principles, consistency, relationships, religiosity
Outcomes: Societal contribution
Metrics: Meaning in life, subjective meaning
A psychologically rich life
Key features: Variety, interest, perspective change
Facilitators: Curiosity, time, energy, spontaneity
Outcomes: Wisdom
Metrics: Psychologically rich life/experience
It’s funny how the different dimensions figured in my different life stages.
When I was fresh in the workforce as a young adult, I had a happy life and all the comfort and security that comes with a stable job. But I wasn’t “happy”. I thought it was happiness but based on these definitions, I was in fact desperately sought the other two dimensions – meaning and richness.
Which got me to quit that career path in the private sector. But that traded off the happy dimension with meaning and richness. By joining the public-people sector and later on being self-employed and running my own business, I got loads of meanings and purpose. My actions felt coherent with my career direction. And the challenges of managing a business led to lots of variety and personal growth. But money was always a problem.
Now, I find I’m trying to balance all three on my indie hacking path of running my own software business. I get meaning and richness from all the hats I get to wear as a solo founder and indie hacker, and all the for-profit and social impact projects I do, but also having MRR goals like $5k-$10k that addresses the needs for a happy life.
I believe that’s why I love doing this indie hacking thing so much. With these lenses of happiness, meaning and richness, it makes so much sense now why I’m enjoying this path.
I’m getting there, to my version of a good life.
Real close now. I can feel it.