At SCHC, our Meaning-Centered Therapy helps many of our clients establish meaning and purpose in their lives as a way to better encourage and ensure long-term wellness and recovery. A big part of successful long-term recovery is the power of connection.
Part of this meaning and purpose development is forming a new perspective on life. This includes how we perceive events, our relationships, and emotions such as personal struggle. Gaining a new perspective can help us build a deeper connection with those we love as well as create new ones.
The following are 6 principles of meaning that govern us at SCHC which we encourage clients to adopt:
1. Be The Author of Your Own Life
In other words, make your own choices and take responsibility for your decisions. When you step into your authorship, you give up blaming others and positioning yourself as a victim.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning.
2. Practice and Maintain Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the best protection against the up and downs of life. When you start to connect with your inner emotions and feelings, your self-awareness grows. You open yourself up to connect with yourself and others on a deeper level.
3. Acknowledge Suffering is Natural
There are no guarantees in life. While suffering may be hard to understand in the moment, upon reflection is when we learn our greatest life lessons. Viktor Frankl described tragic optimism as finding meaning in suffering – choosing to use suffering as an opportunity to change.
4. Accept that People are Imperfect
When we accept that people are imperfect we foster empathy towards ourselves and others. Embracing imperfection is another act of self-awareness and accepting reality. If you’re in recovery or overwhelmed with past mistakes, embracing imperfection can help you realize that we’re all imperfect, we all made mistakes.
5. Live Life on Life’s Terms
Accept life as it comes. Life will always be filled with highs and lows, ups and downs, it’s how we react and live through the circumstances that matter. We don’t run from problems, we don’t turn to substances when life becomes overwhelming. We find recovery tools, connection, and community, and ride the wave that is life.
6. Learn to Live Comfortably in the Grey Areas of Life
Often, there are no black-and-white answers in life. It can be difficult to accept that sometimes there are no answers to life’s greatest mysteries. Adopting the mentality that it’s ok to live in the unknown at times helps us to accept reality for what it is. Again, when we accept reality, we let go of the illusion of control.
Finding Balance
If you’re new to becoming the author of your own life, give yourself time to find a good balance. Self-awareness and acceptance can be hard, and new and old feelings can come up. Setting boundaries while developing deeper connections can be a hard tightrope to walk. Take it one day at a time and remember, we’re all imperfect.
At Sunshine Coast Health Centre, we help highly motivated clients with mental health and addiction treatment. Our services help clients to discover meaning and purpose in their lives again. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the services we offer, contact us today.
