Imagine for a minute that it’s the year 1903 . . . so you haven’t been born yet. The people who made you probably haven’t been born yet either. So it’s more than a hundred years ago, and all sorts of things in the universe are conspiring for you to be born . . . people are meeting, dating, copulating, whatever it takes for you to get to have a life. Why will you be lucky enough to get to have a life? Why will you be born? What gift will you have to offer?

Maybe the flashback isn’t doing it for you, and you’re more of a futurist. Imagine it’s 2133, and you’ve been dead and gone for a nice long while—may you be resting comfortably in peace. From that distance of time away, imagine looking back on your life. Why did you get to have a life? What purpose did you serve while you were on the planet for four thousandish Mondays? What impact did you have, big or small?

The Meaning-Making Assessment

Want 27 questions to help pinpoint where you’re feeling meaning-full and meaning-flat? Of course you do.

It can be powerful to either say “bingo!” to what you find meaningful in life or . . . whatever the opposite of bingo is. There is no right or wrong on this “sources of meaning” assessment, so go with your first instinct when answering the questions.

Click here to download The Meaning-Making Assessment!

Your Meaning Challenge

Your official challenge is to embark on a meaningful journey within the next two weeks of your life (a.k.a. two Mondays).

It could be volunteering.

It could be planning a challenging task with your teenage daughter, like researching your family tree.

Maybe you tune into an online religious service.

Perhaps you map out your ideal legacy.

You could call an elderly relative and make a substantial connection, beyond what’s going on with the weather.

Maybe you sit at the coffee shop and make a list of “The Top 10 Things I Value in Life,” really upping the ante on your self-awareness.

You might choose a challenging task that sweeps you up into the flow zone.

Maybe you sit with a journal and write about the impact you’ve made at home, at work, in your community—in ways both big and small.

It could be seeking out an awe-inspiring experience.

You might choose to record three things you’re grateful for each night for the month.

There is no wrong pathway to meaning; remember that it’s the pursuit of purpose that does the mighty job of creating depth in this life you get to live.

Congratulations for being willing to wring the meaning out of your life. For a wry wrap-up, let’s let the Nobel Prize–winning philosopher Albert Camus drop the mic: “The literal meaning of life is whatever you’re doing that prevents you from killing yourself.” Okay then! Another Monday down, not dead yet. Sounds meaningful to me.