You are 1 of about 8 Billion people on Earth. (fun 1, fun 2)
And there have been about 100 Billion people on earth in total. (fun 1, fun 2)
If we distilled every person into a hypothetical sample of 100 people, 22 would not have shelter from the wind and rain. (Here is a video of this thought experiment.)
There are common threads that tie us all together, and yet each one of us is unique in our own ways.
All of these people, and you are ONE.
A mighty one.
Who are you (now)?
Deeply considering oneself can present a challenging, mystifying experience for many. It is especially challenging to see oneself with less bias, and make visible more hidden ways of being/thinking.
The Discovery Cornerstone is all about considering and exploring ‘you’ . . .
The Assessment Center
The most comprehensive, integrated scientific assessment of well-being and flourishing on the web.
Over 50 main factors, and 200 subfactors, as desired.
Gain critical insight.
Mirrors and Lenses
What values do I hold dear?
What are my top 10 “me” stories?
Labels? Fears? Childhood?
Culture? Family? Personality?
Expression / Hobbies?
Explore those and much more here!
Growing and Developing Self
Where are “you” going, for now? How might you dabble and play and adventure?
Reading, travel, courses, cultivated experiences, being intentional with feedback…?
Plot a journey!
Purpose
Purpose is an intentional life aim that is personally meaningful, goal-oriented, and self-transcendent. An extensive, detailed-yet-practical guide to applying meaning in one’s life.
Discover. Clarify. Explore. Build. Manage.
Your Storied Life
A practical breakdown that explores how our stories combine with reality to create our lived experience.
Your story. Your life. Choose powerfully.
Psychological Richness
Psychological Richness is a new and blossoming area of happiness studies that is proving to be distinct from the typical hedonia vs. eudaimonia framework. This site’s section on the topic is probably the most comprehensive place to cover it on the web, and it focuses on practical implementation in your own life.
Values
Our values fundamentally preface how we engage with the world, how we find meaning and purpose, and even how we see ourselves. This section will enhance your sense of identity and bring confidence to what you most deeply believe.
Discovery / Exploration is one of the four Cornerstones of Meaning in our Models of Well-Being. And Meaning is the most important ingredient in a life well-lived.
Though Discovery can be meaningful in and of itself, a meaningful life cannot be built on it alone. It must be complemented by, and interwoven with, the other three Cornerstones: Love, Service, and Expression.
Discovery concerns not only introspection and the understanding of one’s self, but also the understanding of self in context. By questing to comprehend ourselves to a greater degree through exposure to the unknown and diligent self-reflection, we can connect with and live into multiple ways of being that feel meaningful to us.
Several topics, each linked below, fall under the umbrella of the Discovery Cornerstone.
The Assessment Center
The Assessment Center, a companion web app, is an invaluable tool to accompany your learning on this site. It provides the most comprehensive, integrated, scientific assessment of well-being and flourishing on the web.
If you are a Member, you will have full access to the Assessment Center:
- Discover your Growth Profile: measure over 50 factors of well-being, all in one assessment
- Learn which factors are your Strengths, Capabilities, and Growth Zones
- Access the individual assessment for each factor, measuring each of any 50+ factors with high specificity
Most subjects found on this site pertain to a factor for which there is a detailed assessment available to members.
Discovery, for example, is one factor, and taking its assessment offers insight on detailed subfactors:
- Values
- Contemplative Self
- Openness
- Intellect
- Unconventional Thinking
- Ideation
- Anti-discovery
- Developing Self
- Learning
- Aesthetics
- Imagination
- Creativity
- Curiosity
Some subfactors even measure sub-subfactors, for extra-detailed insight!
There are also a few—shorter and less-detailed—assessments you can take now, for free!
Mirrors and Lenses
Mirrors reflect, at times imperfectly, and lenses focus and reveal.
Through your own exploration, and with the help of others, you can more thoroughly and intentionally excavate and craft yourself.
Who are you?
Who shall you become?
Some explorations, examinations, and personal-course charting include . . .
- The “Self” — what is it? Is it stable? Where does it come from? How does it develop? What are empowered ways of viewing the self?
- Identity — your origin stories, “me” stories, labels, fears, failures, childhood, and more
- Culture — neighborhood, city, country, friends, family, neighborhood, . . .
- Professional — resume/vitae, “bliss map,” leadership of self, . . .
- Interrogatory — numerous categorized, diverse, incisive questions to poke around your world
- Etheric — morality and spirituality (or not)
- You in the world — how others experience your strengths, challenges, opportunities, biases, personas, and more
- Personality — explore the “Big Five” and other measures of your orientations and proclivities
- Expression — hobbies, pastimes, play, quirkiness, your go-to (and want to go-to) choices, service, and more
Come play with the possibility of ‘you!’
Growing and Developing Self
Where are ‘you’ going, for now? How might you dabble and play and adventure?
With breath in your lungs, gusto in your heart, wings on your feet, a sparkle in your eye, an open mind, and butterflies in your stomach, you’re ready to go!
Perhaps you will travel, and with intentional means to soak up your experience buffet.
Perhaps you will take some specific courses that tickle, entreat, inspire, inform, and amaze.
Perhaps you will discover some new reads, and videos/movies.
You will encounter orientations toward feedback—receiving and acquiring—that provide vistas both new and familiar.
Embrace the journey!
Purpose
Purpose is an intentional life aim that is personally meaningful, goal-oriented, and self-transcendent. Sounds simple? Easy?
The pages on purpose are an extensive, detailed-yet-practical guide to applying meaning in one’s life. By reading through the section you will:
- Clarify your priorities by understanding your values and use them to design a life you love that is uniquely fit for you.
- Design both mental AND actionable experiments to learn what makes you come truly alive.
- Figure out if you should quit your job, stay there, or craft something powerfully in between.
- Discover the beliefs that hold you back from experiencing greater purpose and passion.
- Learn how your culture has contributed to what you believe is possible or right for your life.
- Build resilience by harnessing the powers of challenge and “failure” on your purpose journey.
- Manage multiple passions, interests, and purposes.
- Continue to take action, set attainable goals, and persevere towards your dreams.
Throughout the reading, you’ll find many printable practices, exercises, and other resources. Go check it out!
Your Storied Life
Who are you? What do you believe? What really just happened?
Your Storied Life is a philosophical breakdown that explores how our stories combine with reality to create our lived experience.
The pages on YSL explore in detail the building blocks of perception and life:
- What’s a story? – the framework of YSL
- Where do they come from, and where do they exist? – the Story of Stories
- What is subjectively and objectively true? – breaking down reality.
- Who am I, and who am I not? – the components of identity
- Who might I become? – how to reinvent yourself
- How might story help me get there? – practice and exercises
As with all subjects across this site, there are ample printouts and resources to accompany your learning.
Psychological Richness
Throughout this site you’ll find a central theme: meaning, not happiness, is key to a well-lived life.
This is broken down in a multitude of ways, showing how ‘happiness’ is a broken concept, highlighting the crucial difference of happiness vs. joy, and more.
Throughout most of these pages, we embrace a current standard in positive psychology of hedonia and eudaimonia as the distinct fundamental constructs for understanding well-being.
But new ground is being broken. In 2021, researchers Shigehiro Oishi and Erin C. Westgate scientifically confirmed what many psychologists had suspected—there is a third (and maybe more) distinct aspect of well-being: Psychological Richness.
We still have a lot to learn about Psychological Richness; how it pertains to well-being, how it combines with meaning and happiness, etc.
This topic has been explored by other researchers in recent years, and continues to develop.
And, why wait to approach this aspect of a well-lived life? This section breaks down what we know and proposes some helpful heuristics for understanding Psychological Richness.
You’ll find thorough review of the concepts in Oishi’s and others’ recent research. You’ll see visual aids and rules of thumb for diagnosing psychological richness in the context of everyday life.
Most importantly, you’ll be taken to practical implementation. There are printouts, exercises, and more that will help you harness this powerful angle of life for your greatest overall well-being.
Values
The Values section offers a nuanced, scientifically informed, and practical approach to both understanding values and applying them in your life in a meaningful and experience-enhancing way. When we don’t take the time to examine and understand our personal values, we can run into a few troubles:
- We may make choices or pursue goals that are not truly aligned with the person we want to be, risking feelings of dissonance and a sense of being inauthentic or hypocritical.
- We might struggle to make important decisions or navigate dilemmas, therefore experiencing significant inner conflict.
- We may lack consistency in our life choices or direction, leaving us feeling dissatisfied or regretful.
- We might mistakenly attach to something that isn’t actually a value, thus making us rigid in the face of problem-solving in our relationships and endeavors by limiting our possible solutions.
- We may mistake our compatibility with a potential life partner, setting the stage for frequent conflict, disagreements, and ultimately the degradation of one of our most important relationships.
The Values section can make a difference if you’d like to avoid such pitfalls. Through learning about and applying the guidance on these pages you’ll learn how to identify your core values, understand where they came from, and organize them according to priority. From there, you’ll be empowered to better make difficult decisions, navigate conflicts, align with your values, and set yourself up for greater harmony and fulfillment in your life.
