Dear friends,
After six decades of helping people find their purpose, I need to tell you something that might surprise you.
I believe that there is no inherent meaning in anything.
For years, I watched clients struggle to discover their "calling." They'd sit across from me and ask:
"Dr. Miller, what am I meant to do with my life? What's my purpose? How do I find what I'm supposed to be doing?"
But meaning isn't something you find. Meaning is what we put into something.
It's not as if certain things are more valuable and have more meaning than other things. What we put meaning into becomes meaningful, and it is worthwhile for you to discover something that holds meaning for you.
It doesn't have to be anything specific. It could be anything.
My best example is Winston Churchill, who was accomplished in so many fields, and he also found meaning in building a rock wall in his backyard, which he spent a lot of time on.
Think about that. A man who shaped the course of world history found just as much meaning in stacking stones as he did in leading a nation through its darkest hour.
You can find meaning in making your bed. You can find meaning in cleaning up your house. You can find meaning in helping a person on the street. You can find meaning in reading a book.
Anything and everything has the potential for you to put meaning into.
And when you put that meaning into it, you make it important. You have found meaning—that's what it is.
This changes everything about how we approach our days. Stop waiting for life to reveal its cosmic significance to you. Stop agonizing over whether you're on the "right" path.
Instead, choose something—anything—and decide it matters because you're bringing your full attention to it.
Try it out. Put meaning into something and see what happens.
Golden light,
Dr. Richard Louis Miller
P.S. In my new book, Master Your Mind: Practical Tools to Calm Anxiety, Silence Your Inner Critic, and Stop Overthinking, I explore how taking control of where we place our attention becomes one of our most powerful tools for mental wellbeing.
1-minute mind control (my new book)
Traditional mindfulness and meditation techniques often require a huge investment of your most precious resource (time) without guarantees of results.
My own version of mindfulness—what I sometimes refer to as “mind control”—can be mastered in much less time if you commit to regular 60-90 second practice throughout the day.
Breathing. Witnessing. Changing the channel on negative thoughts.
I’ve honed these techniques over a lifetime of personal and professional practice, and now I’m sharing them with the world.
Get my new book Master Your Mind, and as a thank you for your support, I’ll give you a free 30-day subscription to our premium newsletter and exclusive content. Just reply to this email after you buy it to confirm your purchase.
Next Week’s MBHP Episode:
They Feed 30 People for $90 (How Cohousing Actually Works)
Architect Charles Durrett reveals the economics and social dynamics of cohousing communities, plus Iceland's revolutionary approach to neurodiverse living where autism isn't a limitation but simply a different way of being.
Guest: Charles Durrett - Principal architect at The Cohousing Company, coined the term "cohousing" in 1985, designed 55+ communities, author of 16 books on community design