This may belong in it's own thread, but since this is my thread, I'm just going to drop it here to think about...

I like this quote from Emily Esfahani Smith, "... I discovered that true happiness lies in leading a meaningful life. People who focus less on happiness as the end-goal of their lives, and pursue meaningful endeavors instead, experience a deeper and more long-lasting form of well-being down the road." She talks about the Four Pillars of a Meaningful life (Purpose,' 'Belonging,' 'Storytelling,' and 'Transcendence'), and why being meaningful is better than happiness. That chasing happiness makes people unhappy.

I don't disagree with her. For me, the four pillars a bit different: intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social. The social pillar is the one that I struggle with the most. When that pillar is missing, everything seems to crater.