Perspective 4: Happiness through purpose

Students will explore different ways of increasing happiness through having a sense of purpose. Students will choose one of the topics listed below, doing the related readings and activities, and keeping a class blog of their experience and progress. After finishing all of the activities, students will develop their own presentation (in small groups) to share their findings with the class. Each group could focus on one of the topics below.

Religious & Spiritual Engagement

Students will read the introductory content in the Religious and Spiritual Engagement Module, and the intermediate level research results. Students will discuss in a small group how the research aligns with their own personal experience (or not) and present a preliminary hypothesis as to why religious and spiritual engagement impacts happiness.

Sense of Purpose –

First, students will watch the “Interview with the Expert” module on Victor Frankl and then read Man’s Search for Meaning. Students will complete a creative writing assignment about their most challenging life experience and how that has provided meaning for their life now. Students will then present their findings to the class.

Meaningful Goals –

After watching the “interview with the expert” video on Ed Diener, students will read a research article about goal setting. Then, students will identify short term goals (in the next 6 weeks) and long term goals (6 months; 6 years). Then, they will develop their list with a written explanation or they could develop a collage/montage of goals with pictures and symbols that they could share with the class.

Motivation, Humanistic Theory –

Students will watch the “interview with the expert” video on Maslow and read the introductory content of the Maslow Modules. Students will complete a self-guided activity to identify their needs at all the levels and to identify how they were met and to what degree they satisfied them. Students will then present their hierarchy of needs to the class using visual aids.