3 Questions That Reveal What Your Life Is Missing - Arthur Brooks

The gist

1. Citing Michael Steger, Brooks says meaning has three parts: coherence (why things happen), purpose (why I do what I do), significance (does my life matter).
2. He sees conspiracy theories as a hunt for coherence and advises treating a relative's rabbit hole as a meaning crisis, not fighting it with data.
3. Brooks cites Sonja Lyubomirsky's research showing even arbitrary goals, like raising a physics grade to a B+, made students happier and more directed.
4. Brooks says diets have an 80 to 95% failure rate after a year, so he prefers goals with no end, like being a better dad.
5. Brooks says super strivers often got affection only for achievements as kids, learned that love is earned, and chase strangers' adoration as adults.