“Researchers define happiness in a variety of ways, but the clearest characterization for me is one that brings meaning into the happiness equation, literally:
Happiness = Enjoyment + Satisfaction + Meaning
In other words, the happiest people enjoy their lives, take satisfaction in their activities and accomplishments, and have a sense of the meaning of their existence. Enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning are like the macronutrients of happiness.
More than the other elements of happiness, meaning predicts active engagement with life and ability to cope with suffering. If your life feels meaningless, you will be disengaged and unable to deal effectively with your problems. You will almost certainly be depressed and anxious. Your life will have a void to it, a hollowness. 
Maybe you will seek the salve of therapy, which might help a bit with the symptoms of unhappiness but which can’t instill the deep meaning you crave. To pass the time and distract yourself, you will probably scroll or watch videos or game. But these self-soothing behaviors are, in fact, self-defeating because they are just a simulation of a life with meaning, not the real thing. And thus, they will only make your feeling of emptiness grow more acute. Why? Because meaning cannot be simulated.
Finding coherence, harmony, and unity in life is number one in feeling life’s meaning. Finding a meaningful relationship with another person may give your life this coherence. A belief in God may give you a valuable sense of unity with the Divine. Faith in God, family, and community knits together the parts of your life that make sense with those that do not. Searching for deep, inner self love may be the answer to experience the Divine within to lift up and inspire yourself and others.
The second element of life’s meaning is purpose, which is the existence of goals and direction in life. This is the belief that you are alive in order to do something. Think of purpose as the map of your life, telling you where you are in your journey and where you want to go. Your map can change as your destination changes throughout your life, but you always need one. Without it, your journey becomes a big problem, just as any trip would become a problem if you didn’t know where you were and didn’t know where you wanted to go.
The third element of meaning is significance. This refers to the inherent value of your life to yourself, and even more important, to others. To be significant doesn’t mean that when you die, you will have a long obituary in The New York Times or a street named after you in your hometown. It simply means that the world would be worse for someone you love if you didn’t exist.
To find the meaning of your life means seeking your life’s coherence, purpose, and significance. You are probably asking how you are supposed to do this. That involves pondering three very big ‘why’ questions.
- Why do things happen the way they do in my life? (Coherence)
- Why am i moving in this direction? (Purpose)
- Why does my life matter? (Significance)
Remember: Your life does have meaning and you can find it!
The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, Arthur C. Brooks, pgs. 13, 21 – 31.