Omit to Commit is all about the resources needed to opt into (and out of) behaviors, such as time, traditions (individual or group behaviors), trust, and treasures. By regularly making and breaking habits, life becomes more fulfilling and satisfying. I’m drafting a book called Omit to Commit, and in 2023, I’m posting research on the 20th of every month.
Making sense out of life is no easy task. It leads to some serious introspection, if you let it. What is the meaning of life, why am I here? Existentialism is a common response to making sense and making meaning.
But it also requires a morsel of logic, too. Sense-making has been studied across disciplines, but one that I have recently studied comes from my information science program. Dervin, in the 80s, looked at sense-making as a way of practicing humanness. When finding new information regularly, we’re in a pursuit of knowledge. Not only that, gathering constructs or ideas about life is a way of coping.
According to Dervin, asking questions to reveal truths is natural. But does everyone ask questions to make sense out of life? To make sense out of routine? Meaning? I’d argue, no. It assumes there’s an even starting point, and some people may not know the questions to ask. Gaps exist, from educational to emotional situations.
Yet I believe most people who are looking for meaning or sense share one thing in common: Uncertainty. Confusion. Lostness.
So how do I possibly help people bridge these real feelings and help them make sense out of life? I think that’s one of my life’s callings. An introvert by nature, I recognize the uniqueness of each individual, and so I look for deeper connections.
Context matters a lot to me, too. Where someone is starting and hopes to end is a bumpy, usually not straightforward path. This is not unlike another researcher, a psychologist Kelly, who developed a personal constructivist theory where meaning comes from discovery.
And so I ask:
- What/who/where do you determine as successful to you?
- Is “success” the ultimate goal?
- What relevant resources and/or relationships do you need to make that happen?
- How are you gradually updating these answers?
- Where/who/what feedback are you looking for?
When nothing is guaranteed, it can feel incredibly risky to do what you love. Yet the self-efficacy of doing those hard things anyway grants some learning, if not accomplishment. Building meaning and sense is probably a lifelong task, in fact.
Transitioning from learned knowledge to tacit is not easy, but I hope this research gives you some insight into ways of making sense out of life.