Positive psychology has given us powerful tools for understanding what helps life go well. But life also contains realities that cannot be reframed, optimized, or gratitude-journaled away: we will die, our choices exclude other possible lives, other people can never fully know us, and the universe does not hand us a personalized instruction manual.

This interactive session brings positive psychology into conversation with existential psychology to explore how people can create and experience meaning amid mortality, uncertainty, freedom, isolation, and change. Drawing on contemporary research on meaning in life, purpose, mortality awareness, and existential well-being, we will distinguish between the pursuit of happiness and the construction of a life that feels coherent, purposeful, and significant.

Rather than treating existential concerns as problems to eliminate, participants will consider how encounters with finitude and uncertainty can clarify values, deepen relationships, sharpen priorities, and motivate meaningful action. We will also examine the risks of common cultural prescriptions—such as “find your one true purpose,” maximize every moment, or eliminate discomfort—that can inadvertently make meaning feel like one more performance metric.

Participants will leave with a practical framework and reflective tools they can use personally and in coaching, education, organizations, or helping professions to support meaningful living without requiring certainty, perpetual positivity, or a five-step plan for conquering the abyss.

This webinar has been awarded one CE hour from the APA through Elevate You CE! A post-event quiz and survey will be made available for evaluation and to process your request for your certificate.  A fee of $30 will be due at the time of claiming your certificate and instructions will be provided at the end of the survey.

Elevate You CE is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Elevate You CE maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Most states allow Licensed Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists to gain credits from APA approved sponsors. If you are unsure whether your state does, please reach out to your local board to confirm reciprocity.