.jpg)
The Mike Muldoon Podcast: Bite-Sized Coaching Sessions Empowering Transformation in Small Doses
Unlike those who’ve already reached their goals and now tell you how to get there, The Mike Muldoon Podcast isn’t about preaching from the finish line. We’re (yes, me too) on this journey together. I’m walking it with you—growing, learning, and striving side by side. This is about elevating our lives, building a stronger, more empowered mindset, and unlocking our full potential with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
The Mike Muldoon Podcast: Bite-Sized Coaching Sessions Empowering Transformation in Small Doses
Finding Meaning: Why Life's Deepest Satisfaction Isn't About the Next Thrill
Have you ever noticed how the thrill of a new purchase or experience fades so quickly? That's what I explore in this episode about the profound difference between pleasure and purpose in our lives.
I share how Martin Seligman's PERMA model identifies meaning—serving something bigger than ourselves—as the most powerful driver of lasting satisfaction. Studies show that people who report lives filled with meaning often endure more stress and challenges, yet feel more fulfilled overall than those simply chasing pleasurable experiences.
Purpose doesn't require grand gestures or Instagram-worthy moments. It's found in raising children with intention, showing up to work with integrity, or creating something that outlives us. As Viktor Frankl wisely noted, "Those who have a why to live can bear almost any how."
If you're feeling stuck or unsatisfied, try asking yourself: "What do I want my life to stand for?" Then take one small action today—have a deeper conversation, help someone in need, or take a step toward a shelved dream. Notice how it feels afterward. While pleasure is fleeting, purpose leaves a lasting footprint.
Instagram: @mikemuldoonlc
Website: www.themikemuldoonpodcast.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/mike-muldoon-podcast
Hey y'all You're probably thinking, wow, this is a really weird intro because normally it's like hey, mike Muldoon podcast. Well, the thing is, it just dawned on me, I put the wrong podcast release date. I only just found out today. I was just looking at did I do any social media? And the thing is because on Friday I think I talked about this last week, but the week before I'd actually pulled my back out and I was down for a few days. It started getting a little bit better.
Speaker 1:But, knowing me, I don't know how to rest. I don't sit still. And Friday night I'm at my son's cricket practice. We're there, it's a beautiful day, it's beautiful out, it's lovely. My wife is there, our daughter's there with her friend, and it, I mean down barely got back to the car, barely got into the house, couldn't do anything, nothing, couldn't move, couldn't get up. I mean it was. It was so painful, so painful. I was on the couch for two days. Uh, by the time I could just kind of lift myself up to, you know, get anywhere in the house. It was like holding on the things and pushing. I told my wife, give me a walker, get me something. It wasn't until yesterday I started feeling a little bit better. And then today I'm doing better. I had to go see somebody but I'm not there, like I'm not fixed, it's not healed. And it was just a little while ago that I realized did I even do any social media while I was sitting around the couch for the podcast which usually the answer is probably no, because I'm not very good at doing social media the podcast didn't even publish. It didn't even publish.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, I'm giving you this intro and then, well, here is the podcast that you should have sat on, you should have heard on Friday. And, yep, I'm going to week again. I'm really getting our shop together right now. Just a lot of things learning. It's exciting, but it's nerve wracking. And again, you know we'll talk about it often. I'm going to keep talking about it.
Speaker 1:Fear likes to creep in and fear makes you want to get worried. But you know what Fear always creeps in when you're onto something that could be great for you. Could be great for you, because that's what fear does, right? Fear wants to bring us back. No, no, no, we don't know what's out there, but you got to trust what's out there, just put in the work. So I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I wanted to just talk about life's happiness. I want to talk about that and why sometimes we just got it wrong, why purpose in life really matters more than pleasure. So the thing is, we live in this world that's constantly selling us pleasure, right From the next holiday to the newest gadget, from the perfect coffee to the perfect body, we're told things will make us happy. And sure, pleasure feels good, it's immediate, it's exciting and often, for many people, it's Instagrammable. Right, but there's one problem with chasing, and it doesn't fulfill us. See, true happiness, the kind that leaves you feeling grounded, at peace with yourself and fully alive, comes when you have a purpose, and that's what we're going to talk about today. See, with psychologist martin seligman uh, pioneering the field of positive psychology, really identified five elements of well-being in his what he called the PERMER model, right, positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. And of those five, meaning, which was really defined as belonging to and serving something bigger than ourselves, consistently ranks as the most powerful driver of long-term satisfaction.
Speaker 1:There was actually a study that was published in the Journey of Positive Psychology. I think I read it like 12 years ago. I think it was somewhere between Los Angeles and New York or something at the time when I read it. But anyway, it basically asked people whether they saw their lives as happy or meaningful, right? So the research has really found that, while pleasure is linked to short-term happiness, right, buying that new outfit, buying that new phone, buying that new, whatever it is meaning correlates with lasting well-being. So, in fact, people who reported lives filled with meaning often endured more stress and challenge, but they felt more satisfied overall. Viktor Frankl, who was a Holocaust survivor and author he basically wrote the book Man's Search for Meaning. He one time wrote those who have a why to live can bear almost any how.
Speaker 1:See and purpose doesn't have to mean saving the world. Sometimes we talk about purpose. We always think it's got to be something huge, right. But purpose could simply be just raising your children with some sort of love, some sort of intention, some sort of goal, some sort of desire, showing up to work each day with integrity, volunteering for a cause that lights you up, creating, building or teaching something that lives sort of beyond you See, the thing about purpose is it's often quiet, it's not Instagrammable, it's the early mornings, it's the effort no one sees, it's the commitment to your values, even when no one is watching. See, pleasure might excite you, but purpose expands you. You know, somebody's actually done some coaching with people in the past.
Speaker 1:I often meet people chasing the next thrill right, thinking it'll fix the restlessness inside them. What they often are missing isn't more fun, it's meaning. It's the clarity, knowing what they stand for and the courage to live by it. So if you're somebody who feels stuck or unsatisfied, just ask yourself to live by it. So if you're somebody who feels stuck or unsatisfied, just ask yourself what do I want my life to stand for? You know what benefits me when I'm fully alive and I'm engaged in something. What's one I don't know purposeful act you can take today I mean every day, you know. Is it an opportunity to turn around and change it all over again? Right, I mean purpose.
Speaker 1:Again, it's not about being perfect, it's just about being aligned. You often hear that phrase. It's thrown around a lot. Right, I'm aligned, I'm in flow, but I think at some point we've all touched it right. We just we're in the middle of doing something. We feel like, yeah, this is right. And again, if you look at those moments in your life, it was probably where you is serving some sort of purpose. So for this week I would just trade one moment of comfort for just a moment of contribution. You know that might mean having a deeper conversation with somebody, helping somebody in need, I don't know, taking a small step towards a dream you've shelved. Notice how it feels, not just in a moment, but afterwards See again. Pleasure is fleeting, purpose leaves a footprint and the truth is, happiness doesn't come from avoiding struggle. It comes from knowing the struggle is for something that matters, and it's something I'm going through right now myself.
Speaker 1:You know this business that my wife and I are doing. I think I've talked about it right. We're opening up a bagel coffee shop. By the way, we're not hospitality people. My wife is a lawyer. I've spent most of my wife of my life either in sales or writing Um and working with people. I mean, this is the furthest thing from anything that either one of us have done. But you know what we're excited about it. We're putting in the work, we're putting in the effort and obviously we're educating ourselves and we're learning. But you know what it's exciting, because to me it kind of is.
Speaker 1:There is a purpose there to build something you know. So if this is something that resonates with you not so much about opening a coffee or bagel shop, but about, you know, just feeling stuck in life and feeling like you're always chasing that next thrill. Just try to find that one thing. Find that one thing just makes you feel like you're contributing to something, something bigger than you are. And if you know somebody who might be struggling right now, maybe this is something that they might want to look at doing.
Speaker 1:Okay, because, again, pleasure is fleeting, but purpose is forever, and I think we've all been there, you know it. When you're in the middle of something and it could have been something small, maybe you're in charge of something at one point, or maybe it's something in little leagues or school, whatever it is. When you have a purpose, you know how you feel. All right, and that's what I got for you today. Right, as always, you know this is for people. It's uh, you know, everyone's got a little room to improve. I just I'm glad you're with me, I'm glad you're here. I wish you the best, have a safe and happy weekend and, as always, I got nothing but love for you.
