I have worked with several rich, successful, but unhappy clients. They include CEOs, medical doctors, lawyers, movie stars, and consultants. My meaning-focused therapy has worked well with them because it is based on the new science of finding happiness through suffering.

Yes, this new science is not a typo or misstatement–you can find true happiness only through embracing and transforming suffering. Without suffering, your life will be shallow, meaningless and unhappy.

Yes, this is contrary to all the teachings of mainstream positive psychology. That is why I call my approach the positive psychology of suffering or second wave positive psychology (PP2.0).

Here are the main points of meaning therapy:

1. Unhappiness is a sign that something is wrong or out of balance in your life – most likely intangible things that cannot be purchased with money.
2. You need to have the courage to discover the root cause(s) of your unhappiness, even though the process may be painful (self exploration and reflection) – they may be traumatic childhood memories, existential anxieties, unfulfilled expectations, or relational deficits.
3. You need to look at scientific evidence or objective facts though rational thinking (CBT), because subjective feelings, perceptions and evaluations are often coloured by assumptions, biases, and unconscious motives.
4. You need meaningful work, loving relationships, and spiritual values for your mental health, like you need food, water, and clear air for physical health. Deficiency in any of these three areas can lead to unhappiness.
5. You need courage, acceptance, and meaningful transformations for unpleasant things and suffering beyond your control. Deficiency in any of these areas can leads to anxiety, depression, and other emotional disorders.
6. A strategic shift in perspective can change anything. A switch from a horizontal egotistic mindset to a vertical meaning mindset can add new depths to life.
7. If you cannot find anything worth dying for, you will not find your meaning in life (existential psychology & logotherapy).
8. If you have not learned that everything good has a downside, and everything bad has a upside, you will not be able to find the necessary balance in various life domains (the YinYang principle).
9. Finally, you need to make a strategic shift in attitude from seeking happiness and avoiding suffering, to finding happiness through embracing & transforming suffering.