How to Lead a Psychologically Rich Life
Why Happiness and Purpose Aren’t the Whole Story
My favorite song, Good Life by OneRepublic, is 16 years old—but it still feels like yesterday that I was driving with the windows down on a road trip with friends, stereo turned all the way up, all of us belting, “Oh, this has gotta be the good life.”
After all these years, Good Life is still my favorite song—and it's left me with a question that’s never quite gone away.
What is a good life, and how can I lead one?
I came across a podcast episode titled "How to Lead the Richest Life Possible," which explored just that with Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago.
The episode introduces the idea of psychological richness as a third dimension of well-being and invited me to think about how we can create a fuller, richer life right now— even if we may not necessarily have a happy or meaningful life.
The Traditional View: Two Pillars of Well-Being
For over two decades, research on the "good life" has primarily focused on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.
Hedonic well-being is associated with happiness. It's about comfort, joy, and stability. Studies have shown that financial stability, relationship satisfaction, and living in a peaceful, just society contribute to higher hedonic well-being. In short, it's the life that feels good.
Eudaimonic well-being, by contrast, is about meaning. It's the life that does good—built on purpose, coherence, and a sense of significance. Think individuals like Jane Goodall whose lifelong work with chimpanzees changed how science define our relationship with primates or Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership in the civil rights movement. These are lives driven by calling, not comfort.
But here's the thing—not everyone has access to comfort or clarity of purpose all the time. And even those who do might still feel that something's missing.
That's where Dr. Oishi's idea of a psychologically rich life comes in.
The Third Dimension: A Psychologically Rich Life
Dr. Oishi suggests that in addition to happiness and meaning, there's a third way to define a good life: a psychologically rich life.
This kind of life is marked by novelty, interesting, and perspective-shifting experiences. It doesn't require material wealth or a clear sense of purpose. It simply asks that we remain open to interesting experiences that surprise, challenge, or change how we see the world.
A psychologically rich life can include joyful moments, sad ones, or even difficult ones. What makes them rich is their ability to shift our perspective, help us grow, and become more resilient, curious, and wise.
The table below presents a comparison of three dimensions of a good life, as outlined by Dr. Oishi and Dr. Westgate in their 2021 article, to highlight how different aspects contribute to overall well-being.
What Counts as a Psychologically Rich Experience?
Psychologically rich experiences often share a few key traits:
Novelty or uniqueness: You think, "I've never experienced this before."
Curiosity and engagement: You're drawn in and eager to explore or understand more.
Perspective change: Your thinking shifts in some way. You see things differently afterward.
Emotional intensity: The moment stirs strong feelings—positive, negative, or a mix.
Memorability or story potential: “This is something worth sharing”. It becomes part of your personal "life story bank."
Importantly, these experiences aren't always conventionally "happy" or even pleasant at the time.
They add depth and dimension to our lives.
How to Invite More Psychological Richness into Your Life
If you're naturally curious, playful, or open to new experiences, chances are you're already living a psychologically rich life. You're probably the kind of person with stories that light up the dinner table and I'd love to sit next to you!
But even if you're more of a rigid planner or homebody (like me), you can still cultivate psychological richness. Here are a few strategies from Dr. Oishi's research:
Find open-minded friends: Spend time with people who introduce you to new experiences, ideas, or ways of thinking.
Be playful: Take breaks from obligation. Let yourself experiment, laugh, and explore.
Make room for spontaneity: Don't overschedule every hour—leave space for chance encounters and surprises.
Travel by proxy: Read books, watch films, view art, or listen to music that transports you to other places or lives.
Explore the unfamiliar: Say yes to experiences outside your usual routine—even something as simple as taking a new route home.
Reframe adversity: Try to see the richness in life's setbacks. Even painful moments can become powerful stories of growth and change.
Look deeper at what you already know: Ask new questions in old friendships. Spend time with familiar objects in unfamiliar ways.
The key is to value novelty, complexity, and the potential for perspective change—the foundational ingredients of a psychologically rich life.
Here’s a quick worksheet that is designed to help you notice and invite more interesting, perspective-shifting experiences into your life.
So the good life isn't just about being happy or finding your purpose. It also involve intentionally seeking the novel, welcoming the unexpected, and letting yourself be changed along the way.
What’s one psychologically rich experience you’ve had—good, bad, or somewhere in between—that shifted your perspective and added depth to your life?
Feel free to share in the comments. I’ll share mine there too.
If you want to learn more about Dr. Shigehiro Oishi’s work, check out this book on Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life.
When I was preparing for the 3MT competition, I wanted to learn how to weave storytelling into my presentation. I attended The Moth, a live storytelling event at a theater in D.C. My husband and I went without knowing just how big the crowd would be. It was a full house on a weekday evening.
What struck me most was how many people showed up simply to listen to others share their stories. Each time someone stepped on stage, the entire theater fell silent. We were completely hooked. For those few minutes, we all shared the same world—the world of the storyteller.
That night, I experienced firsthand the profound influence of a well-told story. It grips you. It changes you. And that was the moment my love for storytelling truly began. Since then, I’ve come to deeply respect those who tell stories well and see it as an art!