The meaning of life is presented as one of the fundamental hypotheses of logotherapy, according to this current, it is a primary need of every human being and is closely related to the motivation we feel for our own existence. which we will discuss today, is a questionnaire designed to assess the scope of life’s purpose.
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl founded and developed logotherapy, after spending several years in Nazi concentration camps, this author discovered that it is the purpose that each person gives to life that motivates perseverance, even in adverse circumstances like the one he lived.
- This is a priority motivation.
- Because it is the one that makes us perceive and live life as a valuable thing in the face of adverse circumstances.
- This achievement of the goal is evaluated in the test that we will present below.
The PIL (Purpose In Life Test) is a 20-item evaluation tool that is answered with a Likert scale 1 through 7, in ascending progression.
Therefore, by adding up the scores for each statement, you get an average of a person’s life goal range. The test examines four main factors:
1. Normally I find myself: 1 (completely boring) to 7 (exuberant, enthusiastic)
2. Life seems to me: 1 (completely routine) to 7 (always exciting)
In life, I have: 1 (no goal or goal) to 7 (many goals and goals defined)
My personal existence is: 1 (meaningless or purposeless) to 7 (full of meaning and purpose)
5. Every day are: 1 (exactly equal) to 7 (always new and different)
6. Si you could choose: 1 (I would never have been born) to 7 (I would have nine other lives like this)
7. After retiring: 1 (I would be lazy for the rest of my life) to 7 (I would do the exciting things I always wanted to do)
8. To achieve my life goals: 1 (I have not progressed) to 7 (I have achieved a complete achievement)
9. Ma life is: 1 (empty and full of despair) to 7 (a set of good and exciting things)
10. Si I was dying today, my life would have been: 1 (waste) to 7 (very precious)
11. When I think of my own life: 1 (I often wonder why I exist) to 7 (I always find reasons to live)
12 I see the world, compared to my life: 1 (very confusing) to 7 (fits significantly in my life)
13. I consider myself: 1 (an irresponsible person) to 7 (a very responsible person)
On the freedom to make his own decisions, I believe that man is: 1 (completely slave to the limitations of inheritance and the environment) to 7 (totally free to make his life decisions)
15. With regard to death, I am: 1 (unprepared and terrified) to 7 (prepared and fearless)
16. With regard to suicide: 1 (I seriously considered it as a way out of my situation) to 7 (I never thought of it for a second)
17. Je considers my ability to find meaning, a goal in life is: 1 (practically zero) to 7 (very large)
18. Ma life is: 1 (out of my hands and controlled by external factors) to 7 (in my hands and under my control)
19. Dealing with my daily tasks means: 1 (a painful and boring experience) to 7 (a source of pleasure and satisfaction)
20. I found: 1 (no mission or goal in my life) to 7 (clear goals and a satisfactory goal for my life)
Considering a maximum total of 140 points, people with scores below 90 are in a state of existential emptiness, on the other hand, those who score between 90 and 105 show uncertainty related to their goal in life, and finally, those Those who exceed 105 points have a clear presence of goals and purpose in life.
The purpose of life is unique and personal for each individual and changes throughout the life cycle. It is up to everyone to discover, in their own way, this motivation that gives meaning to life.