Life Crafting and Self-Determination: An Intervention to Help Emerging Adults Create an Authentic and Meaningful Life

Abstract

In this paper, we expand on the concept of life crafting and discuss how a life crafting intervention may be useful for emerging adults to help them live a more meaningful and authentic life. Combining self-determination, meaning-making, and life crafting theories, we propose an intervention that involves five components: values exploration, intrinsic interests, contribution to others, a coherent life narrative, and self-concordant goal-setting. First, we discuss the two conceptualisations of life crafting in the literature to date. Second, we explore the eudaimonic philosophy of self-determination theory and how this serves to guide the intervention. Finally, we propose our life crafting intervention and discuss how the components may be delivered to emerging adults to foster more meaning, authenticity, and psychological need satisfaction. Similarities and differences with other programs of research are discussed, as well as the unique contribution of this life crafting intervention.