Meaningfulness of Effort: Deriving Purpose from Really Trying

Most people treat effort as something to be minimized, a cost we'd rather not pay. So, what drives some to actively pursue challenging tasks even when immediate benefits are absent? We introduce meaningfulness of effort, a trait reflecting the tendency to derive meaning from effortful pursuits. Across 3 cross-sectional and 2 longitudinal studies (N = 3,323), including student, general adult, and military veteran samples, we demonstrate that Meaningfulness of Effort acts as a stable unidimensional facet of conscientiousness. It is tightly linked to industriousness, with comparable test-retest reliability, and distinct from need for cognition, while also uniquely predictive of wellbeing outcomes. Those higher in meaningfulness of effort pursue and find meaning in more effortful activities. Similarly, they enjoy higher meaning in life, life and job satisfaction, and less psychological distress, burnout, and PTSD symptoms. Importantly, we saw that Meaningfulness of Effort predicted these wellbeing outcomes over longer time lags. Our findings place Meaningfulness of Effort as a useful trait in understanding why some might pursue effort absent of any clear reward; for them, effort feels fulfilling.