In Search of ‘Psychological ‘Richness’

Daniel Goleman is author of the international best-seller Emotional Intelligence and Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day. He is a regular contributor to Korn Ferry. 

While happiness and meaning have long been identified as pillars of a good life, new research brings in a third pillar: psychological richness. A life that is psychologically rich involves seeking and embracing challenging, novel, and complex experiences– experiences that engage us mentally and emotionally while fundamentally shifting our perspective on the world.

The research by Shigehiro Oishi, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, focuses on how people experience and enjoy their lives over time.

His research shows why certain challenges and complexities aren’t burdensome, but actually desirable. This connects with the human impulse to evolve. While people may be seen as difficult to change or adapt, on some level, our evolutionary biology dictates a motivation to grow and expand.

His findings suggest why career development is so important. 93% of employees say they will stay longer at companies that invest in their personal growth. For many people, development is not only about climbing the corporate ladder and bumping up into new pay brackets, but also fundamentally connecting to a human need to engage in new experiences that stretch and shift our thinking.

In one of his studies, Oishi asked more than 2,000 participants, Americans and Koreans, what they regret most in their lives and, if they could go back in time and fix these things, whether their lives would have been happier, more meaningful, or psychologically richer. Close to one third of participants said that if they could do some things over, their lives would have been psychologically richer.

Lorraine Besser, an American philosopher and professor of philosophy at Middlebury College, builds on this research in her 2024 book The Art of the Interesting, where she explores curiosity, novelty, and the value of approaching obstacles as adventures.

“The research has shown that when you have more psychologically rich experiences, it can lead you toward a more expansive sense of self,” Besser explains, “You feel more connected to everything—your environment, other people, whatever—in a non-evaluative way.”

Since purpose is ultimately about being in touch with the world around us – about transcending our own desires and viewpoints in service of something greater – the research on psychological richness bears weight in the conversation around purpose and meaning in the workplace. Because psychologically rich experiences expand our sense of self—allowing us to see beyond our own likes, dislikes and personality structures—they can encourage us to approach overwhelming issues from a whole new vantage point.

One study has shown that focusing on psychological richness actually encourages more activism around climate change. “It can help us in the political environment too,” explains Besser. “Having a framework that’s non-evaluative means we’re not always closing off our minds to different sides. You can just engage with something (or someone) in a non-evaluative way, and it can give you a sense of deeper connection.”

If purpose is going to take root in leadership and business, it may start with each and every one of us focusing on leading a psychologically rich life. The future isn’t just about coming up with new and innovative solutions – it is about embracing novelty and seeking experiences that stretch our awareness by stimulating new thoughts, new emotions, and new ways of seeing the world. 

Co-written by Elizabeth Solomon

Click here to learn more about Daniel Goleman's Building Blocks of Emotional Intelligence.