Meaningfulness of activity is the correlation of affairs with tasks and values. In what a person does, there can be little or a lot of meaning. It is worth moving from meaningless deeds to expedient ones, following the meaningfulness and ascending to the mission.
Senseless — worldly meaning (expediency) — meaningful (serving valuable) — mission (in the name of high value).
Three workers are driving wheelbarrows loaded to the top with stones. Question: What are you doing? The first responded, “Don’t you see? I’m driving these damned stones, hunchbacking!» (I don’t know why. Because they said. Pointless activity). The second said: “I earn money” (I know why — for myself for the sake of money. There is expediency, worldly meaning). I am building a temple (I know in the name of what, for the sake of what high value: mission).
The expediency of activity is a question of whether you are moving towards a goal or not. «Is there any reason?» — this is a question of how much (much or not very much) of valuable (necessary, required) you will receive. Purpose refers to goals, meaning to values.
If not for value, but only for a goal, this is not meaning, but expediency. However, expediency can be considered the lowest version of meaning. It is expedient to drink water if you are thirsty, but to see the meaning here is not. Giving a person water to bring him back to life is meaningful, not just expedient.
Meaning of goal setting
Setting goals, responsible people ask themselves the question of their meaning. Are these goals that really need to be set? See Meaning in Goal Setting
More specifically: are these my goals, my life choices and decisions — not childhood, not stupidity, not random goals for me? I know why I want this, do these roads lead to the achievement of what is really important to me?