Our Framework

My Motivation. My Journey. My Decisions

Mountain Framework

The Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework has been carefully developed to support meaningful, ethical, and responsible use. To protect the integrity of this work, the Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework may only be used through Meaningful Paths products and services. Any reuse or adaptation requires prior permission from Meaningful Paths Ltd.

My Motivation

Exploring the Four Fundamental Motivations:
FM1. Do I have the necessary space, protection, and support in the world?
FM2. Do I experience fulfillment, affection, and appreciation of values?
FM3. Do I relate authentically to myself and others?
FM4. Do I engage in what is meaningful and purposeful?

My Journey

Exploring the Human Experience:

A Mountain Model Metaphor comprising of 9 elements which represent our journey through life and our psychology and way of thinking during such a journey. From adjusting the straps of the Backpack (the weight of our past experiences), to the Guiding Stars as our values.

My Decisions

Working with PEA (Personal Existential Analysis:
1. Thoughts/Cognition: Perception of the reality and the facts.
2. Emotions: Listing the values, weighing all possibilities.
3. Value-based Decisions: Choosing the most valuable thing to do.
4. Activity: Acting the chosen situation – Motivation.

Framework Founders

Sandy is a psychotherapist, researcher, and co-founder of the Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework. Her work is rooted in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy, with a particular interest in meaning, values, and how people navigate change, uncertainty, and inner conflict. - "I co-developed the Mountain Model as a practical and reflective framework that supports people in orienting themselves in life."

Sandy ElChaar

Framework Co-Founder

David is the Founder of Meaningful Paths and Co-Founder of the Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework. David has experience working in mental health support crisis cafe and NHS settings in addition to varying coaching practices from Positive Psychology to Existential Analysis. - “I co-created this framework to help people move through stress, anxiety, and disorientation, and find their way toward a life of meaning and vitality.”

David Chorlton

Framework Co-Founder

Existential Analysis

Tradition

Our Tools/ Products are rooted in the therapeutic tradition of Existential Analysis and Logotherapy, founded by Viktor Frankl, the pioneer of meaning-centered psychotherapy. Frankl’s work highlighted the human search for meaning as central to psychological well-being.

Building on this foundation, Austrian psychiatrist and psychotherapist Alfried Längle – who collaborated closely with Frankl – further developed Existential Analysis into a comprehensive method for psychotherapy and self-understanding. Längle expanded the focus beyond meaning to include lived experience, personal freedom, authenticity, and biographical reflection. By integrating both Frankl’s original insights and Längle’s contributions, our app brings this rich tradition into an accessible, practical form for today’s world.

How the Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework Supports Values, Meaning, and Purposeful Living

The Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework is a reflective model designed to support people in understanding their inner experience and navigating life through values, meaning, and purposeful living. Rather than offering fixed answers or quick solutions, the framework recognises that meaning develops through lived experience, emotional awareness, and the way we respond to life’s challenges, transitions, and uncertainties.

At the heart of the Mountain Framework is the understanding that purpose is not something to be found once and for all, but something that unfolds through relationship with what matters. Values act as guiding stars, helping individuals orient themselves even when life feels unclear, overwhelming, or stuck. Instead of asking only “What should I do with my life?”, the framework invites deeper and more compassionate questions such as: What feels meaningful to me right now? What am I responding to? What kind of life am I choosing to live?

Purposeful living, within the Meaningful Paths approach, is not about constant motivation or productivity. It acknowledges effort, pauses, doubt, emotional struggle, and renewal as natural parts of the human journey. The Mountain metaphor reflects this reality: progress is rarely linear, and moments of difficulty often carry important information about values, limits, and direction.

The framework supports individuals who feel lost, disconnected, unmotivated, or unsure of their purpose by helping them understand the relationship between motivation, personal history, emotional experience, and decision-making. Meaning is seen not as pressure or expectation, but as something that emerges when people relate honestly to themselves, others, and the world around them.

Individuals can explore and engage with the Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework in different ways. Those who prefer independent reflection can use Path Search, our self-guided app designed to help people navigate questions around purpose, values, relationships, overthinking, motivation, and emotional wellbeing. For those who benefit from relational support, Path Guide offers a coaching-based experience, where individuals are accompanied as they reflect, make sense of their experiences, and move toward what feels meaningful in their lives.

Ultimately, the Meaningful Paths Mountain Framework supports people in learning how to live with intention, self-respect, and openness to life as it is — while still moving toward what feels deeply meaningful, purposeful, and aligned with their values.

Say Hello

For any questions, please reach out anytime to our friendly team.