Book excerpt: Why should we strive to be important? Does it make our lives go better if we are especially significant? The Significance Impulse argues that the common impulse to seek exceptionally high levels of significance is misguided. Although many people strive to be extraordinarily significant, ultimately cosmic importance is out of reach for us. And though we do matter somewhat, it can be a liberating relief to take a more irreverent stance towards our lives and embrace our unimportance. This book is a testament to being ordinary.