Finding Your Purpose is Incredibly Powerful and Surprisingly Possible

Greater meaning in life, and better physical and mental health, can be cultivated by identifying what really matters to you and doing more of that

Strong sense of purpose — doing things that matter to you — is linked to better health, greater happiness and longer life. The benefits are found in studies of teenagers and retirees and everyone in between. Meanwhile, scientists are figuring out how any of us can proactively cultivate a greater sense of this often elusive and frustratingly fleeting quality.

Among the benefits of purpose suggested by scientific research:

• Teens with a strong sense of purpose have more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions than others and are more satisfied with their lives, according to findings published last month in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
• Adults with a strong sense of purpose have a lower risk of early death from any cause, scientists reported last fall in the journal Preventive Medicine. The link held regardless of gender, race or ethnicity.
• People with chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, or spinal cord injury are less distressed and therefore happier if they have a strong sense of purpose.
• Despite experiencing as many daily hassles as everyone, on average, people with a strong sense of purpose aren’t as emotionally affected because they’re better able to manage the stress.

Strong sense of purpose—anything that involves a solid sense of direction that’s important to the individual—is also linked to better brain function, more vivid and coherent memories, and lower risk of dementia down the road, according to research by Angelina Sutin, PhD, a professor of behavioral sciences and social medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine. Purpose is also associated with lower likelihood of chronic disease, less substance abuse, and even better financial outcomes, Sutin said.

“It is possible to find purpose in everyday activities, not just lofty pursuits.” —Angelina Sutin, Florida State University College of Medicine

If you don’t feel a strong sense of purpose today, read on. It naturally changes over time—when one gets their first job or develops an affinity for a social cause, for example, or when people become parents (or when the kids are all grown and gone). It can fluctuate on a daily basis even, as our moods and sense of self vacillate.

And while there’s no definitive roadmap for finding a higher purpose, experts I spoke with offered simple approaches you can take to gain meaningful direction in life from surprisingly modest pursuits.

“Not feeling purposeful now does not mean you won’t feel purposeful later,” said Gabrielle Pfund, PhD, a researcher at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Developing a higher sense of purpose can be a challenging and often turbulent journey. However, it is a worthwhile one.”

What it means to have “higher” purpose

Each of us defines our own sense of purpose. Having what scientists term a “high” sense of purpose does not mean the goal is necessarily idealistic or done for the greater good of society, though it can be those things.

“It is the individual’s own feeling of being purposeful, not what they are striving for,” Sutin told me. “It is possible to find purpose in everyday activities, not just lofty pursuits. For some people, that could mean working on a cure for cancer or ending world hunger. But most feelings of purpose come from much more modest strivings. Purpose is most often derived from everyday activities and striving for long-term goals, not just grand societal goals.”

Purpose is a forward-looking perspective akin to an ongoing mission—big or small and perhaps changing as life goes on—rather than a single huge goal that becomes an endpoint.

“It’s different than a goal, which can be accomplished,” explains Anthony Burrow, PhD, an associate professor of human development at Cornell University. “Wanting to be a father is a goal because it is achievable. But to be a great father is more of an intention than an achievement. On some days, one might come closer to the ideal than others, but it is never a completed task.”

To measure sense of purpose, researchers ask people how strongly they agree with statements like these:

• To me, the things I do are worthwhile.
• I enjoy making plans for the future and working to make them a reality
• My daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant to me.

There are a few commonalities among people who rank highest on the purpose scale. As Pfund explained in an email, they have goals without endpoints, where the doing is what matters.

“They often appear to have a clear life goal that they are following that guides their actions and activities. This life goal (or purpose in life) can vary widely, so the activities to pursue it will necessarily vary too. However, this could look like someone who has a passion for healing people and taking care of the sick working as a doctor, or someone who has a passion for activism going to protests, or someone else who loves to make the world more beautiful and influence the emotions of others by creating art. Across the board, these people’s goals vary, but they each move with a sense of aim and purpose toward their goals.”

Some people seem to maintain a constantly high sense of purpose, said Pfund, whose research focuses on links between personality and health. But for most of us, the sense fluctuates at least some of the time.

How to find your sense of purpose

If you’ve lost your sense of purpose, or never found it, it’s possible you’re aiming too high. Striving for lofty goals that would offer a grand contribution to society is likely to set you up for failure.

“Setting modest goals that can be achievable in the short term may help with an initial boost of purpose that can then be used to set and strive for longer-term goals,” Sutin said. “The content of the goals — what people are striving for — does not matter as much as the goal-setting and the act of striving.”

Again, it’s all about the doing.

I know something about this.

I developed a love of writing early in life, but went to college as an accounting major—with no clear purpose in mind. I quit after one monotonous and pointless year to work in the family sawmill business. It was a wonderful small enterprise, paid well, and could have been a comfortable career. My favorite part was the end-of-day whistle on Friday. I didn’t enjoy the doing. So after much self-reflection, I walked away in my late 20s and went back to college to get a journalism degree. For the past three decades, I’ve found tremendous purpose in researching and writing articles I hope you and others find helpful and enjoyable. It doesn’t pay as well, but I sure as hell enjoy the doing.

“What are your values, what are things you find meaningful, what are the things in your life that bring you joy and make you feel like you matter? When you can, do more of those things.” —Gabrielle Pfund, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine

What do you really love to do? The stuff that matters? Think back, all the way to childhood if you must, and don’t dismiss the little things. Recently, I posed a variation on this question to a bunch of people, asking what makes them happy. The responses revolved around simple pleasures: enjoying friends and family, exercising or reading books, and spending time in nature.

There’s actually a statistical connection between acts like these and an individual’s sense of purpose. Research has suggested that people who spend more time in nature have a stronger sense of purpose. When retired people have more positive social interactions during the day, they report feeling more purposeful that evening, Pfund and her colleagues found in a study that suggests social interactions, purpose in life, and happiness are all intertwined.

Volunteering is a great way to find purpose, experts say, while at the same time boosting happiness and health.

Pfund suggests a two-step approach to seeking stronger purpose, starting with self-reflection.

“First, think about what really matters to you,” she said. “What are your values, what are things you find meaningful, what are the things in your life that bring you joy and make you feel like you matter? When you can, do more of those things.”

What if you don’t even know what those things are? Get methodical about reflecting.

“Take notes of the things that change your mood, the people that lift you up, and the experiences that bring you down,” Pfund said. “Be active and attentive in the activities that you do and be proactive in doing more of the things that lift you up. Over time, this can likely help you both feel purposeful and find your purpose.”

She points out the pointless alternative: “If someone feels that they have a low sense of purpose, doing nothing different is the one thing that is not going to help them find a purpose.”

Your support makes my health and wellness writing possible. You can sign up for emails when I publish on Medium, or join Medium to directly support me and gain full access to all Medium stories. And check out my book: Make Sleep Your Superpower: A Guide to Greater Health, Happiness & Productivity (paperback or Kindle version). — Rob