Many people think a purpose in life is something you find, like an answer that suddenly becomes clear. More often, it's something you build: a direction for what you want to contribute, one that gets clearer the more you move in it.
It's worth building. A US study followed nearly 7,000 adults over 50 for four years. Those who rated their purpose in life lowest had more than twice the risk of dying during that period as those who rated it highest. The study shows a link, not a cause, but it fits with other research showing that purpose is tied to health.
Pick a path based on where you are:
- Who benefits from you if you don't know where to start.
- Small purposes every day if the big picture feels like too much.
- Ask what you want to leave behind if you want to think further ahead.
- Give your time every week if you want to take it further.
A first step today: write down three people who have benefited from something you did in the past month, and what it was.
Many people think a purpose in life is something you find, like an answer that suddenly becomes clear one day. If you haven't found it, you wait and feel like you're falling behind. But purpose is more often something you build than something you find: a direction for what you want to contribute, one that gets clearer the more you move in it. This article covers what the research says about purpose, why it's a direction, and four ways to get started.
Purpose and health
In 2019, Alimujiang and colleagues drew on a large US study of people over 50. In all, 6,985 participants had answered questions about how much purpose they felt in life, such as whether they had a direction and goals they wanted to reach. The researchers then tracked who died over the following four years.
Those with the lowest sense of purpose had more than twice the risk of dying during that period as those with the highest, even after the researchers accounted for factors including age, education, illness, smoking and depressed mood. The difference was especially clear for cardiovascular disease.
- Lowest purpose More than twice the risk of dying over the four years.
- Highest purpose The lowest risk of all groups.
A link in an observational study, not proof of cause.
This is an observational study, and it doesn't show that purpose itself makes you live longer. People who are ill may find it harder to feel a sense of purpose, and that can never be fully ruled out. But similar links have been found in other countries, including a large Japanese study on ikigai, described in ikigai.
Purpose is a direction
What the researchers measured wasn't whether people had found their great calling. It was whether they felt their life had a direction: that they had things they wanted to do and achieve. That's an important difference. A calling is hard to find and easy to lose. A direction is something you can choose today.
A useful question isn't "What is my purpose?" but "Who or what do I want to be useful to?" The answer might be your kids, a new coworker, a community you belong to, a craft you want to get good at. Purpose rarely lives in one single thing. It grows out of many small ones. For more on meaning in everyday life in a broader sense, see the guide to meaning.
Four paths toward purpose
Who benefits from you. For when you don't know where to start. Write down people who have benefited from something you did in the past month, and what it was. The pattern often shows where you're already contributing. First step: write down three people today.
Small purposes every day. For when the big picture feels like too much. Start each day by deciding one thing you want to contribute today: helping a coworker, calling a lonely relative, doing something with care. First step: tomorrow morning, write one sentence about what you want to contribute during the day.
Ask what you want to leave behind. For when you want to think further ahead. Imagine someone who knows you well describing your life twenty years from now. What do you hope they'll say? Write it down. It often says more about what you want from life than a list of goals. For what people regret most, see what we regret most. First step: write three sentences today.
Give your time every week. For when you want to take it further. This is the most demanding path, because it takes a fixed commitment. Choose something where you contribute regularly: as a volunteer, mentor, coach or member of a club or organization. The fixed commitment turns purpose into something you do, not just something you think about. First step: find one place near you where help is needed.
When everything feels meaningless
Wondering now and then what the point of it all is, is part of being human. But if life has felt meaningless for several weeks, and it comes with low mood, trouble sleeping or pulling away from people, talk to a doctor or health professional. If you're having thoughts of not wanting to live, get help right away. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
A first step today: write down three people who have benefited from something you did in the past month, and what it was.
This is the understanding and a first step. Atlas is where it becomes a habit. Under Meaning you'll find The compass, where you rate how closely you lived by your values today, and A still moment, ten minutes without a screen or music where your thoughts have room. You log every day and see, week by week, which way things are heading. Try Atlas free for 7 days, and cancel whenever you want.