Purpose - Why it’s Your Most Powerful Reason to Live Well
Purpose in Action: Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office Wellness Consultant
This blog explores the second of six pillars of longevity.
What It Means
Purpose is your reason for being; the unique contribution only you can make with the gifts, talents, and experiences you carry. As long as you have breath, you have purpose, and for better or worse, each day you are given not only an opportunity, but a responsibility to make your life matter. Does that cause a knot in your stomach, or raise your level of anxiety? The good news is this - every day offers a choice; and the choice is yours, so quit living on autopilot or in default mode. Purpose requires intention.
Why It Matters
Research published in JAMA found that people with a strong sense of purpose had a significantly lower risk of death from all causes — including heart disease and stroke. A separate study from Rush University found that purposeful living was associated with better physical function, less cognitive decline, and even better sleep.
Purpose goes deep, including the fact that it is a health strategy. The force is bidirectional. Living your purpose has a positive impact on your healthspan, and your heathspan has a positive impact on how you live out your purpose!
Two Strategies for Reconnecting With Purpose
1. Find one way to contribute this week. Purpose isn't just discovered, it's activated. Volunteer, mentor, create, serve, or simply show up fully for someone who needs you. Even one intentional act of contribution reconnects you to something larger than yourself — and that connection has measurable impact on your health and happiness.
2. Revisit what lights you up. Think back to activities make you lose track of time. What problems in the world genuinely bother you? What might be one small way that you could impact that problem? What do people consistently come to you for? The answer to these questions isn’t random. These answers are signposts pointing toward your purpose. Don’t just read about purpose, actually set aside 15 minutes this week to journal around these questions.
The Bottom Line
It doesn’t matter where you are in life; what constraints or limitations you have, because purpose comes from within. You have the ability to impact not only your own well-being, but the lives of everyone in your circle, simply by living with intention. That is worth optimizing for, regardless of where you're starting from.
Working with a coach can help you cut through the noise and reconnect with your purpose faster than going it alone — but however you get there, the destination is worth it.
Next week we'll explore the third pillar: Connection — because purpose lived in community is purpose multiplied.
