6 Ways to Find Your Purpose

Quick Win

We often confuse our purpose with our career, but ​purpose​ extends far beyond our jobs. Here are a few ways to increase a sense of purpose in your life.

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• Write down your core values. What is truly important to you? What do you find meaningful? How can you add this to your daily routine? This exercise can help you create goals, prioritize them and clarify your purpose.
• Be open to curiosity. Instead of focusing on what you must do today, think about what you could do today. You could join a club, connect with an old friend, take a painting class, volunteer or go hiking. The only rule: Try something you’ve always wanted to do.
• Be mindful. Find a quiet place and take three minutes to focus on your senses. Being mindful of each sensation can help clear your mind and decrease stress, anxiety and distractions. It also helps us to look inward and see what brings us joy.
• Build community. Discovering what you enjoy connects you to like-minded people — which can expand your social support network and give your life more meaning.
• Make a difference. Ask yourself how you can help others, whether you’re volunteering or raising money for a charity. Among the upsides: Volunteering can help boost our self-esteem, and altruism can decrease anxiety​​ and boost our sense of value in the world.
• Shift your focus. Finding purpose doesn’t require you to save the world. You might find purpose through small activities that make you feel good, whether it’s caring for your grandchildren, helping a neighbor or simply doing activities you love, from traveling to taking classes.

Why

Sure, some professionals — nurses, scientists, teachers — find purpose in their work lives by helping others, but purpose transcends our professional lives. “Purpose provides us with meaning,” says Frank A. Ghinassi, president and CEO of Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care and senior vice president of behavioral health services at RWJBarnabas Health. “It’s joyful. Having purpose allows us to examine our own sense of being, stray from the predictable and connect with something that delights and energizes us.” Among more than 13,000 adults older than 50, having a higher sense of purpose was linked to a lower risk of dying early. The study was published in 2022 in Preventive Medicine.