
Do you ever wake up and wonder, “What is this all for?”
As you work hard through another monotonous day at a job that fails to challenge or fulfill you, the question eats away at your soul: Is this really all there is?
You are not alone.
The Lifeway survey found a slight decline since 2011 in the percentage who “strongly agree” that life has an ultimate purpose (from 38% to 30%).
Dissatisfied with the status quo, we yearn for something more.
Maybe a north star to guide us and fill our days with intention.
The good news is that purpose can be cultivated through small, intentional changes across all areas of life.
In this post, we will explore 15 research-backed methods plus one bonus tip for developing purpose in your:
- Personal life
- Career
- Relationships
- And health.
Let’s begin!
Purpose in Personal Life
1. Identify your core values
Your core values are the fundamental beliefs and priorities that drive your choices and behaviors.
For instance, if family relationships are your top priority, then nurturing those connections would be a meaningful goal to structure other life choices around.
On a personal level, reflecting on proud moments when you felt true to yourself can reveal values like creativity, integrity, or growth.
Times of adversity can also spotlight your deepest convictions.
Research on self-determination theory (SDT) shows that when goals connect to personal values, the resulting sense of meaning boosts motivation and well-being.
Core values also shape organizational culture.
Some great examples are companies like Lululemon, JP Morgan Chase, and Southwest Airlines. They have strong, distinctive core values that shape their culture and practices.
So, take some time and start by identifying your core values through ruthless prioritization.
2. Craft a personal vision statement
A personal vision statement clarifies your core priorities and provides direction for your life.
Crafting one requires deep reflection on what matters most, helping you identify values to guide decisions.
An effective vision statement is IACF:
- Inspirational: It motivates you toward realizing your full potential.
- Aligned: It reflects authentic aspirations, not someone else’s expectations.
- Clear: It is specific enough to inform decision-making.
- Flexible: It allows room for growth and change over time (this is the most important).
Research shows that 81% with written visions enhanced their decision-making capabilities. Additionally, 63% improved their focus and direction while 57% increased personal growth (source).
That tells you something!
3. Pursue growth by adopting a growth mindset
Adopting a growth mindset is key to pursuing continuous growth and developing a sense of purpose.
To put simply, a growth mindset involves viewing challenges and failures as opportunities to learn rather than something to avoid.
This enables you to push beyond your comfort zone to take on meaningful goals
With a growth mindset, you develop abilities over time through effort rather than being fixed.
Furthermore, by focusing on the process rather than just outcomes, a growth mindset builds resilience – the key to overcoming struggles while working towards purposeful goals.
This makes you very less likely to give up no matter what.
4. Engage in self-reflection through journaling
Journaling is a powerful tool for self-reflection. It provides clarity and direction around your sense of meaning and purpose.
Keeping a journal also helps with self-awareness by encouraging introspection on impactful life events, relationships, passions, values, and goals.
In fact, many spectacular legends, even the most powerful ones, used to journal. The first one that comes to my mind is the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
The act of writing often ignites realizations and epiphanies around deeper questions.
Begin with these:
- What activities bring me joy and feelings of meaning? When do I lose track of time?
- If I had all the money, time, and skills needed, what would I choose to do with my life?
- What legacy or impact do I want my life to have on the world?
- If I could develop one new skill or ability, what would have the most positive impact?
- What issues or problems in the world bother me the most? How could I help address them?
To say the least, answering these questions creates a space to wrestle with existential questions about life’s purpose in an unfiltered way.
Journaling, when done right, will reveal a lot of things about yourself that were unknown unknowns for you.
5. Volunteer
If there is only one reason to volunteer, it’s this: volunteering teaches you the significance of helping someone without any expectation of getting something in return.
As one article notes, participating in volunteer work enables you to “embark on a journey of personal growth” and gain “a profound understanding of your strengths, principles, and aspirations.”
Volunteering also gives you a chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
A study on the mental health benefits of volunteering found that 96% of volunteers reported the experience enriched their sense of purpose.
Additionally, One university affirms that volunteering provides “a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.”
Purpose in Professional Life
6. Develop a craftsmanship mindset
The craftsmanship mindset, as described by Cal Newport in his book “So Good They Can’t Ignore You.”
It involves dedicating oneself to deliberate practice and the relentless pursuit of excellence in a chosen skill area or craft.
This instills a sense of purpose as one strives towards mastery.
Cal believes that when we focus deeply on developing rare and valuable skills, it makes us feel more engaged and adds meaning to our work.
With a craftsmanship mindset, the focus shifts from “what can the world offer me” to “what can I offer the world.”
By dedicating time and energy to a craft, you develop specialized skills that are valuable contributions.
This gives you opportunities to experience autonomy, mastery, and purpose in your work – traits that are vital for long-term career satisfaction according to studies.
Note: It’s the complete opposite of a passion mindset.
7. Try to be useful at work
Finding purpose and meaning in your work goes beyond just collecting a paycheck.
As someone rightly puts it, “Success is the feeling you get from a job well done.” When you feel your work is useful and making a difference, you enjoy it more.
The McKinsey report shows that only 15% of frontline employees feel connected to purpose at work, compared to 85% of executives.
Helping all employees connect to purpose is key to engagement, productivity, and retaining talent.
Employees with purpose are more energized to innovate and create.
Here are some practical ways managers can use to foster purpose in the teams:
- Connect individual tasks to the company’s overall mission and vision. Help them see how their role contributes.
- Allow employees to develop passion projects or give back initiatives related to their talents.
- Provide coaching to help employees find purpose in their current role based on strengths/values.
- Celebrate and recognize work that goes “above and beyond” expected duties. Proactively look for ways all roles can be useful.
Helping connect work to purpose is a win-win.
8. Continue learning new skills to develop yourself
“Change is the only constant.”
Although that phrase might have placed itself in the cliche category, its profoundness still holds completely true.
As you gain new knowledge and abilities, you build confidence and self-esteem, leading to more positive and engaged workplaces.
Learning prevents career plateaus and boredom by opening up new challenges and responsibilities.
But the more important thing is it also allows professionals to stay relevant in a rapidly changing job market.
An important Forbes article asks professionals to consider, “Does it excite you?” and “Does it challenge you?”
Purpose in Relationships
9. Develop intimacy through shared experiences and open communication
Fostering intimacy in a relationship requires intentionally creating opportunities for three things:
- Openness
- Vulnerability
- And emotional connection.
This starts with sharing meaningful experiences together.
These rituals – whether date nights, shared hobbies, holiday traditions, or more – help cement a sense of shared identity and purpose.
As counselor Harriet Lerner highlights, “The couples that last are those able to sustain intimacy and regard over time.”
This emotional intimacy stems from open and vulnerable communication.
Additionally, openly communicating about individual beliefs, goals and visions for the future helps determine compatibility and alignment on core values.
A study on marital purpose found, “When spouses feel confident they understand what matters to their partner, and when they see evidence that their partner prioritizes their relationship, they report higher levels of marital purpose.”
This in turn motivates partners to invest in and commit to one another even during challenging periods.
10. Invest in a few close, mutually caring relationships
Speaking from experience, having strong, caring relationships provides a profound sense of meaning and purpose in life.
These may include romantic partnerships, friendships, or family bonds.
Spend quality time together, communicating openly and authentically.
Understand each other’s needs, emotional landscapes, and sources of stress.
Be loyal and reliable, appreciating each person’s unique perspectives and talents.
Accept each other fully, flaws and all.
This level of vulnerability and intimacy strengthens bonds over time.
11. Don’t take anything personally
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Taking things personally can lead to unnecessary suffering, conflicts, and drama. By not taking things personally, we can have more freedom, openness, self-trust, and inner peace.
This philosophy is taken from Don Miguel Ruiz, who wrote the classic self-help – The Four Agreements.
This principle seems highly relevant for all kinds of relationships: romantic, professional, and family.
In terms of practical application, we can notice when we feel offended or upset by others’ words or actions, and remember that it is never about us.
We can give ourselves space to feel emotions without judgment, and then let them go.
Over time and with practice, taking things less personally can improve our closest relationships and our inner peace.
Purpose in Health and Wellness
12. Adopt healthy behaviors like exercise and good nutrition
Adopting healthy habits like regular exercise and nutritious eating provides immense benefits for both mental and physical health.
Even low-intensity workouts can lift mood, reduce anxiety, and boost self-esteem by releasing feel-good endorphins.
Eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats is tied to lower depression rates and sharper cognition.
Nutrients like magnesium and omega-3s provide the building blocks for mood-regulating neurotransmitters (source).
Beyond mental health, exercise and nutrition powerfully promote physical well-being too.
Physical activity improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, and reduces inflammation. Even moderate amounts of exercise can reduce heart disease risk by 20-25% or more.
Just 30 minutes a day keeps the doctor away.
This might not be directly related to your purpose, but hey, what is the value of any other thing if you’re not in optimal health?
13. Practice stress management techniques
Practicing stress management techniques like meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and relaxation is a powerful way to develop purpose.
Specifically, stress management helps in 5 key ways:
- Controlled breathing lowers cortisol while meditation activates the body’s relaxation response (source). This clears mental space to discover purpose.
- Enhances self-awareness and reflection so inner wisdom and purpose can emerge.
- Boosts positive emotions, optimism, and meaning – mental states that facilitate finding purpose. Evidence links practices like yoga to improved mood, outlook, and life satisfaction (source, source).
- Builds resilience, willpower, and ego strength to stay aligned with purpose despite challenges.
- Opens creativity and problem-solving to unlock new pathways aligned with purpose. Meditation activates neuroplastic brain regions, enabling “more creative problem-solving skills”.
14. Engage in creative pursuits and hobbies
When we tap into our creative potential through artistic activities, research shows it relieves stress, lessens emotional burdens, stimulates happiness and resilience, and boosts confidence.
Activities like painting, writing, or playing music have been scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety.
A practical example is painting after a long workday – using creativity as an outlet provides an escape from daily stressors.
Additionally, creative endeavors help lessen shame, anger, and depression from traumatic experiences.
The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center uses art therapy to help soldiers with PTSD express difficult emotions (source).
Creative pursuits also induce a “flow state.” People who experience flow report higher creativity, productivity, and happiness.
15. Develop healthy sleep habits
“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” – Thomas Dekker
Dr. Marishka Brown, a sleep expert at NIH, emphasizes that good sleep improves brain performance and mood.
When we sleep, our brain undergoes essential processes such as memory consolidation, learning, and creativity.
For example, imagine preparing for an important exam or work presentation – a well-rested mind is more focused, alert, and better at retaining information.
Sleep is also vital for physical health maintenance.
It supports immune system repair, cellular regeneration, hormone balance, and more.
Good sleep maintains baseline mental health too. Even one night of lost sleep can significantly worsen mood.
So, try to get quality sleep.
Dead Poet’s Society’s philosophy (Bonus Tip)
“Dead Poet’s Society taught me, through poetry, that the mere fact of expressing yourself consistently is enough to develop purpose and meaning in your life.” – Dhruvir Zala
Dead Poet’s Society is one of those films that had a profound impact on how I viewed life. It encouraged me to embrace life fully and intentionally.
The line, “Carpe Diem. Seize the day and make your lives extraordinary,” underscores acting right away to live fully.
Furthermore, John Keating urges students to develop their voice and identity.
By urging students to defy rigid conventions, Keating inspires us to question norms and take control of our lives.
For instance, someone anxious socially could take a bold step by joining a supportive exercise group.
The power of creative expression, be it writing, art, or even dance, also can’t be undermined.
So, just express yourself wholeheartedly every day and the purpose will take of itself.
Conclusion
Now you might be thinking, “Wait, I was looking for a silver bullet or a magic pill and all I got was some usual advice.”
That’s the point of this article.
It is not in some secret sauce that we find something meaningful but, as Mark Manson eloquently puts it, “by doing ordinary things for an extraordinary amount of time.”
With that said, follow these ordinary tips forever and you’ll see that purpose or lack of meaning was never really the issue.