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

Image: Pexels/ Anna Shvets

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…