My husband and I had been married for over 57 years when he died six years ago. How was I going to go on without him? I retired from teaching and gave up my clinical practice to take care of him during his fight against cancer, so now, what was I going to do now? Two years later, the answer came when one of the owners of the Fullerton Observer approached me to write for the newspaper because of my psychological background in teaching and clinical practice. Little did she know that I was the editor of the Patterson Park High School newspaper editorial page. But she gave me a purpose, a gift to write this column. For this, I am eternally thankful.

Why is having a purpose in life so important?

The American Psychologist summarized it well in scientific studies, which I will source here (September 2024).

In a study of 8,500 adults, the correlations or relationships of purpose were highly related to self-acceptance (.87), environmental mastery (.76), and personal growth (.83). It was also found that purpose is a person’s ultimate concern beyond coping strategies, personality traits, goals, and life narratives.
In theory, purpose “serves as a basic dimension of healthy psychological functioning and an important protective factor from psychopathology.” Purpose motivates us to dedicate time, energy, attention, money, or social capital toward certain goals.

The purpose is often referred to as beyond the self and to be world-related to driving the values and meaning of life. For example, a teacher’s purpose might be to teach students to use only factual information to come to a conclusion and not just accept what someone says or conspiracy theories. Behavioral progress is shown when the student applies facts to critically evaluated situations.

An intervention to increase illness-related coping abilities led to a greater purpose in life among cancer survivors. Having a purpose and goals leads to more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions in this study.

Some people I spoke to about purpose in life felt it was not important. Researchers have found that having a purpose in some people’s lives is obstructed by mental illness, physical illness, or poverty.

Participants in another study became better at organizing and pursuing personally meaningful goals after a single 30-minute counseling session of strategizing on how to cope with difficulties and a 60-minute group session reflecting on the ultimate motivation behind goals.

In a study of adolescents with less awareness of and commitment to a purpose, it was found that they were more apt to be guided by external factors such as peer pressure and adult interests. In addition, they experience less happiness.

Using neuroimaging, it has been shown that the ventral striatum of the brain is related to reward sensitivity. When subjects found a stronger purpose than on other days, they reduced their consumption of alcohol. This shows a resilience to not excessively consume alcohol in the presence of a purpose. Just think about how this could help our addicted population by helping them find a purpose in life.

Purpose in life is important, and it can be big or small.