Usually, when people ask “what should I do with my life?,” they are talking about their careers. I hear this a lot as a professor. College students are obsessed with finding just the right career. This makes sense. Someone working full time can expect to spend...
Purpose can be so hard to find, that it’s nice to know that once found, we keep it for the rest of our lives, Right? Indeed, a given purpose can stay with us for long time—years, even decades. It can also change, both substantially and dramatically. Purpose changes...
We experience many things in life as binary. Either we have them or we don’t. Either we own a car or we don’t. Either we’re citizens of a country or we’re not. Either we are pregnant or we’re not. Purpose is not that way. It’s continuous. Everybody has at least some....
We live in a time of unprecedented privilege. We are richer, healthier, and safer than at any point in history. There is also inequality. There is poverty. There is want and need. Does purpose matter for those who struggle just to get by? Does their need to survive...
People don’t come out and say that purpose in life doesn’t matter. But, if you look at some people’s lives, you realize that pursuing purpose is not a priority. It’s as if, purpose is optional. It’s as if it’s like extra-credit—a good thing to have but not essential....