The Washington Post recently reported the results from a six-year study out of Cornell that adds compelling evidence to the idea that the most efficient route to human flourishing may be a lot simpler than we’ve been making it. While there’s no magic solution when it comes to human well-being, the evidence suggests a relatively easy exercise in articulating one’s purpose can have outsize mental and even physical health benefits.
The Cornell researchers selected about 1,200 college and high school students (an age cohort that’s been struggling lately) to receive $400 no-strings “contributions” to use “to pursue what matters most.”
The preliminary results are unambiguous. At the start, both groups typically scored the same on psychological measures. Eight weeks later, those who received the contributions scored significantly higher than the non-recipients on all measures: latent well-being, sense of purpose, sense of belonging, sense of feeling needed and useful, and affective balance.” Contributing to others’ happiness creates happiness for ourselves.
My friend, academic Todd Kashdan found similar results. He had patients with social anxiety disorder describe what they saw as their purpose in life and then had them monitor their efforts toward this purpose every day. After two weeks, they exhibited higher self-esteem, sense of meaning and positive emotions. Days when they reported significant progress toward life purpose were also days with significant boosts in well-being. Getting outside the ghetto of your ego is the key.
Let’s be clear. As our MEA faculty member Richard Leider suggests, there’s a big “P” purpose (what’s on your Linkedin profile) and a small “p” purpose (the small things you love that often define the character qualities people ascribe to you). As the article suggests, “There’s no right or wrong purpose. It could be related to family or work or anything else that gives you meaning and helps you order your goals. It’s not necessarily altruistic but often is. Your purpose can change over time. You can have more than one.”
I talked Purpose with Blue Zones’ Dan Buettner on his podcast recently (here’s the YouTube version). MEA’s next Cultivating Purpose foundational workshop is Dec 1-6 in Baja with a shared room being $3,000 all-inclusive price and a single room being $4,700.
-Chip