The Six-Week Wellbeing Plan, Week Five: The Surprising Power of Purpose

Welcome back to The Six-Week Wellbeing Plan. I hope last week’s dive into sleep did you some good, and that a few of you have given the afternoon nap a genuinely guilt-free go. This week I want to tackle something a little less tangible than diet, movement or sleep, but which the research suggests might matter just as much, if not more: what actually gets you out of bed in the morning.

I’ll admit “find your purpose” sounds like the kind of question you’d dread in a job interview, or something printed on a motivational poster in a workplace lunchroom. But stick with me, because the science behind it is genuinely compelling, and considerably more practical than the phrase suggests.

The research is bigger than I expected

A 2022 study led by researcher Eric Kim found that older adults with the strongest sense of purpose had a 46 per cent lower risk of dying over the following four years compared with those who scored lowest. To put that in perspective, the researchers noted the effect was roughly 1.8 times as powerful as either not smoking or staying physically active, two things we’re constantly told matter enormously for our health.

Closer to home, the University of Queensland’s own Ageing Mind Initiative has highlighted similar findings from a long-running US study, which found purpose predicted a longer life regardless of a person’s age or whether they were still working. Lead researcher Patrick Hill made a point I think is worth sitting with: it didn’t matter when someone found their sense of direction in life, finding it at all was what mattered, and the protective effects appeared to kick in whenever that happened.

Here’s the detail that struck me most, though: research consistently shows that our sense of purpose tends to quietly decline as we get older, unless we actively do something about it. At the very life stage when purpose seems to matter most for our health, it’s the exact life stage when it’s most likely to fade into the background. Interestingly, separate research has found that older adults, once they’ve actually retired, come to place considerably more importance on having a sense of purpose than they did before retiring. In other words, most of us realise how much we need it right around the time it’s gotten harder to hold onto.

What purpose actually does for your body

Beyond simply feeling more fulfilled, a strong sense of purpose is genuinely linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, better cognitive function, and lower rates of depression. Purpose appears to reduce chronic stress and inflammation in the body, both factors known to accelerate ageing, and it tends to nudge people toward better everyday choices around sleep, diet and physical activity, the exact pillars we’ve already covered in this series.

There’s also something to be said for purpose acting as a kind of shock absorber during hard times. When something is genuinely difficult, a strong sense of direction helps you reframe it as a temporary challenge on the way to something bigger, rather than simply an ordeal to be endured.

Five ways to build it back up

Practise a little mindfulness. Simply observing your thoughts and feelings without judgement, even for a few minutes a day, helps you notice what genuinely matters to you and what makes you feel good. This kind of quiet reflection is often the first real step toward identifying a sense of purpose you didn’t realise you already had.

Think properly about the future. Step back and consider what you’d genuinely like to achieve, personally or otherwise, and what small steps might get you there. It can be a powerful exercise to imagine looking back on this period of your life in ten years, and asking what you’d want to have done differently.

Ask the people around you. If you’re genuinely stuck, ask family or friends what matters most to them. You may find your own values align more than you’d expected, or simply discover a new way of thinking about your own life. Reading widely, particularly books that challenge your existing worldview, does something similar.

Set yourself a genuine challenge. Whether it’s a daily walk, cutting your screen time, or committing to see friends weekly, choose something that genuinely excites you rather than something you feel obligated to do. Mine’s currently trying to beat last year’s time in an upcoming fun run, more for the sense of working toward something than the time itself.

Volunteer, or support a cause you believe in. Contributing to something bigger than yourself is one of the most reliable ways to build a genuine sense of purpose, and it comes with the added bonus of new social connections and skills.

Three tips to make it stick

Follow your natural curiosity. Notice what you already genuinely enjoy doing, and see where it leads. You may well discover new interests along the way.

Look past short-term goals. Targets and milestones fade once you’ve reached them, but the underlying values and passions behind them tend to stay with you for good.

Spend real time with others. Discovering what genuinely motivates the people around you can be genuinely inspiring, and getting behind a shared cause is one of the simplest, most reliable ways to build purpose.

Next Saturday, we’ll bring The Six-Week Wellbeing Plan to its sixth and final instalment. In the meantime, if you’ve been putting off asking yourself what actually gets you out of bed each morning, this is your nudge to sit with the question properly.

WEEK ONE: Welcome to The Six-Week Wellbeing Plan

WEEK TWO: The Six-Week Wellbeing Plan, Week Two: What You Eat and How You Age

WEEK THREE: The Six-Week Wellbeing Plan, Week Three: Why Movement Matters More Than Ever

WEEK FOUR: The Six-Week Wellbeing Plan, Week Four: The Sleep Habits Worth Building, Not Just the Ones You’ve Heard Before