Before you can understand how purpose affects mental health, longevity, or resilience, you need to know what psychologists actually mean when they use the word “purpose.”
Once you understand what “purpose” means scientifically, the next question becomes unavoidable:
Why does purpose have such a strong effect on mental health?
Most people think of purpose as an emotional or philosophical idea. Something that gives you energy or motivation. But over the last two decades, researchers began to notice something remarkable — and measurable:
When life is steady, almost any belief can feel comforting. But resilience — the ability to withstand, adapt to, and recover from stress — is revealed only when things go wrong.
Purpose is often described as an inner experience — something deeply personal, introspective, internal. But decades of psychological and sociological research reveal a surprising truth: