There is nothing that enhances performance, vitality and health like living on purpose.
If you are one of those lucky people who report that they are living their ‘life on purpose’ at work the level of your well-being is five times higher and you will live longer.
Congratulations!
So, what does purpose enable you?
In high performance, a self-transcending purpose allows you to overcome your greatest fears, break through your limits and improve every day activities.
In addition to the physical, mental and emotional benefits connection to a sense of purpose allows you to rewrite your personal narratives about what is happening to you and why.
When you are doing something difficult or uncertain (which is often the case in business and entrepreneurship) that is serving a bigger purpose you anchor yourself in positive context.
You might feel stressed, frustrated or nervous; but because your brain gets the message that those negative emotions are connected to you doing something important and not because you are under threat, you persevere, learn and adapt.
But for this to happen what you do and how you do it, has to be connected to your idea of success – and not someone else’s.
Many of us mistake ambition with purpose.
But while ambition helps you achieve, it doesn’t necessarily make you feel fulfilled.
Have ever achieved and got exactly what you wanted but didn’t feel the sense of satisfaction you believed you would?
That is the difference between ambition and purpose.
When you live on purpose you are not only achieving, but you are achieving the right things – things that are meaningful to you.
You are going after your own idea of success .
And how do you discover it (the purpose)?
Finding and connecting to your purpose takes practice and intention, but it’s not a mystical endeavour.
Your purpose has been with you all your life even though you might have not articulated it, yet.
To discover and connect to your purpose is:
- To feel like your work aligns with your talents and values
- To feel a greater sense of direction
- To align decision and choices that lead to authentic confidence.
How do you discover your purpose?
Finding your purpose is about identifying overlapping themes and patterns in your life.
Consider the following questions:
(1) What did you most enjoy when you were a child?
(2) What brought you the sense of joy?
(3) What are your top qualities you’ve always possessed?
(4) What are challenges did you endure, what did you learn and how did you change as a result?
(5) What are the times in your life/work when you felt the most like yourself, the best of yourself?
(6) What do you value, how does that translate in your life?
(7) What opportunities do you want to seize?
(8) What do you find the most challenging now?
After you are finished answering the questions, you should be able to write your 2-3 sentence ‘purpose statement’.
Your statement can easily be self-centred. But if you make it a self-transcending, you will not only make the world a better place but you will also perform better.
And don’t worry if the statement doesn’t sound perfect, you can always revisit it.
Just make sure it feels good to you.
Use it as a visual cue – place it where you can see it, especially when going gets tough.
Or, use it as a mantra – positive self talk to boost your performance, before and during important events.
Image: Alamy, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev 2025.