Purpose

In a Washington Post article, Dana Milbank discusses a six-year study at Cornell University and shows that their findings relate to how we can stay happy in an age gone mad. (Any takers?)

Since 2019, Burrow (at Cornell) and his researchers selected about 1,200 college and high school students to receive $400 no-strings “contributions” to use “to pursue what matters most” to them — something that benefits their community, family or even themselves. These recipients were compared to a control group who did not receive any contribution. Both groups were tested and scored on a variety of psychological measures of positive and negative emotions. Both groups had similar scores at the start of the studies.

Eight weeks later both groups were re-tested. The groups that received the ‘contribution’ (and used that contribution in some way to benefit themselves or others) scored significantly higher than the non-recipients on all measures, including: well-being, sense of purpose, sense of belonging, sense of feeling needed and useful, and affective balance (a measure of positive and negative emotions).

From the article:

Research in recent years has found that a greater sense of purpose is associated with reduced inflammation under stress, lower risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, slower age-related cognitive decline, and greater longevity, as well as improved perseverance, resilience and mood, and the ability to face stressful situations with less negative emotion.

The take away from this study is that the small contribution of money encouraged the participants to develop a sense of purpose as they decided how to use the gift of money. This seemingly subtle change in attitude and intention produced measurable positive changes in the minds and lives of the people who were actively in the study. So, how can we use this principle in our daily lives to feel more purposeful and connected with others?

Dana Milbank suggests a simple practice we can use in our daily life:

1. Ask yourself what is missing for you in the world (in your own life).
2. Think about how you can fill the gap of what is missing (even a little bit).
3. Commit to making a regular (daily?) contribution toward the purpose of filling that gap.
4. Asses your progress on a regular basis (every 2 to 3 days).
5. Adjust your goals and efforts as needed.

We have other ways in our meditation practice, notably setting intentions and dedicating the merit of our practice, that create a deeper purpose for what we do; connecting us with our deeper selves, our community, and the world at large.