(image courtesy of clipartpanda.com)
In a piece for the Huffington Post, Shelley Emling summons research suggesting that living with a sense of purpose and direction can extend our stays in this life as well:
What’s the key to long life? Is it clean living? Lots of exercise? An abundance of vegetables? Actually, the key to long life may be something a bit more intangible: a sense of purpose.
Researchers studying longevity say those who feel a sense of purpose and direction in life may indeed live longer, no matter what their age.
She quotes Patrick Hill of Carleton University (Canada), lead researcher in a study suggesting that a strong sense of life purpose may have “protective effects”:
“Our findings point to the fact that finding a direction for life, and setting overarching goals for what you want to achieve, can help you actually live longer, regardless of when you find your purpose. . . . So the earlier someone comes to a direction for life, the earlier these protective effects may be able to occur.”
Many potential sources
Although this blog is mainly about work and workers, let’s acknowledge right away that we can create or discover a sense of purpose in a variety of ways, including employment, an avocation, a hobby, or volunteer and philanthropic work. It can come out of devotion to others, such as parenting, caregiving, or helping animals. It may be inspired by a broader cause or a personal objective. Faith and spirituality may enter the picture as well.
It seems intuitive, doesn’t it? In fact, the capacity to develop our life purpose is one of the major distinguishing characteristics between humans and other living beings. Surely there are days when the life of a beloved dog or cat — basically hanging out, eating good food, playing when you feel like it, and getting lots of TLC — looks pretty good! But for we human folk, having a strong, motivating sense of purpose and direction is among the blessings that makes life worthwhile.
Minding the Workplace 
one of the reasons that i took redundancy is because the workplace is so toxic that i no longer feel that i have a sense of purpose there. Life is short and it is necessary for me to realign with my life purpose and start again. Feeling from from a toxic workplace is the best thing in the world.
After getting a degree and then ending up in one of the 2 most toxic fields to work in, I can honestly say that I have zero need for meaning or profound purpose in my life anymore. I poured myself out to others in my job for many years, day and night only to be profoundly abused/bullied and now in my early retirement I have no need for any huge purpose other than healing and creating a life of peace. I’m done with working for corrupt institutions that put greed in front of the safety and well being of their workers.