Considering purpose through the lens of prospection

Longitudinal processes among humility, social justice activism, transcendence, and well-being

“…This is especially the case for the constructs in the current study, which represent sibling constructs (Lawson and Robins, 2021) susceptible to the jangle fallacy (i.e., different labels but conceptually overlapping and empirically the same construct; Gonzalez et al, 2021). Life purpose is often conflated with meaning in life (Bronk and Mitchell, 2022;Bronk et al, 2023), and this conceptual ambiguity and redundancy is even more pronounced when purpose and meaning are conflated with transcendence, concerns we later extend to humility and transcendence. Transcendence can be defined broadly as "a beyond-the-self orientation" (Bronk et al, 2023(Bronk et al, , p. 1023), and we use the term transcendence in this broad sense, distinct from the more precise language, horizontal transcendence, which adds nuance to this broad definition.…”

“…Wong et al (2021) referred to life transcendence as "an awareness of one's worthy life purpose" (p. 8), largely synonymous with what Steger et al (2006) referred to as presence of meaning in life, and Bronk et al (2018) operationalized as the meaningfulness dimension of life purpose. Life purpose refers to personally meaningful life aims (Bronk and Mitchell, 2022), which connotes subjective judgment (Costin and Vignoles, 2020). Similarly, Steger et al (2006) defined the presence of life purpose as "the subjective sense that one's life is meaningful" (p. 85).…”

Psychosocial factors and well-being among adults with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease: A cross-sectional study.

“…While people with higher CMT-related anxiety reported a lower HRQoL, for those reporting CMT-anxiety symptoms up to 0.5 standard deviations above the mean, this association was reduced for people with a higher sense of purpose. Prior research has suggested that sense of purpose may help cultivate a future-oriented perspective and resilience, both of which may aid in better managing one’s anxiety and lead to greater well-being (Bronk & Mitchell, 2022; Horowitz & Vanner, 2010). This finding has implications for future work on well-being interventions as it identifies sense of purpose as a potential target to promote better coping with anxiety and improve well-being in people with CMT.…”

“…Previous work has shown that sense of purpose may offer an important pathway for coping with and overcoming obstacles by increasing prospection about the future (Bronk & Mitchell, 2022). Because sense of purpose includes a sense of direction and life engagement, it requires that individuals look to their future to plan activities that align with their values and sense of direction.…”

Taking care of your own wellbeing

“…Finding meaning means belonging and/or serving something bigger than ourselves (Seligman, 2011). Having a purpose in life helps individuals to focus on what is really important in the face of potential challenges (Bronk & Mitchell, 2022). Religion and spirituality, working for a good company, raising children, volunteering for a good cause, or expressing ourselves creatively can all provide meaning or purpose (Manco & Hamby, 2021), depending on our personal values.…”