Insights

Have you been constantly job-hopping or moving in and out of a place of work or residence within short intervals? Have you ever felt like you are not good enough or an epic failure in everything you do? Have you been comparing yourself frequently with others where your ultimate focus is more on the negatives than the positive things you have accomplished in life? Are you experiencing an inability or a self-punishing refusal to appreciate and recognise your own achievements no matter how big or small they are? Are you extremely worried you will never ever find your true purpose or meaning in life?

If you have answered yes to one or two of these questions, then you may be going through the motion of searching for meaning or purpose in your human existence. But if you have answered yes to four or all questions, then you may be experiencing an existential crisis and demonstrating symptoms of what many psychologists refer to as “purpose anxiety”. A yes to three of the questions may place you in the borderline of the anxiety continuum.

So what is purpose anxiety?

The discourse on purpose anxiety is novel and contemporary modern research on this existential construct and human phenomenon is infantile. However, its philosophical and psychological foundations are age-old dating back to existentialism, a movement led by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in the mid-to-late 19th century. Major theoretical and practical applications of existentialism specifically in the professional practice of counselling and psychotherapy are adequately documented and scientifically grounded in the works of Viktor Emil Frankl’s logotherapy (1959), Rollo Reece May’s meaning of love and will (1969) and meaning [in] anxiety (1977, 1950), Friedrich Salomon Perls and Laura Perls’ gestalt therapy (1989), and partly, Abraham Harold Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-actualisation (1998, 1943) and Carl Ransom Roger’s humanistic and client-centered approaches in psychological practice (1961). In popular culture, existential expressions are characterised by the “you-only-live-once” (YOLO), “fear of missing out” (fFOMO) and “work hard-play hard” emotional responses of millennial youths and the middle-child generation. Baby boomers equally have their own version of existential narratives when they associate old age with consolidation, integration, retirement and search for meaning in life.

We all live in an ageing world. Modern society even has an obsession with graceful ageing and the fountain of youth. As such, purpose and meaning in life in the context of the ageing experience continue to be an elephant in the room. Research interests in purpose and meaning in life had been challenged by the argument that these constructs are more of a philosophical ideology than a psychological or social phenomenon, and therefore, may become problematic when investigated empirically (Lurie, 2006). Purpose and meaning in life were often attached to spirituality and religion, and for this reason, progressive discourse on these concepts was ignored in the scientific arena (Gerson, 2001). Discussions and debate on this topic were left to the confines of church ministers, theologians and experts in divinity. However, researchers particularly in the fields of gerontology and geropsychology have become increasingly interested in questioning if old age is indeed a meaningful stage in a person’s life considering that major adversities and challenges emerge during this time in the lifespan (Moore, 2003; Sarvimaki & Stenbock-Hult, 2000).

In recent years, the concept of gerotranscendence is one of the most significant developments in the field of ageing that has captured the curiosity of many experts and researchers. With the addition of the ninth stage in the psychosocial theory of ego development, Erikson and Erikson (1997) completed the developmental tasks of the human lifespan and asserted that generally, people found purpose and meaning in their experiences of old age, embraced a spiritual sphere in the process, and accepted somehow the realities of chronic illness, pain and death. With this additional knowledge in the subjective experience of ageing, purpose and meaning in life and their association with the experience of gerotranscendence have continued to emerge as a vital factor in understanding the psychological health and well-being of people as they reach the end-stage of their life.

The scientific literature further explores this nebulous topic in depth. Research suggests a general shift in values and views. Bar-Tur, Savaya and Prager (2001) showed in their study that age, culture, ethnicity and values impacted on ten sources of purpose and meaning in life, which included personal relationships, personal growth, creativity, achievement, success, freedom from hardship, altruism, hedonism or seeking enjoyment, religion and religious beliefs, and legacy. These findings supported the view that broader sources of purpose and meaning were evident in both old and young people in multicultural societies similar to the biblical land of Israel. Furthermore, Moore, Metcalf and Schow (2000) reaffirmed how subjective experiences of inner hope and inner joy may lead to an increased capacity for older people to respond to opportunities and manage everyday problems, hence adding and strengthening purpose and meaning to their daily existence. Similarly, Thomé, Esbensen, Dykes and Hallberg (2004) placed purpose and meaning in life as a core principle in providing individual support and appropriate health and palliative care to older people battling with terminal cancer. Another study by Takkinen and Ruoppila (2001) provided empirical evidence to suggest that purpose and meaning in life is an integral part of a multidimensional space of functioning in old age.

Altogether, the scientific literature supports the importance of purpose and meaning in human existence and the multidimensionality of these existential constructs. Given all that science is telling us, should we be worried if we are experiencing an existential crisis or an episode of purpose anxiety?

The simple answer is - yes and no.

Yes indeed, we may have to worry about a lack of purpose and meaninglessness. In the first place, science informs us that having a purpose and doing something meaningful are essential ingredients to a healthy mind. Purpose and meaning may contribute to a healthy and positive ageing. And conversely no, we may not necessarily have to spend too much energy and time worrying about not having a purpose or meaning. From a rather simple perspective, a dose of anxiety is acceptable and quite healthy too for our general well-being according to the existential point of view. An existential crisis and a bout of purpose anxiety builds resilience and develops a strong character that may help us overcome adversities and challenges in life.

While science stresses that purpose and meaning are very broad and complex constructs to study through and under a microscope, we can take simple and practical ways to understand them. Firstly, we need to be educated that purpose and meaning are not one-size-fits-all concepts. In fact, age, culture and personal values influence the way purpose and meaning are formed and incorporated into our life. Hence, the purpose or meaning we have today may be different from the purpose or meaning we develop in our old age and in changing cultural context and individual situations. While similar themes of purpose and meaning may emerge, yours will be unique and reflective of your identity and personality. Secondly, we need to refrain from searching for our true purpose or meaning in life. The one true purpose in our life may not even exist. Thirdly, we may find it more useful and helpful to reframe our purpose mindset than keep scouring compulsively for purpose and meaning every second and every minute of the day. Fourthly and more importantly, purpose and meaning are created, not searched and then found. Purpose and meaning in life emanate from self-knowledge and grow from our own personal experiences and from the challenges we have overcome. It is therefore important to take time to know many versions of ourselves when we are feeling anxious about our purpose or meaning.

At the end of the day, finding purpose and meaning in life is simple and straightforward. We all aspire and desire to live and have a life - in fact, a good life is what we all aim for. However, profit complicates purpose and causes us much of the anxiety and harm to our life. Once we are lured into greed and obsessed by the glory of profit, the real meaning and purpose of our life gradually fades away and transfigures into evil desires and thoughts. Profit translates in the real world as fame, fortune, power and wealth. As civilised human beings, we need to find the right balance between profit and purpose in order to sustain harmony and order in our world. Global conflicts and wars, as well as the downfall of the glory days of many famous personalities in history and the entertainment industry are all testimonies of this imbalance.

To sum it all, we may not know it; our purpose and meaning in waking up each day may just be in front of us. Despite rejections we encounter, our main purpose in life is right here, right now! When the grace of God’s purpose prevails, we find fullness and peace in our existence as a thriving member of the human race.

References:

Bar-Tur, L,. Savaya, R. & Prager, E. (2001). Sources of meaning in life for young and old Israeli Jews and Arabs. Journal of Ageing Studies, 13(3), 253-269.

Erikson, E.H. & Erikson, J.M. (1997). The Life Cycle Completed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Frankl, V.E. (1959). Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy. Boston: Beacon Press.

Gerson, D. (2001). Ageing, religion and spirituality: Advancing meaning in later life. Social Thought, 20 (3/4), 129-140.

Lurie, Y. (2006). Tracking the Meaning of Life: A Philosophical Journey. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press.

Maslow, A.H. (1998). Toward a Psychology of Being (Third Edition). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396.

May, R.R. (1977). Meaning of Anxiety (Revised Edition). New York: W.W. Norton.

May, R.R. (1969). Love and Will. New York: W.W. Norton.

May, R.R. (1950). Meaning of Anxiety (First Edition). New York: W.W. Norton.

Moore, S., Metcalf, B. & Schow, E. (2000). Ageing and meaning in life. Geriatric Nursing, 21(1), 27-29.

Moore, T. (2003). Body and soul: Geriatric rehabilitation for the soul. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 19(4), 231-238.

Perls, F.S. (1989) The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behaviour Books.

Rogers, C.R. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Therapists’s View of Psychotherapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Sarvimaki, A. & Stenbock-Hult, B. (2000). Quality of life in old age described as a sense of well-being, meaning and value. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32(4), 1025-1033.

Takkinen, S. & Ruoppila, I. (2001). Meaning in life as an important component of functioning in old age. International Journal of Ageing and Human Development, 53(3), 211-231.

Thomé, B., Esbensen, B.A., Dykes, A.K. & Hallberg, I.R. (2004). The meaning of having to live with cancer in old age. European Journal of Cancer Care, 13, 399-408.