Have you lost your sense of purpose?
“The purpose of life is to discover your gift.
The work of life is to develop it.
The meaning of life is to give your gift away.”
— David Viscott, Finding Strength in Difficult Times
Has there been a major loss in your life? Are you grieving for who you were or who you thought you should be? Are you wondering, “What do I do next?” If you are feeling lost, untethered, or uncertain, you are not alone. Many of us reach a moment in life when the old story dissolves before a new one has formed.
Losing your purpose is not evidence that something is wrong with you. It is evidence that something inside you is changing.
Often people confuse goals with their life’s purpose. Purpose is the deeper “why” of your life. It is the inner direction that gives meaning to your days, while goals are the specific actions or milestones that express that purpose in the world. Purpose is enduring. Goals, by contrast, are concrete, time-bound. They shift as circumstances change. When a goal ends, your purpose remains. In this way, purpose is the current of the river that carries you forward, while goals are the stepping stones that allow you to cross.
When you confuse goals with purpose, you may begin to believe that your meaning in life rises and falls with your productivity or accomplishments. A finished project, a role that ends, or a change in circumstances can feel like a loss of identity rather than a natural transition. This confusion can make life’s thresholds feel like failures instead of invitations to grow.
Remember, a goal can end, but your purpose will continue to evolve.
Finding your purpose is less like choosing a destination and more like recognizing a pattern that has been quietly shaping your life. Purpose doesn’t usually arrive as a lightning bolt; it reveals itself through memory, preference, and the ways your presence naturally impacts others.
Finding your purpose is not something you force or accomplish; it’s something you soften into.
Purpose emerges quietly when the old identity begins to loosen its grip, when the inner landscape rearranges itself, and when the next life story starts to take shape beneath the surface. This is the tender alchemy of transformation. It is subtle, patient, and deeply intimate.
Over the next year, my newsletter will explore the search for purpose by reflecting on past experiences, recognizing the power of relationships, and acknowledging the challenges we have faced. For this life review, we will follow the river of our lives as it winds through memory and meaning. A life review is not about nostalgia. It is about uncovering the patterns, strengths, and truths that have been guiding us all along.
We do not revive our purpose alone. We do it in community, with witnesses who help us see what we cannot see in ourselves. Engage others in your rediscovery of purpose. They will help you as you chart the cascades and rapids of your life, examine the tributaries and confluences that have enriched your days, and trace the ways your river has shaped the terrain it crosses.
Your river is waiting, and so is the next chapter of your becoming. Let’s enter this season of discovery together.
Ritual Practice
The River of Life: A Journal
Journal writing is one of the most powerful tools for discovering purpose because it allows you to hear the parts of yourself that are usually drowned out by responsibility, habit, and daily noise. Your purpose statement rarely arrives fully formed; it reveals itself through patterns, memories, longings, and moments of clarity that appear on the page when you give yourself space to reflect.
Purpose often lives in repeated themes of your interests, values, desires, and struggles. When you write consistently, these patterns begin to surface. Journaling also allows you to witness your own evolution. As you look back over old entries, you may see how far you’ve traveled and how you have changed.
Purpose is not a mission. It is a current. And when the river disappears underground, it is not gone. It is gathering strength for its next emergence.
Over the next month, create a journaling ritual in which you write regularly about your purpose in life.
Here are some habits that support a steady and nourishing journaling practice:
Date your entries. This helps you see patterns or recurring themes over time.
Write for yourself, not an audience. No judgment. No editing.
Write regularly. Consistency matters more than intensity.
Begin with a small ritual. Light a candle, make tea, or take three slow breaths so your body knows it is time for reflection.
Follow the energy. If a prompt doesn’t resonate, skip it. If something unexpected arises, follow it.
Prompts can help you reflect on your purpose. Below are questions to guide your writing this month. Choose those that resonate with you.
Consider what is asking to be released. Purpose cannot emerge until the old dreams are honored. Purpose-making requires clearing the riverbed so new flow can be found.
What dreams have run their course?
What roles no longer fit?
What expectations are no longer appropriate?
Engage memory to trace early threads of purpose. Purpose is rarely brand new. It is often a recombination of early memories and your deepest wisdom.
What did I love before anyone told me who to be?
What childhood activities made me feel alive, free, or absorbed?
Who were the people I admired when I was young, and what qualities did they embody?
Listen for the small signals, not the grand vision. New purpose seldom announces itself; it steps forward when the soul is still. Follow what feels true, not what feels impressive.
What am I longing for right now, even if it seems impossible or small?
When do I feel a quiet spark of curiosity, warmth, or aliveness?
What do I wish I had more time for? What does that reveal?
Notice why people ask for your advice. These are clues to your soul’s current. Your purpose often shows itself through the reflection of others.
What do people naturally turn to me for?
What compliments or acknowledgments do I consistently receive?
When do I feel that I am offering something meaningful to others?
As you write, may the river of your life reveal the currents that have always been carrying you forward.
Click here to download a free fillable eWorkbook that features a general list of purpose statements and prompts to help you create your own.
Purpose Resources & Inspirations
Brave the Page: How Writing Our Hard Stories Brings Healing and Wholeness by Megan February (2025) Learn more on Amazon
Megan February teaches us how to trust our voice, take creative risks, and believe in the stories we carry inside. Beneath its practical writing advice lies a deeper message; purpose often reveals itself when we dare to express our inner world with honesty and courage. Through practical guidance and gentle inspiration, the author demonstrates that writing is not just a creative act. It’s a way of uncovering what matters most.
The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self by Martha Beck (2021) Learn more on Amazon
Drawing on The Divine Comedy as her framework, Martha Beck breaks down the journey toward personal integrity into small, manageable steps. She illustrates how confusion and dissatisfaction often arise when we live according to external expectations rather than our inner truth. Through stories and practical exercises, Beck teaches us to recognize what feels authentic and to trust those signals. In this clarity, purpose begins to reveal itself, not as a goal to chase, but as the natural direction of a life lived in integrity.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May (2020) Learn more on Amazon
May’s writing helps readers find purpose by revealing that meaning often emerges in the spaces where productivity, identity, and certainty have fallen away. She shows that purpose does not come from relentless striving; it comes from allowing yourself to enter the deeper rhythms of life. May’s tender reflections help readers trust these thresholds, soften into their own season of winter, and recognize that the seeds of purpose are often planted in times that feel barren. When spring returns, it is because the soul has been preparing all along.
Golden Oldies
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Timesby Pema Chödrön (1997) Learn more on Amazon
Pema Chödrön teaches us how to stay present during the very moments when purpose seems to have disappeared. She helps us understand that when life unravels, through loss, grief, or the collapse of an identity, we are actually standing at the threshold of transformation. Rather than rushing to fix or replace what has fallen away, Chödrön invites us to soften into uncertainty and listen deeply to our own hearts. Her teachings cultivate the emotional resilience and inner stillness necessary for purpose to emerge.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (1959) Learn more on Amazon
Viktor Frankl’s book should be required reading for everyone. He helps readers find purpose by showing that meaning is not something we wait for. It is something we create, even in the most difficult circumstances. Through Frankl’s experiences in the concentration camps, he demonstrates that purpose arises when we choose how to respond to suffering, align ourselves with what we value, and commit to something larger than ourselves.
