“I Press On Toward the Goal”: Purpose and a Longer Life

Paul writes this from prison, late in life. He has just counted all his former achievements as loss compared with knowing Christ (3:7–8). Yet he is not drifting. He describes himself as a runner leaning toward the finish, with “one thing” in view. Purpose, for Paul, is not a career goal. It is a calling, “the upward call of God,” that organizes everything else, and it does not retire.

A common verse for this theme is Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.” In context, “vision” refers to prophetic revelation from God, not personal goals, so this addition uses Philippians instead.

Purpose and mortality. Hill and Turiano (2014) used data from the Midlife in the United States study, a national sample of adults. Over 14 years of follow-up, people who reported a greater sense of purpose in life were less likely to die than those with less purpose. This held after controlling for other measures of psychological well-being and positive and negative emotion. The benefit did not depend on age. Young, middle-aged, and older adults all showed it, and it held whether or not people had retired.

Purpose and the aging brain. Boyle, Buchman, Barnes, and Bennett (2010) followed 951 older adults without dementia in the Chicago area for up to seven years. People with higher purpose in life had about half the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (hazard ratio 0.48). Someone at the 90th percentile of purpose was about 2.4 times more likely to stay free of Alzheimer’s than someone at the 10th. Purpose was also linked to lower risk of mild cognitive impairment and slower cognitive decline. The association held after accounting for depression, personality, social network size, and chronic medical conditions.

What the studies cannot tell us. Both studies are observational. Purpose was self-rated on questionnaires, and healthier people may simply feel more purposeful. A sense of purpose in these surveys is not the same as a calling from God. But the convergence is with Paul’s refusal to coast. A life oriented toward a goal beyond itself appears, on average, to be a longer and clearer-minded one.

Practice

Living it out

Five practices drawn from this passage. Each says how strong the research behind it is. What the labels mean.

1. 1

   Write down your “one thing.”

   In a sentence, name what you believe God has called you to give your life to in this season.

   ModerateModerate that a stronger sense of purpose predicts lower mortality across adulthood (Hill & Turiano, 2014). Writing it down was not tested.
2. 2

   Don’t retire from purpose

   When you leave a job, plan what you will give yourself to next, such as mentoring, serving, or building.

   ModeratePurpose predicted longevity whether or not people had retired (Hill & Turiano, 2014).
3. 3

   Keep purpose alive in old age

   Encourage older men in your church to take real roles, and ask for their counsel.

   ModerateHigher purpose was linked to lower risk of Alzheimer’s and slower cognitive decline in older adults (Boyle et al., 2010). The data are observational.
4. 4

   Forget what lies behind

   Let past failures and past successes both stop defining you. Once a year, write down what you are leaving behind and what you are reaching toward.

   ObedienceObedience. Commended by Scripture (Phil. 3:13). Untested.
5. 5

   Tie daily work to the larger call

   Each morning, name how today’s ordinary work serves the Lord (Col. 3:23).

   ObedienceObedience. Commended by Scripture. Untested.

Studies cited on this page2

1. ↗ Boyle, P. A., Buchman, A. S., Barnes, L. L., & Bennett, D. A. (2010). Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(3), 304–310. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.208
2. ↗ Hill, P. L., & Turiano, N. A. (2014). Purpose in life as a predictor of mortality across adulthood. Psychological Science, 25(7), 1482–1486. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614531799