A sense of purpose isn’t only about your career; it’s also about what you believe in, what you value in life, and what motivates you.
Having a sense of purpose gives us clear reasons for what we want to do. People with a sense of purpose are diligent because of a true interest in their goal, rather than because they have to. There are three components of a sense of purpose: 1) goals related to sense of purpose are more stable and far reaching, e.g. loving God, managing his creating, raising a family, etc. 2) there is an external aim that reaches beyond the self, e.g. to help others, to safeguard family, work against injustice etc. 3) it is achievement driven. Sense of purpose works from one achievement to the next building and growing throughout life.
There’s evidence that having sense of purpose maintains health and well-being across your lifetime. Sense of purpose also helps you through the low points. When things go wrong, sense of purpose helps you to put this in perspective, preserving self-esteem and giving you the resilience to push forward. It helps maintain optimism about the future, and that underlying belief that you can do it. In other words, having a sense of purpose builds your growth mindset.