According to a recent study published by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago (www.archgenpsychiatry.com) having a greater purpose in life may help stave off the harmful effects of plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease. “Our study showed that people who reported greater purpose in life exhibited better cognition than those with less purpose in life even as plaques and tangles accumulated in their brains,” said Patricia A. Boyle, PhD.

“These findings suggest that purpose in life protects against the harmful effects of plaques and tangles on memory and other thinking abilities. This is encouraging and suggests that engaging in meaningful and purposeful activities promotes cognitive health in old age.”

National Geographic research into Blue Zone populations around the world found something similar. In these pockets of populations where people typically lived healthy lives up to and beyond 100 years of age shared many characteristics which were not culture specific. Having a sense of meaning in life, seeing their lives as purposeful, was one such characteristic.

Even from a common sense perspective, we can see how more motivated and energised we would be on a daily basis if we can inject meaning and purpose into what we do and how we live. This is our choice always – choosing to put meaning into our experiences and actions that inspire and motivate us and keep us going through challenging times, or see ourselves as just being at the affect of life, reacting and coping at best.

Ultimately, our purpose in life may be very simple; to give ourselves to life fully, to live and love with passion, to embrace life as it unfolds before us unconditionally, to meet it with enthusiasm and deep curiosity, to welcome life each morning with gratitude and a genuine desire to find more ways today to make a positive impact on those around us.