Is it even possible to live a life without purpose? If a purpose is something that organizes our life and tells us what’s important to us, probably everyone’s life exhibits some sort of purpose. Again, this is a disguised version of people I have seen and not an actual person, but I’ve seen a woman in my practice for many years who had to stop working in her thirties because of a serious illness. She’s been on disability ever since. But she’s devoted her life helping other people in ways that are really meaningful to them and to her. She’s volunteered for organizations that help cancer patients and homeless people. She’s served on city commissions. People who only measure meaning in terms of financial success wouldn’t consider her life a success by any means, but she finds it enormously meaningful, even though it’s not the life she envisioned when she was a young, successful professional.If it is possible to live without purpose, is it harmful? Many people who live without a sense of purpose are struggling with depression. In addition to being emotionally painful, depression is detrimental to our physical health. It increases our susceptibility to heart disease and compromises our immune system. Depression is just not good for anybody. If someone I work with who is struggling to find a sense of purpose is depressed, we need to address the depression first. Sometimes therapy alone can relieve depression. Sometimes a combination of therapy and medication is most effective.Are successful people, by definition, pursuing the right purpose? I don’t think so at all. A lot of successful people don’t feel that they’re doing anything worthwhile. I’ve known many successful people who have only continued in their jobs because they needed—or thought they needed—the money. Others were afraid of disappointing their spouse or their parents, or of losing their sense of status. I don’t think there’s any correlation between success and finding one’s purpose in life.Turn it around – does finding your purpose guarantee success? No, there are no guarantees. There was a book that came out a number of years ago called something like, “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow.” Unfortunately, I think that’s wishful thinking in many cases. It’s baseball’s spring training season as we’re talking, and there’s a 32-year-old player in the Giants’ spring training camp. He’s never made it to the big leagues, but he’s still trying. It’s actually a very inspiring story. But I think most people would say that, if you haven’t made it to the majors by the time you’re 32, the chances are slim to none that you will. If you can afford to continue to pursue your passion, that’s great. If you keep trying to make it to the big leagues but are content to toil in the minors, that’s great, too. But, unfortunately, there’s no correlation between being passionate about playing baseball and being successful at it.Do your clients with this problem of not knowing their purpose in life know that this is their problem? People often don’t use that language. They often come in with a sense that their lives are unsatisfying, that they’re missing out on something, but they don’t know what’s wrong. They see other people who are more engaged and enthusiastic. They admire that attitude and they aspire to it, it but it’s completely mysterious to them.Is it harder for a creative person to find a purpose?I think it depends on what kind of creativity someone has. If you’re a creative tech person, everything in our current culture encourages you to express your creativity. If you’re in the humanities or the arts, things are just getting more and more difficult. I work with musicians who want to support themselves with their music, but recording contracts have gone the way of the dinosaur. It’s never been easy to be a writer but, with the collapse of the publishing industry, it’s now more difficult than ever. I’ve often noticed that people whose form of creativity is not rewarded in our society have a more difficult time finding their purpose because they feel they should want to do something different from what they actually love to do. And, if they feel that strongly enough, they may lose touch with what they love to do. It’s important not to lose touch, I think, even if a person needs to make a living doing something else. I think it does a kind of violence to who we are as individuals to try to convince ourselves that we’re something we’re not.Click to learn more about finding your life path with Jane Rubin, Ph.D.