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The Profound Psychological Benefits Of A Purposeful Life

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A successful portfolio manager, who I will call Terence, reached the pinnacle of his career, making millions of dollars in a single year by riding a powerful market trend with significant positions. Now financially secure, he decided to retire, escape the rat race, manage his own capital, and enjoy life. Within months, however, he reached out to me for psychological guidance. His new life was anything but bliss. No longer “in the game”, he felt rudderless. Free time became a source of boredom. To his dismay, he was feeling less physically healthy than when he was working crazy hours. He found himself spending an increasing amount of his time worrying about his health. That, in turn, proved burdensome to his spouse, leading to conflict and unhappiness at home.

What was going on?

An important insight from the field of positive psychology is that many of our problems are not the result of deep, inner conflicts or emotional disorders. Rather, we experience stress and distress when our lives lack such positive ingredients as happiness, fulfillment, and energy. We are wired as meaning-makers. If we cannot find positive sources of meaning, we often gravitate to negative ones, amplifying our social, emotional, and physical concerns. When Terence retired, he left the arena that sometimes pushed him to exhaustion, but that also provided his success and challenge. With no substitute, life became empty, increasingly filled with physical and relationship complaints.

So how do we generate a life of happiness, fulfillment, and energy?

A growing body of research finds that purpose in life leads to greater emotional and physical health, including increased happiness and enhanced work productivity. Research commissioned by the John Templeton Foundation defines purpose as “a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once personally meaningful and at the same time leads to productive engagement with some aspect of the world beyond the self.” We can think of purpose as an organizing force in life, channeling our thoughts, feelings, and efforts. Indeed, the research review finds that purpose “is a central component of most leading conceptions of optimal human development and psychological well-being” (pp 15-16). For example, purpose fosters optimism and hope, as well as life satisfaction and positive social relationships.

Interestingly, purpose in life has been found to be associated with improved physical functioning late in life, including walking speed and physical strength. One study found adults between the ages of 51 and 61 who lacked a sense of purpose were more likely to die early, particularly of cardiovascular disease. Indeed, in that investigation, purpose in life was a stronger predictor of life outcomes than such traditional risk factors as smoking, drinking, and lack of exercise! A longitudinal study of older adults reported that purpose and meaning in life were associated with positive life changes over the next four year period. In short, the pursuit of purpose ends up being life enhancing in almost all respects.

In the world of finance, success has been attributed to many factors, from discipline and emotional awareness to the fit between our investment approaches and our personalities. All of these, no doubt, play a role. Might it be the case, however, that success is more likely to result when our market activities are part of a greater sense of purpose? When we look at the “Market Wizards” immortalized in Jack Schwager’s books, it is noteworthy that many of them, from Paul Tudor Jones to Stanley Druckenmiller to Larry Hite, have spent significant time in philanthropic endeavors. Many others have been highly involved in training the next generation of talent. Perhaps it is this overarching sense of purpose that enables money managers to weather the ups and downs of markets and invest renewed energy in their craft. Like any entrepreneur, these managers are driven, not just by sound business plans, but by a meaningful vision that allows them to pursue their plans with uncommon zeal.

Emilia Lahti has researched an important psychological trait, sisu, which figures significantly in the Finnish culture. She describes sisu as “embodied fortitude”, explaining that it represents our ability to draw upon latent energy resources in moments of challenge. Her research finds several dimensions to sisu, including extraordinary perseverance, an action mindset, and a sense of latent power. An intriguing thesis is that possessing a strong sense of life purpose provides us with that latent power to persevere and take action, even in the face of daunting odds and potential adversity. This is related to, though not identical to, the concept of resilience: the ability to bounce back from losses, failures, and disappointments. Interestingly, Rick Hanson, in his book on resilience, links that ability to bounce back to a variety of positive psychological traits, including compassion, grit, courage, and motivation. When we possess a strong sense of life purpose, that gives us reason to weather setbacks and sustain extraordinary efforts. In describing the grit underlying resilience, Hanson draws upon the ideas of “resolve”, “patience”, “persistence”, “fierceness”, and physical “vitality”. It may well be that it is purpose that enables us to access the hidden energy reserves of sisu and weather the risk and uncertainty that are intrinsic to navigating financial markets. From this perspective, the ability to sustain extraordinary performance is not merely a function of talent and skill, but also the embodied fortitude derived from a meaningful sense of purpose.


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