Brain Performance Part 2 — The impact of having a sense of purpose
In the first article in this series on managing brain performance, we set the scene and started to explore what impacts and supports our brain’s performance.
We learned about the Rider and Elephant metaphor which simplifies the functioning of the brain; to help us to better understand our brain and its impact on our behaviour.
We also learned that the higher-level competencies that we all need to use when interacting with others at work and at home are supported by our rider’s executive functions that include analytical thinking, creativity, focusing attention, self-control, planning and ability to use language.
So if we want to give feedback (higher level competency) to someone, we need to use use our rider’s functions of analytical thinking, focus of attention, language and emotional regulation. To be present or to actively listen we require focus of attention and self-control.
We learned that the capacity to use these executive functions are supported by certain behaviours which we call enabling behaviours and an enabling environment which supports our social needs (please see the image below).
In a later article, we will look at these enabling behaviours and environments in more detail and provide some practical examples.
In this article we will look at the impact that having a sense of purpose has on our brain and behaviour.
A sense of purpose
Having a sense of purpose is related to having the intention to accomplish something that is meaningful to you and makes a positive difference for others.
Purpose’s impact on the brain and behaviour
There are are number of direct and indirect impacts that having a sense of purpose has on our brain and behaviour.
Direct
- Most directly, having a sense of purpose in life has been found to support the health of the whole central nervous system (of which the brain is a part).
- More specifically, purpose in life has been correlated with improved memory and improvement in our rider’s foundational capabilities (cognitive function).
- Related to the findings above, having a sense of purpose has been associated with more cognitive reserve and therefore less risk of alzheima’s, dementia, spinal cord injuries and stroke.
- Having a sense of purpose has also been related to increased psychological resilience due to its impact on the down-regulation of CTRA (conserved transcriptional response to adversity) gene expression. Which essentially means less inflammation and a better functioning immune system.
- Having a sense of purpose increases the frequency that we experience flow, which is an optimal mental state that not only increases productivity but also psychological well-being.
Indirect
- More indirectly, it is thought that the impact of a sense of purpose is to reduce our sense of threat and uncertainty. This, therefore, reduces stress and increases the capacity to execute the foundational capabilities of the Rider.
- As having a sense of purpose promotes reflection and contemplation, a subsequent benefit is an increase in self-awareness.
- A sense of purpose also enables people to get through harder times and to conquer negative states, even when the key physical needs are not being met. In 1946, in his book, Man’s search for meaning, Viktor Frankl, famously illustrated how having meaning in life helps us deal with even the most severe forms of suffering.
“He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche
Psychological Flourishing and Optimal Functioning
Eudaimonic well-being entails the extent to which a person’s life is characterised by the quest for growth and engaging in meaningful activities. Eudaimonic well-being is related to the processes that enable living well. These processes result in factors such as health, relations, and vitality. The process may not always be enjoyable but the end outcome provides a deep sense of satisfaction.
So eudaimonia is strongly linked to meaning in life and purpose is seen as a key component of meaning.
Therefore, purpose is considered to play a central role in human flourishing
Carol Ryff and Burton Singer consider a sense of purpose as a critical component to psychological wellbeing. They include purpose in their model of human flourishing: autonomy, personal growth, self-acceptance, life purpose, mastery and positive relatedness.
Martin Seligman includes meaning as one of five elements of human flourishing: positive emotions, engagement, relations, meaning and achievement (PERMA).
Kendall Cotton Bronk echo’s this with her conclusion that purpose in life is a key part of achieving optimal psychological functioning.
Another type of well-being, called hedonia, is focused on increasing positive emotions and decreasing pain (outcome focused). We can simplify hedonic well-being as the experience of pleasure. This would be the closest term to what we commonly call happiness.
Interestingly, when we reflect on our personal growth or behave in line with our purpose, in addition to eudaimonic well-being, we also experience hedonic well-being, e.g. positive emotions.
Barabara Frederikson’s research has shown that when we experience an increase in positive emotions (e.g. joy, interest, love), you can experience a broaden and build effect. This effect causes an increase in awareness and more exploratory thoughts and actions (vs. a more narrow, self-preservation type of thoughts and behaviour).
Over time it is thought that this effect can result in a broadened behavioral repertoire through the building of psychological and intellectual competencies and resources for example: creativity and “big picture” thinking.
Summary
So what does all this tell us?
Essentially if we are looking to enhance our brain’s performance and our behaviour to do more of what matters most; having a sense of purpose will enable us to enhance all of the rider’s foundational capabilities (analytical thinking, creativity, focusing attention, self-control, planning and ability to use language). Thus we are also better able to execute the higher level competencies like managing conflict, providing feedback, dealing with ambiguity, exerting influence, etc.
Having a sense of purpose helps us to channel and focus our rider’s capabilities with full motivation, no matter the challenges we face. We are also better able to keep our minds open, be creative and to better explore our options.
Ultimately, a sense of purpose will increase our sense of psychological well-being (flourishing/fulfilment) and decrease the stress and ambiguity we experience. It could also decrease the risk of mental and neurobiological diseases.
Discovering or clarifying a sense of purpose
To get some tips on the discovery or clarification your own sense of purpose, see the “How do you go about discovering a sense of purpose?” section of this article.
The other articles in this series:
