A New Way to Think About Purpose
For many people, the idea of life purpose feels overwhelming. We’ve been taught that purpose is something we must find-a singular mission that defines our lives. But what if this way of thinking is limiting rather than liberating? What if purpose isn’t something we have to achieve but something we can live into each day?
This series, Rethinking Purpose Beyond the Dominant Paradigm, explores how conventional ideas about purpose have been shaped by cultural conditioning and how we can move toward a more soulful, connected, and evolving understanding of what it means to live with purpose.
If you prefer to listen or watch, I’ve created a video companion to this article that walks through the main themes and offers an invitation to reflect more deeply. You can watch it below:
What’s Wrong with How We’ve Been Taught to See Purpose?
In the dominant cultural paradigm, purpose is often tied to:
- Career and Productivity → Your purpose is your job, and your value is in how much you produce.
- Achievement and Success → Purpose is a grand mission or legacy that must be big and impactful.
- Future-Oriented Thinking → Purpose is something you find rather than something you live.
This mindset creates unnecessary pressure, making people feel like they must constantly strive, achieve, or prove themselves in order to be living a “meaningful” life. But what if we approached purpose differently?
What This Series Explores
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing articles that challenge these conventional ideas and offer a more soul-aligned, regenerative, and fluid approach to purpose. Here’s what you can expect:
1. What Is the Dominant Paradigm?
An introduction to the dominant paradigm, how it shapes our thinking, and why we need to step outside of it to reclaim authentic purpose.
2. The Productivity Trap: Why We Link Worth with Work
How the dominant paradigm ties purpose to productivity—and how we can free ourselves from the pressure to constantly do in order to feel worthy. This article also explores how breaking free from productivity-driven worth allows us to live with more genuine purpose, prioritizing presence over achievement.
3. The Myth of Individualism: Why Purpose is About Connection
How hyper-individualism isolates us and why a sense of interconnection is essential for deep, fulfilling purpose.
4. The Extractive Mindset: Why We Treat Life as a Resource
How societal conditioning makes us view purpose (and life itself) through a lens of extraction, rather than reciprocity and sustainability.
5. Rethinking Success: How to Measure Meaning in a Different Way
How we can redefine success beyond external markers like money, status, and productivity to embrace a more holistic and fulfilling way of living. This article will also highlight how shifting our definition of success helps us align with a deeper, more personal sense of purpose.
6. How to Think Beyond the Dominant Paradigm
Practical ways to shift your thinking and step into a more soulful and expansive understanding of life purpose.
7. Living the Alternative: Putting New Paradigms into Practice
It’s not enough to think differently—we need to live differently. This final article will explore real ways to integrate these ideas into your life.
8. Rethinking Purpose Beyond the Dominant Paradigm
A final deep dive into why we need to rethink purpose itself—shifting from an external pursuit to a way of being that is fluid, relational, and deeply personal.
Join the Conversation
I’d love to hear your thoughts as we explore these ideas together. Feel free to reflect on these questions:
- Have you ever felt pressure to “find” your purpose in a way that felt overwhelming or limiting?
- What assumptions about purpose do you think you’ve inherited from the dominant culture?
- How would your life feel different if purpose was something you lived, rather than something you had to achieve?
Let’s begin this journey together and open the door to a new way of seeing purpose-one that is expansive, evolving, and deeply personal.