Living on purpose is good for us

Back in 2007, Professors John Cacioppo and Steve Cole discovered that feeling lonely changes people’s genes: it reduces their ability to fight off viruses and increases their risk of inflammatory diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and the clogged arteries that can lead to heart attacks.

Then, between 2010 and 2013, Steve Cole worked with psychologist Barbara Fredrickson to look for the opposite effect. Together they studied the genes of people who lived highly connected, hedonistic lives. And they also studied the genes of people who lived lives built around a sense of purpose.

What they found was that simply living a hedonistic lifestyle — not feeling lonely — had no measurable effect on people’s genes. But the genes of people who lived purposeful lives showed improved antiviral response and lower risk of inflammatory diseases.

Three larger studies since then have shown similar results.

Living in line with our purpose not only helps us feel freer and more focused and helps us to achieve more — it also changes the way our genes express themselves, which makes us healthier so that we are likely to live longer.

Living on purpose is good for us.

Would you like to reduce your risk of inflammatory diseases such as heart attacks, arthritis, and cancer? Would you like to feel freer and more focused and achieve more? Are you living a purposeful life?


Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.

You can sign up to daily posts here.

You can also buy the book here and the workbook here.

(And remember: you can’t learn to swim just by reading about swimming, you also have to do the practice.)


Photo By Geoff Hutchison via StockPholio.net

Leave a Reply