Opportunity, Agency, and the First Steps to a Life of Purpose
Purpose in life might seem like a lofty goal for students, but it provides a host of benefits for adolescents, such as psychological wellbeing, physical health, hopefulness for the future, and satisfaction with life. Young people with purpose are goal-directed and have aspirations that drive them forward in life and help organize their planning for the future. At the Stanford Center on Adolescence, we define purpose as a personally meaningful aspiration to do something that makes a positive contribution to the world beyond-the-self.
