You’re happy, but do you feel that your life has purpose? Or, do you feel you know where you’re headed in life, but just aren’t that happy? These two questions sum up the gist of the debate in the positive psychology field about whether, and how much, happiness and sense of purpose in life relate to each other.
There’s more than academic interest in this question. Imagine your friend Roberto, whose daily life seems to be nothing but stress upon stress. Between work obligations, a busy home life, and the need to keep up with the cost of living, Roberto seems to be running on all cylinders. You wouldn’t trade places with him for anything. Or would you? Even on his worst days, Roberto says it’s all worthwhile. He feels he’s contributing to the good of others, and that’s all that matters.
Happiness vs. Sense of Purpose
This brief vignette illustrates the problem that George Mason University’s Patrick McKnight and colleagues (2025) sought to address in a recently published study. Rather than rely on usual correlational methods where the same people are studied on both concepts at the same time, the authors took advantage of a repeated measures approach to track how change in one relates to changes in the other.
Before getting to the details of the study, it’s worth digging a bit into the definitions of the two terms. The authors define happiness as “fundamentally a global evaluation of one’s life,” produced without much thought or reflection. “A happy life,” they note, “is greater than the sum of its parts.” Purpose, by contrast, is more reflective, made up of the feeling that what you’re doing is central to your identity, that you have a clear set of goals, and that you can commit to achieving what’s important to you.
When you’re happy, in other words, you feel good. When you have a sense of purpose, you engage meaningfully with the world. Both are pleasant states, but for different reasons.
Untangling Happiness and Sense of Purpose Over Time
Using a sample that was initially made up of 303 adults (ages 18 to 81; average age 31), the George Mason authors conducted two follow-up studies, one after six months and the final one after two years. The scales were short and relatively straightforward. Test yourself on these sample items:
Purpose: My plans for the future match with my true interests and values (1 to 5 point scale)
Happiness: Some people are generally very happy. They enjoy life regardless of what is going on and get the most out of everything. To what extent does this characterization describe you? (1 to 7 point scale)
The main research question was whether, over time, happiness would predict purpose or vice versa across the three data points. To answer this, Patrick et al. compared correlations over time across happiness scores, purpose scores, and then the lagged link from happiness to purpose from Time 1 to Time 2 to Time 3.
Overall, happy people tended to remain happy, and people high in purpose tended to remain high in purpose. On top of these straight-line relationships, the lagged findings showed that people higher in happiness at Time 2 were higher in purpose at Time 3, 18 months later.
In explaining this effect, the authors came up with this observation: “Feeling happy offers an opportunity to redirect attention toward opportunities to take risks and grow as a person.” Having a sense of purpose can indeed be painful, as your friend Roberto would probably attest to, potentially detracting from your momentary happiness. But if you can secure your happiness, you have “a stable and secure foundation” you can use to go out and explore deeper priorities.
Finding Fulfillment Through Happiness
It may seem that focusing on your happiness rather than sense of purpose could become a superficial, hedonistic approach to life’s challenges. However, thinking about the value of positive emotions, the findings also make sense. The setbacks you’ll inevitably experience as you set about achieving your goals may be easier to withstand if you can prop your mood up during those tough times.
Happiness Essential Reads
The good news is that you don’t have to feel the need to sacrifice happiness for purpose. If you’re feeling stymied in achieving your goals, take a step back and see what you can do to boost your mood. It may not take that much of a break from whatever your reality is to readjust and then move on to pursue your higher goals.
You may also be able to carve happiness out of the little victories you achieve in pursuing your goals. Stop and admire your “work,” whether it’s a smile from one of those family members you work so hard for or the sense of accomplishment you get from completing a tricky chore around the house.
To sum up, happiness and purpose don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Use one to propel the other, and you’ll feel that much better as you pursue fulfillment.
