Have you ever heard your parents or grandparents talk about their prime? They often describe a time when life was simpler, calmer, and more predictable. Plans were clearer, expectations were steadier, and there was less pressure to constantly achieve something new.
That’s no longer the case today.
We live in a fast-paced, hyper-competitive world where everyone seems to be in a rush. Chasing goals, deadlines, dreams. But if you pause and look around, you might wonder: what exactly is everyone running after? And more importantly, do they even know?
This is where purpose anxiety comes in: the persistent stress or unease over not having a clear purpose in life.
Sounds like a midlife crisis? Well, they’re different. A midlife crisis hits like a thunderclap. Purpose anxiety is like fog rolling in – silent, creepy, suddenly obscuring your vision of the path ahead.
Research shows that the majority of young adults report feeling unsure about their life direction, with many attributing their uncertainty to feelings of anxiety and depression. So, if purpose anxiety is impacting such a large portion of the population, it’s important to ask: what’s feeding it?
Today’s generation is preoccupied with their social media presence and perception.
They associate online validation with real-life success. Constant comparisons, an undefined success culture, and curating lives to fit social media standards have influenced our ability to think clearly.
The world screams: Don’t just get a job, find your calling! or Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. At the same time, it tells you “Go out and explore in your 20s, but also stay in, heal your trauma, build your routine, and work on yourself” or “Prioritize your mental health but also hustle 24/7 and build 3 side hustles”.
This constant stream of mixed messages and selective realities that are portrayed traps others into believing that they’re the only ones lost or behind, leading to comparison, self-criticism, and doubt.
Another contributor is society.
Society, with its small chunk of influential people, feeds narratives of “following our passions” or “doing what we love.”
But nobody tells you how to find that purpose. Productivity and purpose have been glorified by people who have “achieved” theirs. There is now a guilt working in the background if one is not following the trend of productivity.
We expect to wake up one day with full existential clarity, like a eureka moment. But while living this unrealistic “race,” we forget that purpose is less like a destination and more like, I don’t know, a playlist on shuffle. Random songs give different lyrics, directions, perspectives, and beats to eventually see where we end up.
One more thing that I have seen is that people try to imitate others’ success.
If we follow predefined paths of success or career trajectories of others, aren’t we working towards their purpose? To find our own, we must craft our own path. Define it, live it, fulfill it. Maybe purpose isn’t about changing the world. Maybe it’s just showing up, trying random stuff, learning, and staying a little bit curious.
Bhavya Jain is a psychotherapist and an industrial and organizational psychologist. She is the founder of That Happiness Project, a mental health care venture that provides affordable therapy to people worldwide.
