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March 26, 2026International Journal of Behavioral DevelopmentOpen Access

My Purpose Drives Me Forward: Sense of Purpose and Thinking About the Future in Daily Life

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Authors

NLNathan A. LewisUniversity of British ColumbiaYCYoonseok ChoiUniversity of British ColumbiaJLJennifer C. LayWorcester Polytechnic Institute

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Implication

Examines how a sense of purpose influences future thinking in adults, indicating potential health behaviors.

Key Points

  • The study aims to explore the relationship between sense of purpose, future-oriented thinking, and physical activity across different ages.
  • Conducted electronic surveys three times daily for 10 days among 256 adults in Canada and Hong Kong.
  • Participants reported their current thoughts and future focus.
  • A subset reported physical activity at baseline and at 6-month follow-up.
  • Utilized multilevel models to analyze data controlling for demographics and self-rated health.
  • Individuals with a higher sense of purpose reported more future-oriented thoughts during the study.
  • The relationship between purpose and future-oriented thinking remained consistent across age groups.
  • Future-oriented thinking did not mediate the relationship between sense of purpose and changes in physical activity.

Cite This Study

Lewis et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69c4cd12fdc3bde448918eb6https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254261432812
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Daily Limited Future Time Perspective Is Associated With More Health Behavior Within Older Adults2024 · 4 citations
  2. 2Influence of time on social preferences: Implications for life-span development.1999 · 288 citations
  3. 3Purpose in Life as a System that Creates and Sustains Health and Well-Being: An Integrative, Testable Theory2009 · 968 citations
  4. 4Solitude in context: On the role of culture, immigration, and acculturation in the experience of time to oneself2019 · 29 citations
  5. 5Sense of purpose in life and motivation, barriers, and engagement in physical activity and sedentary behavior: Test of a mediational model2021 · 37 citations