A prevailing belief is that a sense of purpose in life is worth having, based on evidence that it predicts greater psychological functioning, social relationships, physical health, and longevity. Yet, whether the benefits of having a sense of purpose persist across all contents – or the actual substance of one’s aspirations – lingers as a critical blind spot within this literature. Here, we contend that an ecological systems perspective is needed to contextualize how purpose content either enables or extinguishes the benefits of feeling purposeful. We nominate congruence (the fit between a purpose and ecological conditions) and feasibility (the ease with which a purpose can be pursued) as measurable features of purpose content that fuse people and contexts and potentiate whether a sense of purpose proves favorable. Greater congruence and feasibility should orchestrate support for purpose-related goals, actions, and justifications, thus amplifying the likelihood of positive outcomes. Practical strategies for integrating the congruence and feasibility of individuals’ aspirations within the study of purpose are discussed.
Human Development

中文翻译：

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有所有目的吗？在目的研究中整合内容和力量

一种普遍的信念是，基于对生活的目的感的预测，人们可以拥有更好的心理功能，社会关系，身体健康和长寿，这是值得拥有的。然而，是否有目的感的好处仍然存在于所有内容中–还是一个人的愿望的实质–仍然是该文献中的关键盲点。在这里，我们认为，需要生态系统的观点来对目的内容如何实现或消除有目的感的益处进行情境化。我们将一致性（目的与生态条件之间的契合度）和可行性（追求目标的难易程度）提名为目的内容的可度量特征，这些目的特征融合了人和环境并增强了目的感是否证明是有利的。更高的一致性和可行性应协调对与目标相关的目标，行动和理由的支持，从而扩大取得积极成果的可能性。讨论了在目标研究中整合个人愿望的一致性和可行性的实用策略。
人类发展