“If you have strong purpose in your life, you don’t have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there.”

~ Roy T. Bennett

We tend to think purpose is something that will eventually reveal itself, and that we’ll feel certain about once we’ve “figured things out.” But it’s not that simple.

Purpose shows up in the moments when work feels easy to lean into (and just as clearly when it doesn’t). It’s in the choices that give you energy, and the ones that slowly drain it. Are you paying attention to the signs? This week I’m talking about aligning life and work purpose, and I share a framework that can help you get closer to it.

Watch last week’s video around making meaningful impact as a primer for reading this week’s blog, then share what lights you up!

What you’ll learn:

Aligning life and work purpose isn’t about finding one perfect path, it’s about being aware, and making better decisions every day. Using my simple framework (Clarity × Capacity × Commitment), you can evaluate what truly matters, protect your energy, and take action that feels right. Whether you’re self-employed or in a structured role, small shifts in how you spend your time, what you say yes to, and how you show up can create meaningful impact and a stronger sense of alignment in your work and life.

 

Aligning Life and Work Purpose

I have a placard in my office that says, “Never confuse having a career with having a life.” The sentiment is wise enough I suppose, but on my busiest days (or weeks if I’m honest) life can feel a lot more about the work.

I guess it’s not surprising then, that research suggests the average person will spend roughly 90,000 hours working over a lifetime, or about a third of their lives. And for many busy professionals, it can stretch to closer to half of their waking hours on any given day. It makes a good case for finding work you love.

According to a McKinsey & Company report, in the last thirty years, meaningful work has been identified as the most important aspect of a job, more so than salary, job security, or the number of hours worked. Their research also found that when employees feel their work is meaningful, their performance improves by 33 percent and employees are 49 percent less likely to leave.

When work feels purposeful, it can energize you, but when it doesn’t, the days feel interminable, and that low-level “something’s off” feeling will follow you home.

It will show up in your energy, your mood, your motivation, and even how present you are with the people and things that matter most.

Which is why aligning life and work purpose matters more than most of us realize, because if we’re spending so much time at work, wouldn’t it be worth finding a way to make that time feel more aligned with who we are and what matters most?

 

My Path to Finding Purpose

On paper, it all made sense. My master’s degree was rooted in everything I loved – human movement, health psychology, high performance – so, upon graduating, I was sure I was about to step into the career of my life, teaching at a high level in health and wellness, training people to be their best, and inspiring real change.

I thought I knew my purpose, but what I didn’t realize at the time is that purpose isn’t a single “aha” moment you arrive at. It’s something you refine through experience, trial and error, and through the decisions you make along the way.

And for me, something felt “off”, like I hadn’t yet landed on my true purpose.

 

When Something Feels Off (Even When Things Look Good)

I was a college instructor, I was a personal trainer, and I’d even started to do some speaking. All of it lived in the health and fitness space, and involved the teaching, coaching, and helping people that I had aspired to, so technically, I was aligned.

Except I wasn’t.

As a college instructor, I loved being in front of the classroom, but I dreaded the prep and marking. And I realized pretty quickly that I preferred working with more mature adults than a room full of teenagers.

As a personal trainer, I loved educating my clients, but I found myself repeating the same conversations over and over again. It started to feel less energizing and more like a loop.

And then there was speaking.

Standing in front of a room full of people, teaching, yes, but also inspiring, making them laugh, and using my creativity to make the message land. That felt different, like where I was meant to be.

 

The Moment It Clicked

The more I paid attention, the clearer it became. Personal training and college teaching drained me, but speaking lit me up.

Not just because I loved the work, but because it aligned with how I wanted to show up.

I got to reach more people, be creative, and most importantly, build something that was mine.

With that realization, I gradually shifted my focus fully toward growing my speaking business. 20 years later, the work still feels meaningful. I still look forward to it. And I still feel aligned in how I spend my time and energy.

What about you? If you love your work like I do, what got you there?

If you’re feeling any sort of malaise toward your work, pay attention to the signals. What’s working? What’s not? What drains you? What lights you up?

 

A Simple Framework for Finding Purpose

Looking back, I didn’t have the language for it then, but these days it’s a core part of my teachings.

The decisions that move us toward alignment all follow a simple formula:

Meaningful Impact = Clarity × Capacity × Commitment

If you’re working on aligning life and work purpose, this becomes a powerful decision filter (and you can read about the whole program here).

 

1. Clarity: Does this matter to me?

Ask yourself this question as you stare down your workday, “Does this work matter to me?” Not in theory, or because it’s expected, but does it genuinely matter.

For me, clarity showed up when I admitted I don’t just want to teach, I want to inspire, engage, and create impact at scale.

This level of honesty is key, because when your work reflects what truly matters to you, motivation becomes less of a struggle.

 

2. Capacity: Do I have the energy for this?

We often get fooled by our capacity. You can be good at something and still be drained by it.

I was a good teacher and personal trainer, but both roles pulled more energy out of me than they gave back.

Speaking did (and still does) the opposite. Even on the toughest days, with flight delays, and long stretches away from home, it fuels me.

So, ask yourself, “Do I have the energy for this?” If you don’t have energy on the easy days, you sure as heck won’t have it on the tough ones… even if you’re good at your job.

 

3. Commitment: Am I willing to act on this?

If you come to an awareness that something needs to change, that can happen in many ways, and it doesn’t even require leaving your job. Which is good news.

But clarity without action doesn’t change anything, so if those feelings bubble up, ask yourself, “Am I willing to act on this?”

For me, the answer was a hesitantly excited yes, which meant leaving behind stable, predictable work to build something uncertain.

Which also meant moving toward work that felt right, not just logical.

 

What This Means for You

Now, I know not everyone is looking to leave their job and start a business. In both Canada and the United States, only about 10 to 15% of workers are self-employed. That means 85 to 90% of people work for an employer in some kind of structured role.

So clearly, it’s important to align life and work purpose no matter where you work.

Here are a few ideas that don’t require dramatic change:

• Shift how you spend your time within your current role
  Even small adjustments, like leaning into work that plays to your strengths or carving out time for higher-impact tasks, can make your day feel more aligned and meaningful.
• Say yes to projects that energize you (and no to the ones don’t)
  You won’t always have full control, but you often have some choice. Pay attention to what fuels you (and what doesn’t) so you can make better decisions over time about what matters.
• Bring more of your strengths and values into how you lead, and live
  Alignment isn’t just about what you do, it’s how you do it. The way you communicate, support others, and approach your work can reflect what matters to you, even within a structured role. Attitude goes a long way to adding ease to a day.

 

Awareness and Alignment Moving Forward

You don’t need to have it all figured out to make meaningful impact, but you do need to pay attention to what works (and what doesn’t) as you navigate each day.

Aligning life and work purpose isn’t about finding and following the perfect path right out of the gates, it’s about paying attention, and choosing each direction that feels right…
then having the courage to follow it.

 

One Last Thought…

A past coaching client once asked me, “What if I hate my job but can’t leave?” … and I think in a conversation around finding purpose, it’s an important question.

Let’s face it, it would be foolish to drop everything and run away from gainful employment if there’s nothing to run towards, so if you can’t leave a role you don’t love (and can’t make it better), try this:

• Decouple purpose from your paycheck
  Your job can fund your life, even if it doesn’t fulfill you. Be grateful for the pay cheque.
• Focus on how you show up
  Purpose often lives in how you treat people and do the work. Kindness and patience feel better than anger and resentment any day.
• Build purpose outside of work
  Invest in things that energize you outside of work, with your relationships, hobbies, health, and community.
• Protect your energy
  If work drains you, your off-hours matter even more. Don’t stay longer than is required and use your down time to refuel and reenergize.
• Stay open to what’s next
  You may not be able to change things now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t. Pay attention to what lights you up, and keep your eyes open to the possibilities.