Purpose Isn’t Something You Find. It’s Something You Practice.

For years, purpose has been packaged as a destination. Find the perfect job. Discover your calling. Build a life that finally feels meaningful.

But according to hospice doctor and author Dr. Jordan Grumet, many people reach the end of life realizing they spent too much time chasing achievement and not enough time paying attention to what actually made them feel alive.

That insight is resonating far beyond the healthcare world.

In a recent CNBC Make It feature, Grumet reflected on what he has learned from caring for people in their final days. Again and again, he says the deepest regrets are rarely about status, money, or titles. Instead, they often center around postponed joy, neglected relationships, and passions people convinced themselves could wait until “someday.”

For professionals trying to determine their purpose, especially in an era shaped by burnout, AI disruption, and constant productivity pressure, that message matters.

Purpose may not begin with a dramatic career pivot.

It may begin with paying attention.

The PR Industry Is Having Its Own Purpose Reckoning

Public relations has traditionally rewarded visibility, speed, influence, and outcomes. But increasingly, communications professionals are asking deeper questions:

• Does this work align with my values?

• Am I helping build trust or just managing perception?

• What kind of impact do I want my work to have over time?

• Who am I becoming through the work I do every day?

That shift reflects something larger happening across industries.

People are no longer just looking for successful careers. They are looking for meaningful ones.

And ironically, that search for meaning can become overwhelming when purpose is framed as one giant life-defining answer.

Grumet argues that purpose is often smaller and more practical than people expect. Instead of obsessing over a singular “Big P Purpose,” he encourages people to focus on smaller moments of curiosity, contribution, creativity, and connection.

That perspective feels especially relevant for communications professionals.

Sometimes purpose looks like:

• Helping an organization communicate honestly during a difficult moment.

• Elevating stories that would otherwise go unheard.

• Building campaigns that connect people instead of manipulating them.

• Creating work that reflects integrity, not just performance metrics.

Purpose is not always loud.

Sometimes it’s simply alignment between what you value and how you show up.

Why Regret Is Becoming a Leadership Conversation

One of the most striking themes in end-of-life reflections is not failure. It’s avoidance.

People regret waiting.

Waiting to create.

Waiting to reconnect.

Waiting to pursue something meaningful because it felt impractical, risky, or unfinished.

That has major implications for leadership and workplace culture.

Organizations that want engaged employees cannot rely on mission statements alone. Increasingly, people want room for meaning, growth, autonomy, and contribution inside the work itself.

The future of work conversation is no longer only about flexibility and compensation.

It’s becoming a conversation about human fulfillment.

And for communicators, that creates both responsibility and opportunity.

The brands and leaders that resonate in this next era may be the ones willing to communicate with more honesty about ambition, identity, burnout, growth, and what actually matters.

Compass Check

If someone looked back on your life decades from now, what would they say you consistently made time for?

And what keeps getting pushed into the category of “later”?

Check the headlines, then check your compass.

Original Source:

CNBC Make It article on purpose and happiness