The Pause Inside Purpose

NEXTletter is your practice for shaping what’s next. More than a newsletter, it’s a space to pause, reflect, and experiment. Every other Friday, you’ll get one question, two perspectives, and one experiment — to help you create the future you most want to live in.

Author

Frederik Pferdt
October 09, 2025

Prefer to listen 📻 > click here.

When I was a child, I dreaded the question adults love to ask:
“So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

I never had an answer. Doctor? Teacher? Astronaut? None of it felt true.

What I didn’t realize back then - but see clearly now - is that the question itself was flawed. It pointed me toward a destination, a fixed identity, when life was already inviting me to practice something much deeper.

Now, at NYU’s Institute for Purpose and Flourishing, surrounded by thinkers, seekers, and scientists, I’m reminded daily that purpose is not a job title or a five-year plan. It isn’t answered in the big what, but in the quiet how.

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ONE QUESTION

What if your purpose isn’t something you find in the future -
but something you practice in the present?

TWO PERSPECTIVES

1️⃣

Purpose cannot be found.

We often talk about purpose as if it were buried treasure - hidden somewhere in the distance, waiting for us to stumble upon it.

But purpose isn’t hiding out there. It’s quietly waiting in here - in the smallest of moments: the way we listen without distraction, pause instead of rush,
or offer kindness when no one is watching.

Purpose lives in micro-acts. Ordinary. Repeated. And in those repetitions, it begins to whisper its truth.

2️⃣

Purpose emerges in practice.

Research from Stanford shows that purpose grows less like a lightning strike and more like a muscle - strengthened by reflection and repetition.

At UCSF, scientists found that daily moments of gratitude and joy reduced stress and increased people’s sense of agency.

And studies in positive psychology reveal that even writing for a few minutes about your best possible self can boost optimism and motivation.

The lesson: Purpose doesn’t arrive. It accumulates. Moment by moment. Choice by choice. Act by act.

The Power of Practicing Purpose

When practiced daily, purpose becomes more than personal.
It strengthens resilience, supports health, and - remarkably - can even extend life.

In one long-term study of over 13,000 adults, those with the strongest sense of purpose were twice as likely to be alive eight years later compared to those with the weakest. The effect held across every age, income, and background.

Believing your life has meaning doesn’t just help you flourish mentally - it may literally help you live longer.

And the best part: purpose isn’t fixed. It’s grown.
Through volunteering, reflection, small acts of care, or simply the courage to ask: “What truly matters today?”

Purpose is contagious.
What starts in how you treat one person this morning becomes the DNA of how families, teams, and communities thrive tomorrow.

ONE EXPERIMENT

Each evening this week, write down two words that capture a moment of meaning from your day. No stories. No explanations. Just two words.

Examples:
“Kindness shared.”
“Eyes meeting.”
“Quiet walk.”
“Deep breath.”
“Helping hand.”
“Child’s smile.”

At the end of the week, you’ll have 14 words - small clues to something vast.
Read them aloud. They’ll whisper what matters most to you - and reveal where your purpose is already alive in the details of your days.

1:1 Future Being Coaching

If you’re ready to not just travel to places - but travel into the next version of yourself - my Future Being Coaching is for you. In this 1:1 program, we explore who you want to become, uncover the inner and outer blocks keeping you from that future, and design concrete steps so you can live it now. It’s for people who don’t want to wait for change to happen - they want to shape it.

On The Podcast

🎧 On The Podcast

This week on The Future Is HOW, I sat down with Michelin-starred chef Dalad Kambhu — a culinary visionary redefining Thai cuisine in Berlin.

Food, Dalad reminds us, isn’t just what we eat — it’s how we connect. Every ingredient tells a story of place, people, and gratitude. Every shared meal becomes a small act of future-making.

In a world obsessed with speed, Dalad slows us down. She invites us to taste more consciously, to honor where our food comes from, and to rediscover creativity through care — for the planet, for others, and for ourselves.

This conversation nourishes in every sense — a reminder that imagination can be cooked, empathy can be served, and the future might just begin around the table.

Closing Reflection

As I walk through Washington Square each morning, I’m struck by how purpose shows up everywhere — in the musician tuning his violin, the student helping a stranger with directions, the barista remembering someone’s name.

It’s not grand. It’s human.
And it reminds me that the future isn’t asking us to find our purpose — it’s inviting us to practice it.

With future love,
Frederik