Life On Purpose: How Living For What Matters Most Changes Everything by Victor J Strecher

Creative activities allow us to express our emotion, and doing so will help you live longer. People who engage in the arts either as performers or consumers derive positive physical and mental health benefits. Creating and appreciating things seem to spark a similar process. Even tragic art can be up lifting.
Victor offers tips to increase your creativity. Be empathetic. Get a sketchbook and do some drawing. The color blue stimulates creativity so keep some around. Learn a new skill. Engage in movement of any kind. Play, it’s not just for kids. Clear your clutter. Spend time with people who are different. Make a collage. Expand your vocabulary. Engage your sense of smell with a trip through your spice cabinet. Take a yoga class. Do things with your non dominant hand. Spend time with young people.

Victor starts with the Mediterranean diet, which includes more vegetables, less meat, more healthy spices, olive oil, and less sugar. Diet sodas are worse that those sweetened with cain sugar, but you should avoid both. Switch to water, even if you have to jazz it up with lemon or other fruit tastes. Avoid white flour and go for whole grain or multi-grain breads. Also, switch to brown rice.
Use smaller plates, eat smaller portions, and eat slowly. This is hard to do in restaurants so plan on taking some home. If you can, eat mostly plants and add a B12 supplement. Indian, Thai, and Chinese cuisines have lots of healthy options. Just about any spice except salt and sugar is good for you, so learn how to use them. Make a healthy lunch and bring it to work so you can avoid restaurants. Remember, you have agency so take control

People who experience Post-Traumatic Growth, as opposed to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) are those with a sense of purpose. There are many stories here that support this idea. Those who view a negative event as a challenge to learn from are more likely to develop post-traumatic growth and a higher quality of life.
(Doug: This recently happened to me when I was hit be a car on my bicycle and broke seven bones, had two brain bleeds, and a concussion.) The effects of poverty and racism can reduce one’s ability to deal with stress, but not always. Be undaunted and make someone feel better today.

Here is what science knows. A purpose in life is good for your health and well being. A purpose reduces your defensiveness to change. A purpose requires energy and willpower. Five positive behaviors are represented by SPACE. (Sleep, Presence, Activity. Creativity, and Easting Well) Finally, purpose is for everyone.
There is research to support the above, so don’t wait around. Get a purpose. The specific nature of your purpose is less important than the fact that you have one. Your purpose can be changed or refined. People that focus on money or success without a purpose are more likely to be anxious, depressed, and lonely. It’s more important to have a new life than to have a new toy. You are who you choose to be, so be very careful as you decide.

Victor is a professor and director for innovation and social entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He has published over 100 articles in journals like The Journal of the American Medical Association, The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and Nature Neuroscience. He lives in Ann Arbor Michigan. He’s Founder & CEO of Kumanu, (@kumanulife) a next generation wellbeing company. Check out the podcast Hidden Brain for Victor’s episode. His email is strecher@umich.edu.