Mental Fitness Mondays: What On Earth is Cognitive Resilience?
4th April 2026Why a strong sense of purpose is good for your mental fitness
Does your life feel purposeful?
It’s a question I often ask in coaching, particularly with people whose work really should feel purposeful. Union reps, political staffers, teachers… people who care about making a difference.
And interestingly, most people say yes. In fact, when we measure mental fitness, Sense of Purpose is usually one of the highest scoring muscles. So if that’s you, that’s great news.
It’s not just a nice feeling to have; research suggests that having a strong sense of purpose supports cognitive resilience and helps protect against loneliness. So, your purpose is doing more for you than you might realise.
Purpose sits within the Self Development muscle. It’s what drives us to do things that matter, often in service of other people. It’s why so many of you stick with work that isn’t always easy.
So what’s the issue?
Even when purpose is there, it doesn’t always feel front and centre. I was speaking to someone recently in a role they’d worked hard to get. It aligned with their values, it had impact… all the right ingredients. But when I asked how purposeful it felt day to day, they paused. They talked about pressure, inbox overload, constant demands. The purpose hadn’t disappeared, it just wasn’t what they were noticing most of the time. I hear this a lot.
A quick bit of science (I’ll keep it brief)
Cognitive resilience is basically your brain’s ability to handle stress and keep going.
Research from the catchily titled ‘Hebrew SeniorLife Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research’ shows that people with a strong sense of purpose tend to do better over time in terms of cognitive health.
It’s a bit of a mouthful, but the idea is simple; when you feel connected to what you’re doing, things are generally easier to deal with. When you don’t, the same work can feel like a grind. So it’s not just about having purpose, it’s about noticing it.
Keeping it in view
This is where mental fitness comes in.
Most of the people I work with don’t need to go out and find their purpose - it’s already there. What’s more useful is paying attention to it. That might be remembering who your work is helping, or noticing a moment where something you did made a difference, even in a small way. Those moments are easy to miss when you’re busy, yet they’re often what keeps people going.
So rather than asking “does my life feel purposeful?”, a more useful question might be: "how much am I noticing it?"
A coaching question for you:
How aware are you of the difference your work is making this week?