Soon after the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing opened its doors 30 years ago, it became apparent that people were hungry for its programming surrounding purpose. They were drawn to the idea of purpose and asking the big questions of life: Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? These explorations get at the essence of being human and contribute to a life well-lived.

Although the way the Center delves into purpose has evolved over time, its core mission has remained constant. It has sought to elevate the concept of purpose via academic coursework, research, and community outreach while making purpose exploration highly accessible. This allows everyone to investigate their purpose in life and apply their findings to any age or stage, says Bakken Center Founder and Director Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP.

“People are yearning for purpose and meaning in their lives, so giving them tools to explore those big life questions is really valuable,” Kreitzer says. One of the biggest lessons she learned from engaging with purpose is that it’s not a one-and-done exercise. For individuals and organizations like the Bakken Center, interacting with purpose is a journey that meets the moment and provides an opportunity to pause for reflection. “One of the deepest learnings about purpose is that it evolves over time. Purpose is not something you figure out once in your life without ever reevaluating important life questions,” Kreitzer says. “It is natural and normal for people to reevaluate and reimagine their purpose as they mature and age.”

For these reasons, demand has been consistently healthy for the Center’s purpose programming. Sue Nankivell, director of business development and community relations for the Center, points to its current Purpose Quest offering. The free six-week program encourages participants to engage with videos, journaling, and tools to examine their current or future purpose. In the first sessions in February and May 2025, nearly 3,000 people enrolled from across Minnesota and beyond, Nankivell says. Another Purpose Quest session kicks off October 14. (Sign up at z.umn.edu/PurposeQuest)

“People are always really interested in purpose. It’s human to want to know how we fit in, why we are here, and what our unique attributes, gifts, and talents are — and grounding that along our life trajectory,” Nankivell says. “One theme that often comes up is life transitions. It can be incredibly useful to stop, pause, take stock of what has informed us, and think about what we want the future to look like.”

A Path of Purpose 

The Bakken Center has helped people make discoveries about their purpose in a variety of realms and formats. Its initial mission focused on transforming healthcare and helping people approach life from a mind-body-spirit perspective. That grew to include purpose when Kreitzer heard an interview on Minnesota Public Radio with Richard Leider, who had just published his bestseller The Power of Purpose. When Kreitzer got to her office, she called Leider to see if he was interested in partnering with the Center.

Leider has played an integral role ever since; starting as the Center’s first and longest-serving Senior Fellow. One early purpose program involved a daylong workshop called Living on Purpose.

That led to other iterations like Working on Purpose and Leading on Purpose. Kreitzer and Leider also created the Purpose Guild, a group of about 100 people they trained to bring the practice of purpose further into the community.

The purpose workshops were initially targeted to people who were retired or approaching retirement. Then participants urged the Bakken Center to teach their children and grandchildren Leider’s formula for exploring purpose: examining their gifts, passions, values, and the needs of the world. Purpose became a bedrock element of the Center’s Wellbeing Model.

Faculty also were interested in exploring purpose-centric topics in the classroom and through their research. That prompted the Center to develop courses like “Creating a Meaningful Life” and “Living on Purpose.” “Purpose is now infused in much of the Center’s work, from workshops and webinars to academic courses and the Wellbeing Model,” Kreitzer says.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bakken Center has made much of its purpose programming free and online thanks to support from donors. This ensures that its offerings are accessible to as many people as possible. That was true for Purpose Quest. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with people praising the opportunity for learning, reflection, personal growth, self-discovery, and community support, Nankivell says.

One participant wrote: “The series asked some great questions that I hadn’t thought about before. I feel that thinking through these subjects has given me more direction while also providing some guidance to keep asking similar questions of myself. I feel a little more rooted in my life, having examined what is alike and different between the life I have and the life I want.”

Providing opportunities for people to interact with and unlock their inner purpose is key, paving the way for benefits like improving health and wellbeing, Leider says. The science behind purposeful living is becoming ever more apparent and accepted. That includes a body of research showing that a sense of purpose is connected to cognitive health, mental and physical health, effectiveness, mortality, and more. In fact, people who get up in the morning with a sense of purpose live 7 to 10 years longer and are happier and healthier than those who don’t, he adds.

“It comes down to making purpose relevant on a day-to-day basis rather than something I’ll get to at some point in my life, and making it relevant to my day-to-day health, healing, happiness, and aging,” Leider says. “That’s what the Center has really championed. For more than 30 years, the Center has made purpose a daily practice for people. They made it real and relevant for people of all ages.”

A Purposeful Future

The Bakken Center certainly isn’t resting on its laurels when it comes to purpose. It’s vital for its programming to evolve to help people navigate whatever challenges are unfolding in the present moment. During the pandemic, many people began thinking deeply about purpose and meaning as their lives were upended. These days, they might be seeking different tools to manage a chaotic and stressful time around the world, Kreitzer says.

Leider would like to see a Purpose Institute developed within the Center to engage in even more robust research and practice, notably in the areas of purposeful work and aging. This is especially important during the current age of “purpose anxiety,” he says. Purpose anxiety stems from feelings of not being enough and failing to meet the expectations of family and society, paired with the demands of always-on technology and social media.

As the Center evolves its offerings, it will continue striving to make programming accessible to people from varied geographies, socioeconomic groups, and communities. “What we’re trying to determine is what is needed now, and how we can support wellbeing through the lens of purpose for a variety of audiences,” Nankivell says. “Purpose is not something just for the privileged to be able to explore. It’s a basic human need for lifelong wellbeing.”