ABSTRACT
In this concluding chapter, we explore possible solutions to the myriad paradoxes of purpose at both the individual and societal levels. For the individual, there is much advice to offer based on the scientific literature on identity formation and purpose in life. This advice includes recommendations for overcoming the obstacles to a purposeful life. Some of these obstacles pertain to the biased and erroneous ways in which humans currently think about the world around them, as well as how they then use their partial understandings in making life-altering choices. Workable research models for empirically investigating these issues are proposed. Other obstacles are at the institutional and societal levels. Recommendations are made for policy makers regarding how to support people’s freedom, independence, and opportunity so they can take the high road of realizing their inner potentials as part of long-term purposes tied to the common good. These recommendations include models of leadership, such as currently found in the more progressive Western societies, wherein young citizens are given a hand-up to take advantage of the affluence of modernity.
