Great discussion on meta-analysis of "sense of purpose". In my 18-year working career, I have attached my purpose with my jobs. Now after 11 months off from any paid work, my sense of purpose has changed several times: downsizing our life style (e.g. selling our big house and moving to an apartment thousands of miles away), figuring out our FI/insurance plans, traveling (to China and Taiwan), writing a memoir, and starting a new business... Whenever I have something that takes up my time and energy, I don't ask purpose question. It's only when I am idle, a profound sense of restlessness and anxiety creep up. That makes me wonder if I have been institutionalized to believe that my self-worth equals my achievements and actions.
I want to try an experiment: instead of using more actions to fill the hole of purpose, I want to get in the flow more, e.g. biking, walking, meditating, painting. While I am doing that, I will periodically gently ask myself what is my life purpose. I suspect that the question of purpose will not even surface when I am lost in the flow. That's the paradox of the purpose. When we are fully present in here and now, the purpose question goes to the background. Only when we are out of this moment, the rational mind demands a perfect answer on the purpose, often with a nasty and belittling tone, because it's another chance that ego can show he/she knows better by asking an question that is impossible to answer, and can only be realized through being. A tricky business ;-)