Do You Need a Purpose in Life? Krishnamurti Says No
Krishnamurti taught that purpose isn’t something to find—it emerges when you live authentically and observe life without preconceptions. True purpose comes from self-awareness and being fully present, not from chasing external goals.
Philosopher and teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti bases his whole life on these 14 words:
“Why do you want a purpose for living? — LIVE. Living is its own purpose.”
When I retired, I thought it was necessary to have purpose in life. I even wrote an article about it for Sassy Sister Stuff, How I Found My Passion and Purpose in Retirement.
I’d been working in Education for 30+ years and had always heard when you retire, you should find your passion and purpose. So I set about developing my passions and purpose in life. I didn’t want to end up questioning everything and wondering what my life was all about.
I decided to develop a blog — in fact, I founded Sassy Sister Stuff and have been writing here for five years now. Writing has always been my passion, so I turned it into my purpose.
But did I need to have a purpose to start Sassy Sister Stuff?
Couldn’t I have just started the website because it felt right?
Couldn’t it have simply been something I wanted to explore, without attaching it to a grand plan?
Today, I want to explore those questions through the lens of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s quiet but powerful philosophy about LIFE.
“Forget all you know about yourself; forget all you have ever thought about yourself; start as if you know nothing.” — J. Krishnamurti
Who Was Jiddu Krishnamurti?
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) was a world-renowned philosopher and speaker. He was also a prolific writer. His teachings focused on the need for a total change in the human psyche.
Born in India and educated in England, he spent his life traveling the globe, not as a traditional “guru,” but as a guide encouraging individuals to observe their own minds without the filters of religion, nationality, or political ideology.
He taught that true freedom requires letting go of the past. He urged people to stop the constant search for security. He believed truth cannot be found through organized religion. And, he believed psychological change comes through self-observation.
While Krishnamurti urged us to empty the mind of social conditioning, many people today feel an opposing burden: the heavy weight and constant pressure to define a singular life purpose.
The Pressure to Have a Purpose in Life
We live in a culture that loves a good success story:
Find your calling.
Define your why.
Build your legacy.
Live with purpose!
These ideas aren’t bad — many of them are inspiring. But they also create an enormous amount of pressure, especially for women in midlife and beyond who are navigating transitions, identity shifts, caregiving roles, empty nests, retirement, and even more.
We’re told that if we don’t have a purpose, we’re drifting.
If we don’t have a plan, we’re lost.
If we’re not striving for something, we’re wasting our lives.
Krishnamurti gently nudges us to ask:
Is that really true?
What if life — simple, unfolding, present-moment life — is enough?
Krishnamurti’s Invitation: Stop Chasing Purpose and Start Living
Krishnamurti believed that the constant search for purpose creates the very things we’re trying to avoid:
- anxiety
- self-doubt
- comparison
- fear of failure
- the sense that we’re “not enough”
When we attach our identity to a purpose, we risk feeling like we’re falling short whenever life shifts — and life always shifts.
His solution?
Don’t make living more complicated than it needs to be.
Live fully. Live attentively. Live honestly.
Let life be life, without demanding it justify itself.
“There is freedom when the entire being, the superficial as well as the hidden, is purged of the past.” — J. Krishnamurti
Purpose doesn’t have to be something you chase.
It can simply be something that rises naturally out of how you live.
Krishnamurti Foundation of America
Krishnamurti Foundation of America (KFA) was created to preserve and disseminate the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and advance public understanding of his teachings.
Krishnamurti taught about conflict, change, freedom, authority, and much more from his perspective about making things less complicated. You can find his entire collection of speeches, writings, quotes, and books through his foundation. Although he died in 1986, his teachings are still shared around the world today. Time Magazine has called him, “One of the five saints of the 20th Century.”
Did I Start My Blog Out of Purpose—Or Out of Life?
When I look back on starting Sassy Sister Stuff, the truth is simple:
I started writing because I wanted to.
Because it felt good.
Because it felt like an expression of who I was in that moment.
In hindsight, maybe I didn’t need to call it my “purpose” at all.
Maybe it was just life unfolding through me — following a spark of curiosity and joy. And maybe that’s enough.
This doesn’t mean purpose is wrong.
It just means purpose doesn’t have to be imposed.
If it grows naturally, beautiful.
If it doesn’t, also beautiful.
“When you have no motive, you are free to observe your conditioning.” — J. Krishnamurti
Life Is Sometimes More Beautiful Without a Goal
One of Krishnamurti’s most liberating ideas is that life reveals itself when we stop trying to control it.
When we drop the pressure to achieve, become, or prove something, we can:
- notice joy in ordinary moments
- follow curiosity instead of obligation
- rest without guilt
- create without fear
- change directions without “failing”
Living becomes fluid, flexible, and free.
This kind of living is less about purpose and more about presence.
And presence, in many ways, is richer than any goal we could set.
What This Means for You and Me
Maybe you feel like you “should” be doing something more.
Or maybe you’ve been searching for a purpose and feeling frustrated when nothing sticks.
Let Krishnamurti’s 14 words breathe for a moment:
“Why do you want a purpose for living? — LIVE. Living is its own purpose.”
What if living — being awake to your own life, responding to what each day brings, following what feels authentic — is enough?
“It is good to hide your brilliance under a bushel, to be anonymous, to love what you are doing and not to show off.” — J. Krishnamurti
What if the real purpose of life is to simply live it?
Not perfectly.
Not purposefully.
Just fully and present.
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A Gentle Closing Thought
I don’t regret calling my blog my purpose — it helped me shape a beautiful new chapter. But now I see that the purpose wasn’t the point.
The living was.
The creating.
The exploring.
The becoming.
The simple act of saying yes to something that felt right.
And that’s what Krishnamurti teaches us:
Purpose isn’t something we must find.
Life is something we must live.
Every day.
Every moment.
As it comes.
If this reflection spoke to you, I invite you to explore more gentle midlife wisdom in my articles on happiness, peace, and the art of living well.
- Celebrate the Changes That Come with Age: Embracing Midlife with Joy and Confidence
- How to Protect Your Peace of Mind: 18 Essential Tips
- How to Do a Life Audit for Personal Growth & Lasting Happiness
Love to ALL! ~ Susan
