Finding Purpose After the Military

It does not have to be your job.

Just about every veteran I have ever met struggles with finding purpose after the military.

We go from the military, where our mission and meaning are clear. Even if what you are doing that day seems stupid (“Area Beautification” anybody???), it can still feel like you are part of something bigger. You wear that American flag on your shoulder and feel like you have a purpose in life.

And then you get out and don’t know what that purpose is anymore.

Reshape Your Thinking

I recently spoke with a very close friend, a buddy from our first days in the army, who got out in the last few years and is struggling with this very problem. He does not know what to pursue as a career.

Should he do something “good” for the world?

Should he accept the fact that maybe he cannot do that in the way he likes, while being with and supporting his family, so should he just work on something he is passionate about?

Here is what I told him:

“There are other ways to serve people besides your job.”

While we were in the military, the job was our purpose. It was the mission. Our team. The Nation. All of that.

I joke with people that the army wasn’t a career decision, it was a lifestyle choice.

I say that jokingly, but also mean it.

And it is hard to reshape that way of thinking. But learning to separate your meaning and identity away from your job opens up a new world of possibility for you to find meaning and purpose.

Your Career Can Be the Means

Instead of thinking of your job as the place where you find purpose, you could think of it as the means to living your purpose.

It could provide income for you to take care of your family, donate to a cause you care about, or invest in businesses you believe in.

It could provide the means for you to be a leader and ensure other families are taken care of. When you look at work that way, it almost does not matter what the actual work is, what matters is how you do it and treat others you work with.

Your job could also be the place where you make your impact and have your purpose. I have an army buddy who works at a wildlife refuge in Sub-Saharan Africa. He uses his army training to work with the guys who fight off poachers. He gets a lot of meaning from that work.

Or you can design your job around your life, and not your life around your job. Maybe you take a remote role or do freelance work, and that lets you travel around as you please.

Your career can provide meaning, but it can also be the support for you to find your meaning outside of work.

Go crush it.

Mark