--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In fact, people with little purpose were…" description: "\"“In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half times more likely to develop dementia than those with a mission.”\" — Barbara Bradley Hagerty" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/barbara-bradley-hagerty-37060_dementia_in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were_2985806.jpg" --- # In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half… ![“In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half times more likely to develop dementia than those with a mission.” quote by Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/barbara-bradley-hagerty-37060_dementia_in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were_2985806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/barbara-bradley-hagerty-37060_dementia_in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were_2985806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/barbara-bradley-hagerty-37060_dementia_in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were_2985806.jpg) > ““In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half times more likely to develop dementia than those with a mission.”” [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Purposeful living dramatically lowers dementia risk, showing mental engagement protects brain health. **In simple terms:** Having a mission reduces dementia risk. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal purpose. Themes health purpose dementia longevity psychology Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational informative When to use this quote - daily goal setting - volunteering - mindful hobbies - career planning Key Concepts neuroscience well‑being Questions to Reflect On - What personal mission can you pursue? - How does purpose affect brain health? A Different Perspective Purpose may be hard to define for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dementia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dementia/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) ## Related quotes > [“walnut oil, were 60 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who did not regularly consume such oils. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/walnut-oil-were-60-percent-less-likely-to-develop-dementia-than-those/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [He that has seen both sides of fifty has lived to little purpose if he has no other views of the world than he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/he-that-has-seen-both-sides-of-fifty-has-lived-to-little-purpose-if/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich to so little purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-people-been-so-rich-to-so-little/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [“Modesty serves little purpose. Other than to feed one’s insecurities by inviting more praise, that is. I have no need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stephenson/modesty-serves-little-purpose-other-than-to-feed-one-s-insecurities/) [Nick Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stephenson/) > [The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone… Unless we lose ourselves in service to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/the-needs-of-others-are-ever-present-and-each-of-us-can-do-something/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Ships are to little purpose without skillful Sea Men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hakluyt/ships-are-to-little-purpose-without-skillful-sea-men/) Richard Hakluyt > [Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your own knowledge within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are-separate-from-your-own/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [“researchers (with Ph.D.’s). “It turns out that if you get dementia, you’ll get it later, but you’ll also progress a little bit more rapidly”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/researchers-with-ph-d-s-it-turns-out-that-if-you-get-dementia-you-ll/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [You don't just wake up one day with dementia or Alzheimer's; these conditions are developmental. Even when a problem triggers the need to collect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-le/you-don-t-just-wake-up-one-day-with-dementia-or-alzheimer-s-these/) [Tan Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-le/) > [My mother Edna was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2004, and for the next four years I looked after her at home with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rippon/my-mother-edna-was-diagnosed-with-vascular-dementia-in-2004-and-for/) [Angela Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rippon/) > [The modern rise of Alzheimer's Disease in the twentieth century is not a sign of failure. It's a sign of success. Success in living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/the-modern-rise-of-alzheimer-s-disease-in-the-twentieth-century-is/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [I have a particular passion and focus on Alzheimer's and diseases of dementia. There's just so much scientifically that we don't know, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-d-white/i-have-a-particular-passion-and-focus-on-alzheimer-s-and-diseases-of/) [Miles D. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-d-white/) > [They say 'life is precious'. To who? To you, when you're young and you've got a few dollars in your pocket. Tell that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/they-say-life-is-precious-to-who-to-you-when-you-re-young-and-you-ve/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. So we can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/it-turns-out-that-this-part-of-the-brain-is-one-of-the-first-areas/) [John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/) > [People do not realize that Alzheimer's is not old age. It is a progressive and fatal disease, and staggering amounts of people develop Alzheimer's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-kanakaredes/people-do-not-realize-that-alzheimer-s-is-not-old-age-it-is-a/) [Melina Kanakaredes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-kanakaredes/) ## More by Barbara Bradley Hagerty > [“The men and women who scored highest on conscientiousness—that is, who control their impulses, who were dependable and goal-oriented—had 89 percent lower risk of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/the-men-and-women-who-scored-highest-on-conscientiousness-that-is-who/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“Lonely people were not faking their symptoms. Their own bodies were reacting to loneliness at a cellular level, trying to nudge them to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/lonely-people-were-not-faking-their-symptoms-their-own-bodies-were/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“I came to define God by His handiwork: a craftsman who builds the hope of eternity into our genes, a master electrician and chemist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/i-came-to-define-god-by-his-handiwork-a-craftsman-who-builds-the-hope/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“The two researchers collaborated on a pilot study.32 What they found was that loneliness reprogrammed a person’s genes in the same way that fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/the-two-researchers-collaborated-on-a-pilot-study-32-what-they-found/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“Develop thought patterns, particularly purpose in life, now, in one’s forties, fifties, and sixties. Find a purpose beyond your career—because you will one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/develop-thought-patterns-particularly-purpose-in-life-now-in-one-s/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“There are no periods, no paragraphs, there’s no punctuation,” Utzschneider said. “There’s no structure to give us a sense of order.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/there-are-no-periods-no-paragraphs-there-s-no-punctuation/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“In general, the older you are, the more adept you are at managing your emotions. Compared with young people, middle-aged and especially older people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/in-general-the-older-you-are-the-more-adept-you-are-at-managing-your/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“Every idea in this book runs against our natural tendency to want to relax, take it easy, reward ourselves for decades of work and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/every-idea-in-this-book-runs-against-our-natural-tendency-to-want-to/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [ “The real distinction between a material and spiritual worldview, \[William\] James wrote does not rest in "hair splitting abstraction about matter's inner essence, or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/the-real-distinction-between-a-material-and-spiritual-worldview/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“researchers (with Ph.D.’s). “It turns out that if you get dementia, you’ll get it later, but you’ll also progress a little bit more rapidly”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/researchers-with-ph-d-s-it-turns-out-that-if-you-get-dementia-you-ll/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“Fully a third of people who, as autopsies indicate, have the disease show no cognitive decline, no evidence of Alzheimer’s.1 At first, other scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/fully-a-third-of-people-who-as-autopsies-indicate-have-the-disease/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) [Explore all 12 Barbara Bradley Hagerty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) ## More Dementia quotes > [People do not realize that Alzheimer's is not old age. It is a progressive and fatal disease, and staggering amounts of people develop Alzheimer's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-kanakaredes/people-do-not-realize-that-alzheimer-s-is-not-old-age-it-is-a/) [Melina Kanakaredes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-kanakaredes/) > [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. So we can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/it-turns-out-that-this-part-of-the-brain-is-one-of-the-first-areas/) [John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/) > [They say 'life is precious'. To who? To you, when you're young and you've got a few dollars in your pocket. Tell that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/they-say-life-is-precious-to-who-to-you-when-you-re-young-and-you-ve/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [I have a particular passion and focus on Alzheimer's and diseases of dementia. There's just so much scientifically that we don't know, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-d-white/i-have-a-particular-passion-and-focus-on-alzheimer-s-and-diseases-of/) [Miles D. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-d-white/) > [The modern rise of Alzheimer's Disease in the twentieth century is not a sign of failure. It's a sign of success. Success in living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/the-modern-rise-of-alzheimer-s-disease-in-the-twentieth-century-is/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [My mother Edna was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2004, and for the next four years I looked after her at home with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rippon/my-mother-edna-was-diagnosed-with-vascular-dementia-in-2004-and-for/) [Angela Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rippon/) > [You don't just wake up one day with dementia or Alzheimer's; these conditions are developmental. Even when a problem triggers the need to collect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-le/you-don-t-just-wake-up-one-day-with-dementia-or-alzheimer-s-these/) [Tan Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-le/) > [There is a version of Alzheimer's which is early onset Alzheimer's. And it's - it's horrible, because people do get it in their 50s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-davis/there-is-a-version-of-alzheimer-s-which-is-early-onset-alzheimer-s/) [Patti Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-davis/) > [When you objectify a person living with dementia, you dehumanize them. Once dehumanized, the person becomes a villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-demarco/when-you-objectify-a-person-living-with-dementia-you-dehumanize-them/) Bob DeMarco > [I'm in awe of people out there who deal with Alzheimer's, because they have to deal with death 10 times over, year after year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-wallace/i-m-in-awe-of-people-out-there-who-deal-with-alzheimer-s-because-they/) [Marcia Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-wallace/) > [As the National Football League and other pro sports increasingly reckon with the early dementia, mental health issues, suicides and even criminal behavior of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/as-the-national-football-league-and-other-pro-sports-increasingly/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [The Alzheimer's Association in the United States, founded by Jerome Stone, they found me because they had heard rumours that my mom was diagnosed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-aga-khan/the-alzheimer-s-association-in-the-united-states-founded-by-jerome/) [Yasmin Aga Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-aga-khan/) > [Roivant does not view - and has never viewed - Axovant as simply a 'vehicle' for developing intepirdine, but instead as a platform for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-ramaswamy/roivant-does-not-view-and-has-never-viewed-axovant-as-simply-a/) [Vivek Ramaswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-ramaswamy/) > [“it seemed to her that she had acquired not virtues but a form of dementia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/it-seemed-to-her-that-she-had-acquired-not-virtues-but-a-form-of/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I'm one of those who cut off seeing people after a certain time, when the weight is gone and they sound like the dementia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/i-m-one-of-those-who-cut-off-seeing-people-after-a-certain-time-when/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) [Browse all 244 Dementia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dementia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half times more likely to develop dementia than those with a mission.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Bradley Hagerty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were-two-and-a-half-times-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dementia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were-two-and-a-half-times-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/barbara-bradley-hagerty-37060_dementia_in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were_2985806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/barbara-bradley-hagerty-37060_dementia_in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were_2985806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/barbara-bradley-hagerty-37060_dementia_in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were_2985806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half times more likely to develop dementia than those…” — Barbara Bradley Hagerty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Bradley Hagerty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In fact, people with little purpose...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were-two-and-a-half-times-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were-two-and-a-half-times-more/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```