Fifty years ago, I began life in an incubator, fighting for each breath. Raised in a home where love seemed conditional, earned by being good, quiet, and responsible, I carried a belief that I had to perform and prove my worth. That belief took me across borders, through Corporate America, and into leadership roles.
But beneath all the striving, a deeper truth lived within me. My name, Clara Lucia, means clear light. And my purpose has always been to awaken humanity in the marketplace—to help people remember who they are, beyond the pressure to perform, prove, or please.
Why Purpose Matters—For Your Brain, Body, and Leadership
Science is now confirming what our hearts have always known: when you live with purpose, everything changes.
- For your brain: Purpose strengthens memory and resilience. Research shows it enhances brain structures like the hippocampus and white matter, which are essential for focus and stress recovery (Boylan et al., 2024).
- For your emotions: People with a strong sense of purpose bounce back from stress faster, showing stronger regulation of emotional responses (van Reekum et al., 2013).
- For your health: Living purposefully is linked to healthier immune function and even better gene expression, lowering inflammation and strengthening antiviral defenses (Fredrickson et al., 2013).
- For your life: Carol Ryff’s six-factor model of psychological well-being identifies purpose in life as one of the essential pillars of human flourishing (Ryff, 1989).
And this truth was powerfully lived out by Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. In the concentration camps, he lost nearly everything—his parents, his wife, his career. Yet he observed that those who survived the unimaginable weren’t the strongest or even the healthiest, but those who held on to a sense of meaning. As he wrote:
“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear almost any ‘how.’”
Frankl’s story reminds us that purpose is not a luxury—it is a lifeline. It is fuel for your mind, your body, your relationships, and your leadership.
Why the Pause Is Everything
If purpose is so powerful, why do so many of us drift away from it?
Because we live on autopilot. The hustle culture we live in convinces us that doing more will finally make us “enough.” But what we really need is not more doing—it’s a pause.
That’s why I teach the Power Pause. Neuroscience shows that intentional pauses literally rewire your brain—disrupting patterns of stress and building new pathways for clarity and calm.
3 Ways to Reconnect With Purpose Today
Take a Soul Inventory. Ask yourself: Where do I feel alive? Where do I feel like I’m disappearing? Where have I abandoned myself to achieve or please others? What’s the cost of staying vs. the risk of changing?
Write a Personal Vow. Neuroscience tells us repetition rewires the brain. Writing statements like “I vow to honor my truth and stop apologizing for who I am” strengthens pathways of self-worth.
Anchor Micro-Pauses. Before a meeting or after a hard conversation, pause. Breathe deeply and ask: Am I moving from pressure—or from purpose? These moments shift your brain and your leadership in real time.
My Invitation to You
Living on autopilot doesn’t just cost us energy—it costs us clarity, joy, and connection.
When you pause, when you realign with purpose, you not only reclaim your energy—you ignite your light. And that light doesn’t just change your life. It awakens humanity around you.
So today, I invite you: take a pause. Breathe. Reconnect with the purpose that has always been within you.
Next Step: If this resonates, I’d love to guide you deeper. Reach out to me at clara.carrier@startbreakingthrough for a time to connect. Start breaking through to reclaim your clarity and confidence.