We are taught to look for purpose out there — in the right job, the right cause, the right plan. And when the world doesn’t cooperate, purpose starts to feel like something we’ve failed at. But purpose doesn’t begin as a plan. It begins as a feeling.

This EQ Café invites you to follow your own emotions to what matters most to you. Drawing on the emotion–needs model from Joshua Freedman’s new book Emotion Rules, we’ll discover that our feelings — including the uncomfortable ones — are signals pointing toward needs. And the largest cluster of all points toward meaning.

Then we’ll do something practical: we’ll look at where we’ve been locating our sense of purpose, and move it somewhere we can actually reach it. You’ll leave with a first draft of your own Noble Goal — a short statement of purpose you can practice today, not someday.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) means being smarter with feelings. It’s learnable, practical, and grows through shared practice. EQ Cafés are reflective, engaging conversations for people who are curious about emotions and want to build insight and connection together.

In this Café, we will explore:
• What are my feelings actually pointing me toward?
• Why does purpose feel so heavy — and where have I been locating it?
• What do I want to add to the world, and how do I practice that today?

This Café invites you to stop searching for purpose and start listening for it. Are you curious how you listen to your purpose? Join us!