Howard Thurman’s Wisdom for Reigniting Purpose in Education

When I first came across Howard Thurman’s quote “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." I didn’t know it would shape the way I teach, write, and live. Years later, those words remain more than inspiration. They’ve become a compass.

The Tension Between Obligation and Purpose

Teaching, like writing, is often framed as a calling, and sometimes that calling comes with pressure. There’s curriculum to follow, metrics to meet, expectations from every direction. As educators, we are asked to wear so many hats: instructor, counselor, social worker, administrator, content creator. The weight of obligation can be crushing.

But beneath the frenzy exists something else: the reason we got into the work in the first place. Purpose. That elusive, energizing thread that reminds us why we show up. That moment when a student says, “No one’s ever asked me that before,” or when a lesson suddenly turns into a conversation that matters more than anything in the textbook.

There’s a daily tension between obligation and purpose. The work must get done, but if we lose the spark that brought us here, what are we really offering our students?

What You’re Good At vs. What Lights You Up

For a long time, I did what I was good at. I could teach. I could manage a classroom. I could write on command. But over time, I started to notice the difference between the work that drained me and the work that made me feel more like myself. The work that lit me up didn’t always