When we shared Pharr Davis’s story with Strecher, the University of Michigan professor who studies purpose, he responded with an unusually short email: “Wow.” He later told us Pharr Davis’s experience on the Appalachian Trail is a profound example of ego minimization. He explained that she was harnessing the power of purpose to overcome her fears and doubts, and pointed us to new brain science that sheds light on what may have been unfolding inside her head.
