Why try so hard to get a doctor degree, or law degree, or become a scientist or put so much time and effort into anything when life is incredibly short and in a few generations you are completely forgotten and like you never even existed?
Why try so hard to get a doctor degree, or law degree, or become a scientist or put so much time and effort into anything when life is incredibly short and in a few generations you are completely forgotten and like you never even existed?
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Figuring that out is part of the journey
Life is incredibly short, but it’s all you’re ever gonna get. Make the most of it! Make it a piece of candy, not a mouthful of shit.
why indeed.
life is the journey, not the destination.
you can live it with your thumb up your ass waiting to die, or you can pursue your passions. at the end of the day we’re all just monkeys seeking pleasures.
your call, do something that makes you feel good, or do nothing.
Yeah, but we’re not dead yet. So why not enjoy it until that happens?
It’s all about what you experience not what you have per se. Focus on that and a whole new world opens up
The temporal nature of our existence is what gives meaning to our individual lives.
If we lived forever, things like getting a degree wouldn’t have meant a thing because everyone can do that with the infinite amount of time they can spend on it.
Why breathe, eat or sleep?
Because you CAN. Figure out what you want to do and do it while you’re here. Some people enjoy challenges and accomplishments and making a difference in the world they see. If nobody had done that before us, we wouldn’t exist.
Being remembered is an obsession about permanency and it’s a delusion. It’s not available to us.
What is available to us is NOW. Our ancestors before us exist in our DNA, in our stories, in our museums. It’s fascinating and it’s beautiful because it’s impermanent and was done to oppose the inevitability of death.
Be brave and do something with whatever your capacity.
That’s what makes our lives so special. At my best, i see beauty in our insignificance and find peace in the randomness.
Ultimately, time is nothing but a flowing river—you decide how you want to ride it. But remember, even dead fish can float downstream.
You could die tomorrow and God asks you: “So how was Heaven? I took the restraints off and let you do anything you wanted to do. so whatcha end up doing? Nothing? well heres your helmet, go slaughter demons for another 10 trillion years solider”
Passion. That’s why.
Do be any of these things if you don’t want.
All you that is important is to live a good life. Make enough to support yourself and family. Be a positive community member.
So we can own the most expensive houses and screw the prettiest chicks out there.
Time for depression meds dawg
Life is what you make of it. If getting into the history books is your desire, there are simple and easy ways. We are lucky to be born human.
Yes life is short, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help others along the way.
Why even make this post? People are going to forget about it eventually anyway.
Life is short
But it is also the longest thing you will be doing
Because before you die, you live.
And that’s the only life you’re ever going to get.
Use it, or lose it.
The alternative is not pursuing your passions and goals, and going on with an unfulfilling life. I see it the exact opposite, we’re all gonna die anyways may as well live life on our own terms while we got it.
Youre right we live such short lives why not strive for your dreams. Aim for the moon land among the stars. We’ll die and maybe be forgotten but we’ll live life how we want to. If you want to sit and wait to die be my guest but you should try to enjoy this short time we have
Why would I care if other people think about me in a couple generations? I care about what I’m doing right now
You are an important cog in the machine that is working to keep us going as a species, and eventually a space fairing species.
Well I wanna eat BBQ this weekend and maybe reach plat in r6s. I have no clue what is my purpose in life nor should I know since I’m only 18 but I hang onto those little goofy things to keep me going. Also my dogs would be sad without me
Idk man. Why even bother asking this question? Eventually the world will cease to exist and no one will be here to answer this question ever again, much less ask it
Nihilism ain’t cool. It’s not even edgy imo. It’s just plain stupid. But I mean it doesn’t matter anyways right?
In my opinion my life is meaningless in the grand scheme of things, and that is what gives it meaning. The world forgets us once we’re gone so might as well have fun before that happens.
What you choose to do with your life IS the point. Yes life is short and for most of us will ultimately be meaningless a few decades after we’re gone, but it’s all any of us have.
It’s like if you’re presented with your favourite meal, you could either sit there eat it and enjoy the experience and time you have with it, or you could just get up and walk away saying “what’s the point? I’m just going to shit it out later anyway”.
You have the two options in front of you now, either figure out how to best live and enjoy your life, or sit there saying “what’s the point of anything?” and lose the one chance you have at living. Ultimately it’s the experience of life that makes it mean something.
All rides end. Enjoy the ride, stick your hands up at the top of the roller coaster and then scream in delighted terror all the way to the end. There is no point to anything you do, then you can do almost anything you want to do but not everything, you don’t have time, so that sudden stop at the end is what makes what you do choose to do important. In a word with 1000 choices but you only have time to do 10, which 10 are you going to pick?
To make life better for not just myself but my fellow humans and to cherish life itself because it is brief, precious, and so rare in this giant universe we call home.
By that logic what was the point of this post? Of this thought? Of anything you are doing
We may all die, and we will be forgotten. In the grand scheme of life nothing matters, however, you are the only person to experience your story. You are the only person who knows what its like to be you. Try to enjoy life as a journey and experience doing the things you enjoy for you. Dont worry about anyone else. If you contribute to society and help others, you can be a change in their lives, but that doesnt mean you have to. Whatever you decide to do with your life is up to you, just make sure you do it for what you are passionate about and what you enjoy doing. Life in itself is beautiful and unpredictable, do it for you. You only get one chance, make it into something that you can be proud of.
The beauty of life is that it’s finite. It’s important to keep the distinction between positive vs negative nihilism. You have free will! How exciting is that!
The point is the dash.
Also, we never know who we will influence. Think back on the people who made an impact on you. You went on, or are going on, to do some good in the world. True, most of us will be forgotten. I comfort myself knowing that perhaps something I do or say will lead to something good for humanity.
I think of a health teacher I had in junior high 50+ years ago. The drafting teacher I had in high school. The influence of each of them has made me what I am today.
You have the freedom to choose to do what you want.
If you wanna lay in bed all day and do nothing, that’s on you buddy.
Because we live first.
Its a short ride, might as well do what appeals to us.
Because indeed life is short, and you wanted to do as many things during that time as you can!
Honestly. I was in this rut earlier today. I don’t have an answer but I got out of it by hugging my dog for a long while
Well, you can look at it this way, in 60 years would you prefer to have lived your life as a doctor, or a homeless bum? Like, you’re going to have to live anyway, why not make it a good life.
We find meaning in different things.
Pleasure for pleasure’s sake can get pretty boring after a decade.
Damn it sounds like nothing matters is something that matters a lot to you huh. Somewhere out there a 90-something year old is dying happily after living a good and fulfilling life despite the fact that nothing matters, so obviously either “nothing matters” doesn’t matter or it does, which doesn’t really make sense, does it?
its whatever there is no point. the fallacy is we construct a point of destination.
The point is to greatly enjoy the ride. When we read an amazing book we are sad when it’s over but extremely happy while enjoying it.
someone had to get a degree in programming to create this app so you can post this
People strive for high paying jobs. It does make things easier, to a point. Also, it’s partly an EGO thing…like they want to called Doctor jones instead of Mr jones.
Love, Happiness and peace are what I think are the keys features of a GOOD LIFE.
I do think people lose track of how short of a time we all have. More now than ever with people putting their Careers ABOVE all else.
They ALWAYS, realize they took the Wrong path when it’s TOO LATE. Good example is women with putting off starting a family.
Always thinking, ” I’ve Got time” only leads to a lifetime of looking back with REGRETS.
What’s the point? We’re all going to die? Why try so hard to be a doctor or a scientist? You’re going to be forgotten in a few generations?
I see where you’re going here, but so like, riddle me this – what if you’re the scientist or doctor that manages to legit find a cure for aging, thus eliminating inevitable natural death? Kinda negates the whole premise of the question in the first place. Go be something. Go figure something out. Go try.
“All we have to do is decide is what to do with the time that has been given to us”
OP, let’s imagine that you exist eternally. What would be the point of things then? Why get a doctor degree, or a law degree, if you exist forever?
I’ll bet you’re fun at parties.
Because alot of people would prefer have a high earning livelihood than be broke and live an unhappy life.
It’s exactly that. Life is short, be the one you want to be
Life is meaningless, hence, you’re the one that can give it meaning
even if you are forgotten, your influece will still exist forever. Maybe you donate your change at the grocery store and the charity uses that money to help a guy who starts a new religion, idk. We are all interconnected as a species. Beating together as we grow like a colony of bacteria in a petridish. As individuals we are tiny, but add us together and we make big changes!
True. I think life is just about how we are going to die. You can die trying to be a doctor or a farmer. I would love to try out how I am going to die if I choose to retire early. Be creative with your way because that’s the only thing makes us different beside the same ending lol.
The reason it is hard is because you are increasingly competing with people to solve or understand problems. You may have heard about the saying that someone stands on the shoulders of giants. That is the end product. But to get there you have to climb, and there more people that succeed, the higher the giant grows. And we have since the 1800s grown massively.
Here’s one way to look at it, though: even if the universe doesn’t hand out gold stars for eternity, what you do while you’re here can still matter.
Not necessarily because you’ll be remembered forever—let’s be real, most of us won’t—but because it can mean something now.
A doctor doesn’t just chase a degree for a fancy tombstone; they help people breathe easier, live longer, feel less pain. A scientist might stumble on something that shifts how we understand the world. A lawyer could fight for someone who’d otherwise be crushed by the system. Even if their names fade, those ripples stick around, making life a little better for someone else.
And thus is the way it has been since the beginning, and so too will it be in the end.
So, like, life still matters because you have to live it. When you start to measure your life in decades, you start to realize that what you’re planning for is much longer than your feelings in the moment. I guess, yeah, at some point you will die. But until that happens, you have to live your 30s, then 40s, then 50s. You’re going to die, sure. But what do you want to do before that happens?
I’ve been trying to find philosophies and such that help me answer or “handle” this exact question. No conclusions thus far.
At the very least, be someone that makes a person smile.
Because being rich and alive beats being poor and alive
That is the point, no? We are all going to die. It is the same for all of us. That is certain. So what ultimately defines us? How we live. Make it glorious. Make it memorable. Make it so when death comes for us, we go with a smile and not with a regret.
You might only have one shot at this, or 10,000. None of us really know. I know that the world is shitty and people are shitty but life is also extremely special. Every single person on this planet has their own thoughts and dreams and ideas, and I think aspiring for something is beautiful. The fact that any of us exist right now is nothing short of a miracle. Don’t let that go to waste, seriously. The universe is an amazing place. Do what you want to do with your life. Even if it’s underwater basket weaving. What other people remember in generations after you’re long gone shouldn’t matter as much as long as you did something you were genuinely passionate about and loved.
Well, for some context, OP is 52 yrs old.
But to answer your question, I have come to learn that the point of life is to maximize your potential and maxmize your dreams, and not to waste your time thinking it will end soon. Besides, some people live a thousand lives within a lifetime, try to be those people.
So, I’m a nihilist. I agree, we’re all going to die and life has no meaning, but there’s two sides to that coin. I’ve tried to go from “None of this matters so what’s the point?” to ” None of this matters, so why not?”
Sometimes a reframing makes all the difference.
Short is relative. Even working toward a degree is only 4-7 years out of a typical 80. And who cares if you’re forgotten, as long as you enjoyed life?
Make $ and live it up before you die.
Because you get to experience the journey from novice to expert, and sometimes you even get to help other people in the process. Nobody will remember me, sure, but I’ll be dead, so I won’t care. Meanwhile, I get to help improve the lives of some of the people around me, and I find that a sort of comfort when contemplating my own mortality. Nobody else will know that I tried my best, but I will. And in the end, that’s all you can do.
It all boils down to: why not?
The point is to leave the world a better place than when you entered. Unfortunately, humans are terrible at doing that.
Maybe the point isn’t to be remembered, but to experience. Even if nothing lasts, the beauty, love, curiosity, and meaning we feel in the moment are real. We live not to be eternal, but to be fully alive while we can.
Because life is the journey, not the conclusion.
Life before death. Life is the embodiment of opportunity, of chance of change. Even in the worst of conditions where life persists there’s always an opportunity things will improve. No matter how bad life is with preserving and living.
Strength before weakness. If you draw breath you are never powerless. There’s always something you can do. Strength is never exhausted while you breathe. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do it because no obstacle is insurmountable until you have no strength left.
Journey before destination. If you are so focused on the end result you will miss the journey. Yes we all die in the end. But if you give up you miss the journey. And the journey matters. It’s why we reread books. Knowing the end doesn’t diminish the magic of the journey. The journey is valuable in and of itself. There’s no need to jump to the end even if you know it already.
All this came from Brandon Sanderson’s stormlight archive. Give it a read.
Why not? We’re all going to die.
Id tell you but youd downvote me and argue with me lol
I find it a great comfort to know that in about 60 years, no one will ever know that I existed. ‡
It sort of scales things. Much in the same way that knowing in about 5 billion years, the sun will expand into a red giant, and eat all the inner planets (although I’m sure someone will take care of that by then).
‡ lifespan of my kids, who are absolutely not going to have children of their own
Can I suggest watching nigahiga’s graduation speech video?
OG YouTuber since the start. Comedy and skits mainly. Been a fan since he started, but even ignoring the bias, his speech is perfect for this question.
Edited: typo
Yes life is short. We’re all going to die but there are some good things in life too like sex, wine, whiskey, beer. So look at the positive side and enjoy while you’re on this little blue planet.
now we’re talking
Are you ok bro? Maybe get help?
You could just as easily flip it and ask if you only have a limited time, why not try to accomplish and enjoy as much as you can? The part we have control over is how we decide to spend our time.
The alternative is submitting to hopelessness. In order to feel hopeless you would have to feel extremely certain about the secrets and meaning of life, which sounds like a very egotistical perspective. If you surrender your certainty about how things work, you’d have to be vulnerable and that’s a hard thing to do.
what’s the point of watching a movie? you know it’s going to end at some point. sure you can rewatch the movie but at some point you won’t be able to watch it anymore. but if this logic worked, it would mean all movies are worthless
just because something doesn’t last forever doesn’t mean it has no value.
Does it matter if you’re forgotten generations later and never left a lasting mark? Who cares about a legacy? Live for yourself and the people you love. Live for experiences that make you feel something. Connect with people who matter to you. The little joys in life, riding the ups and downs, etc, are what make life special, imo. Do your actions and experiences only feel important to you if you know that people generations from now will now they happened?
Live everyday like it’s your last because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Sounds to me like you could do with a deep and meaningful (ahem… sorry, I guess that should be meaningless) exploration of Existentialism as a personal philosophy…
Unless and until something else makes more sense in framing your life’s journey, as things develop of course. That tends to happen. Things change. Personally I find the non-metaphysical teachings of the Buddha on impermanence to offer a more succinct understanding of life’s journey, however your journey is your journey. Have fun (or not) figuring it all out! ✌️
Because we want to have an impact on other people’s lives hopefully. Carry things forward, whatever you build up would’ve meant something, or will have benefited someone of the future.
Look back at the great people who helped do what they did to change the world and how we conduct ourselves. Without great people, we’d still be the same stupid people living shorter unfulfilling lives.
Why not?
The classic. Every movie has a ending, but we don’t stop watching just because we know it is gonna end.
You will feel a lot of pain throughout your life. You are going to feel it anyway, so what do you say if I accumulate it in some massive gut wrenching pains now? What about grief, would you trade a decade of dissapointments for a few loved ones being ripped out of oyu
Honest,ly, outside of philosophic pondering by any practical standards such questions are either pointless or denote a cry for help and ni both cases I would encourage you to stop overclocking your head and just live one sday at a time
The answer is that you get that because a) if you are going to live, at least you can live well and b) whether you are not are narcissistic or just want a legacy, making a world a better place is a good thing.. Those are the points….
These nihilistic posts make zero sense to me—at least on their internal logic; I understand people get depressed.
But would you not ride a roller coaster because it eventually stops? Would you not eat ice cream because at some point you have to stop eating?
I don’t understand how the fact that something ends makes it meaningless.
Its a great way to leave your mark, if you are revolutionary enough, you will always be remembered for your mark on the world like Issac Newton lol
If what you value is to build a Legacy, then you probably don’t follow one of your aforementioned paths. Find what you value and chase that. For me, I like the earthly pleasures, helping people is gratifying to me, and relationships with people close to me really give my life meaning.
The effects of your life do not die at your first or second death. Strive to do good, a law degree or a medical licence, is not the goal. helping people, doing good, that is the goal.
All will die, this is true, but the patient you helped will help others which they could not without the help first received. The world is one with itself and nature has given you the rational mind to help those in your life
I once was where you are now, reading stoicism philosophy helped me alot, just go with the originals, not the newer ones that put toxic masculinity into it. Read up on Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus
Cause you only live your existance. Your life may be a tiny blip in the grand scale, but you don’t live the grand scale. You live the entirety of that tiny blip, which to you is almost endless.
By the same logic, why give up? What’s the point in giving up. Life is about the struggles and the wins. If you learn to accept and be content with the struggles then you can take the wins when they come and overall have a positive experience.
Have you ever heard of absurdism?
In concept, it’s quite similar to nihilism. Nothing matters. There is no reason, nothing happens for a reason, and so on. The difference with absurdism, however, you recognize all of that, but you continue to live your best life in spite of all that. You will try when giving up is easier. You smile at the bullshit. You recognize that even though nothing matters, you and everyone else are all still here, and that’s not going to end anytime soon. So you might as well just fucking enjoy it.
I heavily struggle with anxiety and depression. I fully recognize that being dead and doing nothing would be easier. I recognize that in 1000 years, none of my decisions will have mattered. But right now, they do. Everything I do has an immediate impact on those around me. When life is shit, I smile, crack a joke, continue doing the things I have to do, and talk to my loved ones afterward.
I will never stop frolicking in the face of bullshit.
Youre doing the time no matter what. Make of it what you will. Experience the insanity that is being a doctor, and saving lives. Experience the entertainment of becoming a lawyer and getting wealthy. Find a passion, and live it. We got 70-ish years. The first 14 to 18 are wasted, and the last 10 to 20. Thats 30 to 40 years in between where you get to make decisions that matter. Will they matter beyond your last breath? For most of us, no. So what? Even if you were remembered for millenia, you’re still dead, and being remembered means exactly jack shit. So who cares?
If you were living your life for a legacy, you’re doing it wrong.
Gonna hit you really hard when you learn of the inevitable heat death of the universe, lol. The point is to do what you want to do. Bear in mind there are others around you doing the same.
Are you asking why people want to be financially comfortable and be able to give their family a good life for the 70-90 years we are here?
Why is eventual oblivion relevant to something having a point?
Is eating a really nice dinner ruined by knowing you’ll just be hungry again later?
Some of us find gratification in our work or accomplishments regardless of who or how many other people acknowledge it. A life spent living only for the attention of others will surely be a sad and hollow existence. Find something that drives your own passion and interest and forget about who will remember you when you’re gone. James Dean said “the only greatness for a man is immortality.” I think thats what our vanity tells us, but in reality many of the greatest men who ever lived are probably completely unknown. I say that because the father who loves and raises his children to be good people is a great man, the son who runs into a burning building to save his siblings is a great man, the grandfather who gave his life working in brutal conditions in a coal mine, or a slaughterhouse, or a fishing boat so that his family could be fed, sheltered, and grow is a GREAT MAN. Being great isn’t always about being remembered in history books. Thats cool, sure, but any man has the capability of being great. Though it may only be known by the people closest to him.
You are right there isn’t really a point. Just that some people just chooses to make the best out of the time given. That’s all there is to it.
Yes, you will die, but you can create something which stays here with next generations.
why stop there? what’s the point of being born anyway?
if you follow the rational conclusion, the answer is there is no point. whether that answer satisfies you is up to you
I was told by 3 doctors that if my condition did not change, I would be dead. I also was told there was no point to going to school or being anything. Now with dump ruining the world economy, there is even less a reason to do.
But here is it: We must do things to spite those who keep us down and we must not join them in keeping ourself down.
If you want something, just do it.
Because “the journey” is the important part…the end goal is irrelevant
Expect mortality. Stop striving for immortality. It’s outside human nature.
Do good, now while you can do good. Feel good while you feel good. Strive and love and be kind because it’s what makes you human. Like the rest of us.
So that I have a good life
Because life is hard. It might as well be something hard of your choosing.
why?
Nothing matters
And because nothing matters its up to you to decide what matters in your life.
People generally care about the things they choose that matters to them
So, understandably they work hard to achieve those goals/uphold those ideals/beliefs
Nothing lasts, sure but who said that’s a bad thing
If anything its a good thing that liberates you from a bunch of constraints
The good things you achieved won’t last but neither will the bad mistakes you made
That hypercringe phase you had in highschool?
Yeah, nobody is gonna remember that or even care 100 years in the future
That means you can stop worrying/obsessing over it
It happened, you regret it & you’re embarassed, cool, you can move on now, nobody cares.
You have the luxury of just focusing on reaching your life goals and how that makes you feel instead of obsessing over some eternal legacy you’d leave behind.
That’s a good thing, we get to be more selfish in our lives.
I guess the point I’m making is: spend less time obsessing over trying to find answer to quwstions you aren’t going to get answers to and enjoy the freedome given to you by the way this universe works.
At least that’s how I see it.
Why go on the greatest vacation imaginable when you’re just going to end up back home anyway?
Because I don’t want to be remembered or praised after I die, I just want to become my best self in this life.
To have death be my reward at the end if a long and weary struggle against myself
To let fate know it has not defeated me
I will prevail, I will overcome, I must.
I will live because I’m already living and I don’t want to die.
Might as well have fun and live as best as you can in the meantime
> in a few generations you are completely forgotten and like you never even existed?
The point for me is not about being recognised for existing, or remembered. You’re right in that it’s unlikely you will be, and even I am, I don’t care. Myself and everyone I know will be dead in 100 years, so it really doesn’t matter to me what people living then say or don’t say about me, and have never understood people who feel differently.
The point of life is simply to live and have human experiences. That’s it.
Because you might as well. Your life is like a Spotify free trial, you didn’t really ask for it but they’re giving it to you so you might as well use it because it’s free
None, but have to do stuff while we are here because why not.
Point is what we make of it. It’s all a human made up thing
Life is like a burger. A really really good burger. And we’re all eating it. Imagine: Juicy medium-rare quality hand-made patty with juices running out of it with every bite. A sauce that makes your mouth water complemented by tomatoes and lettuce picked from the garden right before the burger was made. And all of it is wrapped between buns made from scratch especially for you, baked with love and attention.
So it’s not a McDonald’s greaseball that someone shat out into a soulless container, but it’s the burger of a lifetime. It’s the burger – that’s your life.
There’s two ways you can approach eating it – either you chew down with gusto and appreciate every single bite, or you wallow in sadness because at one point… it’ll be out. At one point you’ll take your last bite and that’ll be the end of the burger.
Now be honest, does it make sense to be sad about the end of the burger before you’ve even finished eating it? Or does it make sense to welcome that juicy piece of perfection in your mouth and enjoy it to the fullest? If it’s the latter, I’d gladly make you one, if the former, then I’m not going to waste such a divine meal on you.
And the universe is the same – appreciation and gratitude tend to attract good things!
You don’t become a doctor for the sake of it. YOU WANT to become a doctor. You wanna help people, it whats get your dick hard, you are willing to sacrifice things because after it will be worth it. And life might be long might be short, but at least when you are dying you will not have regrets, u will know you lived and did what you wanted.
If that’s what you fear, then work on finding immortality.
As a person who has struggles with the thought of existence, my answer was:
well if i gotta be here, i may as well make it comfortable for myself.
The Matrix: Revolutions (the third movie)
There’s a scene, towards the end of the film, when Neo and Trinity are both in a ship, flying upwards, and they burst through the cloud cover into the open sky.
Trinity sees the sun for the first time, the only time. They float there for just two, three seconds, before plunging back into the eternal darkness.
This is your moment to see the sun. This is it.
You are the universe experiencing itself. We all are.
No advice. Enjoy.
The point is to have some fun while we can
It’s all about scale.
Compress the age of the universe down to a single year, and the entirety of human history from the very first *homo sapiens* to me waiting for the ice cream van to come to my work at 2pm today, would take place between 11:48 and 11:59pm.
Nothing that any of us do today will be of any consequence by the time 12:15am rolls around.
If the earth was the size of a grain of sand, the edge of the observable universe would (currently) be around 100 times further away than the moon is now.
Individually, we are as cosmically insignificant as a grain of sand. We are chronologically insignificant as a picosecond. A man you have probably never heard of, Mansa Musa, is probably the richest person to ever live, with an estimated wealth in excess of $400 billion in today’s money. He was SO rich that he destabilised economies where he travelled by spending so much. He only lived *six hundred years ago*, and yet he’s almost invisible to most of us now.
Meaning cannot be found by what you leave behind, as in all honesty, you leave behind *nothing*. There is no universal meaning of life because on a universal scale, life is meaningless. That’s why you should follow your passion rather than suffer boredom. Do the thing you want to do and be who you want to be, because the only experience you’ll ever have is now, and the only person you’ll ever be is you.
“Life’s too short to even care at all.” – Young the Giant
Life has no inherent meaning. It may at first appear bleak if that’s true.
But think more about that statement. Life has no meaning. Why is that a good thing? Because only if life has no meaning can it have any meaning. You get to choose what your story is about.
Creating something meaningful to yourself and those you wish to share it with despite the odds. Find meaning in the small things of life, become grounded and avoid latching on to trends and whatever the internet collective is freaking out about every day
bc those things are fun
The only thing that matters is that which you tell yourself matters. There is no point. Except for what you feel like is the point
Getting a degree of any kind of absolutely pointless. You get a piece of paper, but you are still just a piece of meat for the grinder – still trapped in the rat race. Sure, you can make a decent living but you will never be free or truly prosperous. It will not in any way give you freedom, peace of mind or happiness.
But that’s what society program us to believe, and as the stupid little animals we are we accept and believe it. It’s nothing wrong with that kind of life. But don’t expect to reach financial freedom until you are very old.
The point is that we get to connect and have relationships with others. Our jobs are just a way of facilitating that. I think we create our own meaning in life. I do this by following the things that evoke emotion in me. I became a death doula because I felt deep emotions being around and helping the dying. I follow these clues to meaning to allow me to go deeper into life. When I stay on the surface everything feels meaningless, but when I go deeper there is a rich tapestry of connection and meaning.
It be like dat I just be roaming around sad asf frfr but then I remember I’m him and it gets slightly better.
People don’t become doctors because they want to use the skills in the afterlife.
They become doctors because they want to be a doctor before they die.
And since they can’t know when they will die, they choose to act as though they’ll live a normal lifespan. So they have decades of time.
It’s up to you how you want to use the time you have on earth. Unless you go off and commit some crimes*, at which point the government gets to choose how you use that time.
* Most people commit crimes (and you may not even realize you’re doing it). Here, I’m talking specifically about the crimes that people care about – which depends on your location, age, gender, sex, race, current date, religion, etc.
Welp, some people say there’s reincarnation and that we’re helping god to know themselves through us. Some also say to do what your intuition tells you to do since that’s where the answer of this incarnation is. Many people supposedly come here to gain consciousness/learn something. Obviously, your free to not believe those ideas, but those are some I’ve read.
Not me
the. problem is that we don’t know when death will come. might as well do what you want to do while you’re stuck here.
Just because something only lasts a blip, does not mean it does not affect eternity.
It’s a big point, more is the pity. We have an inherent laziness in society that biases towards people who can prove themselves on pre-established facts before they get any real field knowledge for want of a few letters in front of a name, rather than saying “hold on: this guy is passionate about his subject, they have some core knowledge, can communicate as we require and their head screwed on. This is something we could hone – give them an apprenticeship.”
An example of this, I have a degree in computer science. I started in 2005. Floppy disks were still in use, Facebook was unheard of and smart phones were in their infancy. Four years later and all the courses are seriously and woefully out of date! So I agree, what IS the point?
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.”
If you are living your life only to benefit yourself and to satisfy only your own needs, desires and ambitions, then, yes, there’s no point to your existence and your life is pretty much meaningless.
Live a life that is a benefit to others and to your community, and not just for yourself and then you can say you have lived a good life and that it was worth it.
The life of the poor man planting trees is worth a lot more than the rich man hoarding wealth in his golden palace.
Because when every endeavor is equally worthless, every endeavor is equally worthy. Or you can read it as, if we’re gonna die anyway, why not do this before dying?
True, but if you can choose between having to sleep outside in winter, or having crazy fun on the deck of a yacht off the coast of some Paradise…. You only get 1 run, make it fun.
You’ve hit the depressing part of nihilism. Welcome!
Here’s the thing: nothing DOES matter. NOTHING. In the grand scheme, every single action you take will have as much or as little impact as every action taken by anyone. The whole of our species cannot meaningfully impact anything beyond our solar system, even if we worked together for generations. We humans are a flash of conscious thinking in a microscopic point in the universe in both time and space.
So why do anything?
Because why not? If none of it matters, then do what you find meaningful to you. Because you are the center of your universe, and the only point that matters to it. Does helping others to heal and feel better bring you happiness? Then study to become a doctor so you can do that better. Does exploring the world and seeing things nobody else has seen feel meaningful to you? Then go explore!
The point is meaning comes from you. If you don’t make meaning, everything is meaningless and nothing matters. If you make meaning, you control what it means and what matters.
There is no point low key, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’s all about perspective.
Arguably I think, even though life is somewhat short, make the best of it as much as possible. You aren’t dead yet, enjoy your life in the present.
Why do you go outside if you’re just going to end up back at home?
Because I enjoy having money
Because if you can get an income, you can buy dumb shit. And damn it if dumb shit doesn’t put a big old smile on my stupid face
Don’t think so cosmically. We’re here right now. Let’s live for ourselves while we are.
Bacon
You want to do it because you want to make people happy, see less people suffering. If your goal is to be seen as succes in the eyes of other people that you will he remembered as someone great you’re going to have a harder time and something you might never achieve either. To me this sounds like something you do for others and not something you really get something out of it because you really care.
One of the great paradoxes of life is that it is both short and long…it is really long if you spend it doing things you hate, because you’re stuck in a shit job, a shit relationship, a shit health situation. Getting degrees are hard but so rewarding…there are truly few things more satisfying than learning…sure party all day and night if you want…see how much that ends up making you happy…become educated, and that’ll help you be around likeminded people, offering stimulating friendships, and interesting challenges that you can solve…dumbasses aren’t really happy, or they wouldn’t have voted for hate…
I still gotta spend the rest of my time being alive, and I’d rather do stuff than not do stuff. Not doing stuff would drive me insane, and also put me on the street.
Also, I don’t live life to be remembered. I’ll be dead! Wtf do I care?
Because even if nothing lasts forever, you’re here now. You get to eat good food, laugh so hard it hurts, fall in love, learn things, heal, mess up, grow. The point isn’t to be remembered forever it’s to live while you’re alive.
Don’t worry about what happens in a few generations. If you want to know why people do stuff like that, give it a shot and see if you end up understanding the appeal
If we all end up at the same finish line, then make the race enjoyable.
It’s not about the length of your life ..but the living you do
Might as well try to do what we love and have a good time while we are here in our meat suits.
Nah you don’t fade to a black screen after death anon the cia had some guys watch a person die and wake up in the astral plane and saw them get reincarnated again it’s declassified.
That’s losers mentality.
>Why try so hard
Already here, might as well while we’re at it
Because I like pizza, and I want to eat more of it.
Why even get out of bed, why grow up, just end it right after birth.
I’m not dead yet, so I’m gonna enjoy it while I can.
Imagine living 70~ years with absolutely nothing. Sure would seem like a loooong time then.
Doctors save lives and get paid very well for it. Lawyers also get paid very well.
Now, being a scientist is rewarding in a different way. Isn’t it interesting learning how the universe is constructed? I think dedicating your life to science is the most rewarding thing a person can do. It’s so fascinating.