What is the point of being alive if life has no inherent meaning? If nothing lasts, if everything we build, feel, or become is eventually erased by time or death,then what justifies continuing? If there’s no final reward, no objective purpose, then why keep going? Why go to work, build relationships, chase dreams, when the end is the same for everyone and everything?
People often say we should create our own meaning but if the universe is indifferent, if nothing we do matters beyond our own limited experience, then what makes life special? Why not end it entirely, if life itself leads nowhere?
If life is inherently meaningless, why don’t we just end it? Why do we keep holding on to it, even when there’s clearly no reason to?
Ps. I’m not suicidal, genuinely asking to get an answer
Comments
Life doesn’t have to have meaning for me to enjoy things.
Why does there have to be a point? Do you only do things because there is a specifically reason behind it or for it to matter? You could just live to do what you want, nothing is wrong with that.
I enjoy the fun parts of existence, so I try and pursue them.
Get off Reddit and see a mental health professional.
Life leads nowhere but atleast im destroying booties for the time being so thats a +1 for me.
Life has as much meaning as you give it. So make it a good one.
It’s about the journey, not the destination.
Life doesn’t lead to another place, it leads to a another time. It is not about you, it’s about us. Go out and meet some nice person and have a nice time.
Because the journey is unknown and there may be love and laughter.
No one said u have to
Maybe left field and not what you’re after but if you haven’t already, I suggest listening or reading some philosophers who discuss these questions in their works. There’s a lot of really fantastic people who’ve had a go at explain why we human beings keep surviving and continuing to choose to live. Someone like Kierkegaard introduced the idea of existentialism, which is a interesting place to start with how you may be feeling
First existential crisis?
Just because life doesn’t have inherent meaning doesn’t mean it can’t have immense value.
This is the central question of Absurdist philosopher Albert Camus’ book The Myth of Sisyphus. He compares human existence to the mythological Greek king who was punished by the gods to forever roll a stone up a mountain, only to always have it slip from his grasp and he must start again. In such a condition, why keep rolling? How do we live an authentic life in this absurd situation?
I recommend you read it. It’s too nuanced to summarize on a Reddit post but some takeaways to think about: 1) Ultimately suicide does not solve the problem of existence, it just avoids it. 2) The act of living itself, even if it seems futile, has meaning. Enough meaning to fill up a life.
Hello, /u/MynameisnotCassandra! Unfortunately, questions about suicide are not allowed on NoStupidQuestions. Asking how to kill yourself is never allowed on Reddit. Not even if you’re ‘writing a book’. Your question has been removed pending review by a human moderator.
Maybe you’re not suicidal but had a question about the psychology behind suicide and intrusive thoughts? You can ask on /r/psychopathology.
You might also be interested in some common suicide FAQs:
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
“Life is the pursuit of purpose.”
For each person that will be for them to discover.
nobody has a satisfactory answer to this. i feel the same. will end it anytime without regrets
This feels exactly how I’m feeling let me know if you find an answer
if you genuinely think life is meaningless then you might as-well try to pick up religion buy a bible and if after reading just one page u feel this way then stop reading
Why eat if you’ll just need to eat again? Why sleep if you’re going to need to sleep again? Why do something you enjoy now if you’ll die decades later?
I mean, if the issue is that nothing in the moment appeals to you… that sounds like depression and that should be the first thing you address. But I fail to see where pleasure in the moment translates to meaningless even if the fate of the entire cosmos is heat death in the long run.
You are alive for a reason
the saying is “the route is the goal” heheh amen
besides that not everything needs a meaning/goal/prize to be valuable. you say u dont need a professional but following ur train of thoughts u are in some kind of existencial crisis.. lul whatever not everything needs a professional
Bro we‘re just a bunch of cells and had luck with the DNA. You‘re way overshooting our meaning – who gives a shit. Find things you enjoy and have fun.
For the moments. For joy. Yes, for sadness too. For other people. For the pure joy of being alive. Why does it matter that it won’t stay? It’s there right now.
Why eat icecream if you won’t always get to eat icecream?
Why watch a movie if it’s going to end anyway?
I’m an optimistic nihilist. I think life has zero meaning.
But that’s freeing! do anything you want to you’re here now, and the end is inevitable.
What would make you happy? What would be your perfect life?
Determine how to get there. Start step by step getting there.
Every step toward your goal will feel good and make you happy, if even only for a short time. The closer you get, the happier you will be. Soon you’ll feel happier all the time. Eventually, you’ll reach that goal. A happy life.
Life doesn’t lead nowhere. It’s up to YOU to live your life in a meaningful way.
Have you never been in love?
First comment really nails it: so we have an existence. You can make it great, or not. You can enjoy things that life has to offer. Be it family, friends, food, or whatever. One of my best experiences, other than seeing my kids born, was seeing the eclipse of the sun — something I had been waiting for my entire life, and got to see it last April, and damn, it didn’t disappoint.
You can also argue just helping people, or having a job that increases someone’s enjoyment. And you enjoy things they provide, music, movies, literature, etc. Not to mention impressive sights, like Niagara Falls, for example.
For religious people, of course, it’s different. However, your question, in its nature, is religious, as you can’t make sense of a world where one is born then eventually dies – all for basically nothing. Most religions teach that this isn’t normal, and isn’t the way God (or whoever) intended.
If you are a hardcore atheist, and have no belief in a higher power, then re-read the first two paragraphs – and try to get the enjoyment out of those things – and bring joy to people.
>Why choose life if it leads nowhere?
It should lead somewhere.
>If nothing lasts, if everything we build, feel, or become is eventually erased by time or death,then what justifies continuing?
Because some things are worthwhile in the moment. If you do something fun today, and enjoy it, your eventual death in 50 years or whatever doesn’t nullify the value of that.
I’m not sure what else you would expect. What’s your standard for something being meaningful? Is it a good standard?
That’s the point, you need to appreciate the good times because they’ll end, not in spite of that
Read: Bhagvat Geeta
The real life is the life you lifed along the life
You find your own meaning. Find something you love to do, someone you love to do it with, and do as much of that as you can. It doesn’t need to be any bigger or grander than that.
From the second you gained consciousness you were put on a ticking clock. Make the most of that time.
>What is the point of being alive if life has no inherent meaning?
Meaning to who? Why does it need meaning at all?
Why not ? If anything makes you wanna try different things and experience as much in whatever this else it’s gonna all end anyway
Don’t over think it or think too hard about the macro, cosmic view of the universe. Focus on having a good life, being a decent person and enjoying yourself.
NSQ has been extra suicidal lately.
The point of life is to live!
While you are alive you have no other choice but to live. And make choices. And cry. And smile and be aware of things.
You could end it all but that would be missing the point, which is to squirm around as much as you can while you are able, to experience things to the fullest of your abilities.
Appreciate how great it is that life meaningless and go do whatever you want. Go skydiving, go fight for freedom, go party, or do whatever. Just feel alive. Get really into it.
I recommend reading the Stranger by Camus. The protagonist of that book goes through your line of questioning and is depressed/nihilistic but at the end he comes to the conclusion I present to you now.
You’re correct. Life is absurd, and there isn’t a good reason to continue it.
However… might as well? I mean, if you’re not in constant pain with a terminal diagnosis, might as well make the best of the absurdity.
I’m a homeless veteran with no prospects and I’m not likely to amount to anything. I often ask myself this question. Already speaking to a psychologist weekly, but it’s not what addresses that question. Because, if my life ended, my psychologist would just get a fresh patient and move on.
But, might as well keep going until it’s too painful. Life is relatively peaceful for me most of the time. Life is mundane and I’m generally existing just to exist until, one day, I get to see my kids again and tell them all the shit I’ve been through
Personally, I take a very lazy approach to this sort of question.
Sometimes you just gotta embrace your inner monkey-brain 🙂
well i would say its to create life as u want to live it.
Your chance of being born in the first place is 1 in 400 trillion. That’s pretty rad. I already won the lottery, might as well have fun while I can 🙂
You get to be an animate object in the universe for a spit of time. Make the most of it. Build something. Be amused. Destroy. The choices are yours, and THAT’S the beauty of it. You get to be whatever you want for a bit, before you go back to being a mix of atoms and energy out in the abyss.
It’s the journey, not the destination
At times, I wish I could be known outside of my family and friends. But it doesn’t matter, as long as I am enjoying my life. And I am. At 52, I’m the happiest I’ve ever remembered. Amazing partner, kids are all doing well, my job is ok (can I really expect more there?). I can’t imagine leaving. My parents are getting older, and frailer, and it does scare me that they will not be here much longer. I can’t imagine my kids at my age worried about me, or sooner.
Enjoy what you have. Enjoy the time you have, it’s not getting any longer, that’s for sure.
For me I know I am gonna die sooner or later but I’d rather die later and enjoy things I want in life small or big before having to face the music. Every day being capable of doing even the smallest things I enjoy is a blessing in my opinion: Drinking coffee, laying on a comfy bed, having a laugh with friend and family… None of these are precious becouse they last but they’re precious in their own right becouse they simply feel good. Why wouldnt you wanna watch a movie just becouse you knew it was going to end?
Let me ask the counter question.
If some grand celestial being assigned you a meaning, a purpose, would that be enough for you?
I find great comfort in the idea that there is no grand plan, life is what we make of it.
Sure, I’m building a sandcastle that’s going to be washed away when the tide comes in. Doesn’t change that it’s going to be Awesome.
you asked the question in the most valuable way, I completely agree with you.
Learn to give
Bros on his nihilism journey, respect.
What precedes reason?
Why choose death when it also leads nowhere?
Life is all you have and death is always coming anyway. Why would I choose to end the one and only thing I have early? Why does life need some eternal purpose? You’re alive now, might as well just try to enjoy it and see it to its natural end.
I get enjoyment out of experiencing life right now, that’s all that matters.
The only reason you exist today to even be able to ask this question.. is because generations upon generations upon generations upon generations of other humans before you committed themselves to build things that would outlast them.
You probably don’t know a single name of someone who helped build the pyramids. You probably don’t know a single name of the average frontier explorers who went West across America. You probably don’t know a single name of the workers who paved the street outside your house or installed the water or sewer pipes mostly hidden under your house.
But all of those people helped build and maintain and evolve society up to the point where we could achieve the things we achieve today.
So I don’t buy that “it leads to nowhere”. It maybe “We dont’ yet know where it leads”. We could stumble into AGI or advanced robotics in the next 10 to 20 years,. and the only way we got there is because of 100’s or 1000’s of years of people before us who lifted us up to get there.
It’s not the destination it’s the journey. It’s your responsibility to use whatever influence you have over your own trip to make it worthwhile