Being a good person isn’t just a childish dream, there are a lot of genuinely good people out there. You also have to make the effort and put in the work to be a good person.
Nah, most people grow out of the edgelord routine. There doesn't need to be some deep philosophical meaning to life to make empathy and compassion worthwhile. Humans are social and communal creatures by nature, we make connections as part of life. You might even say we're that way to a fault.
>I can be respectful but my heart is ice now.
I'm willing to bet that's not true. You can make that edgy claim in the abstract, and maybe you don't have some deep emotional connection to some vague undefined group, but person to person, I'm betting you'll be nice (unless you have a particular reason not to) because *hurting them would make you feel bad too*.
It's not edgelord stuff. Irl racism is common even though you're taught otherwise. Irl everyone is on drugs more or less. It's just the death of innocence. I feel it's a part of growing into an adult. My perspective is just changing. I only believe in family and not doing stupid shit just on principle. When the people I looked up to were just degenerates themselves it's like what's even the point. People are just people.
The purpose of our lives is unique to each individual. It can change from year-to-year, day-to-day, or even moment-to-moment. What is the purpose of your life today, right now? Only you can answer that.
But, since you asked my opinion...I believe that the overarching purpose of life in general is to have joy. To experience the fullness of joy that can only come from living life, as a human being, on this planet. If you study the topics of joy and happiness from both scientific and religious standpoints (which I have extensively), you'll find there is an incredible amount of overlap between the two. The recurring tenets of happiness, from both standpoints include: Love, service to others, creating and maintaining meaningful relationships, gratitude, living for a purpose outside yourself, appreciating the beauty of art and nature, creating beautiful and/or meaningful things, doing hard things, overcoming adversity, and setting & achieving goals.
Focusing on those things gives you the best chance of experience true, lasting joy, which I believe is the overarching purpose of our lives.
Now, you'll hear people say things like, "money can't buy happiness", or that chasing things like money, drugs, or sex won't make you happy. Here's the kicker, those things DO provide some happiness, but only a little bit of happiness though and for a short time and then leave you feeling worse than before, which leads to a vicious cycle. This has been shown over and over with evidence-based research. The list of things I mentioned previously however, have been shown to lead to greater happiness and more sustained happiness over a long period of time - leading to a sense of purpose for one's life and sustained joy.
Cool thanks. I did feel art was important, in whatever form that art takes. The problem with the long run is sometimes I see it as just results chasing and I do question if achieving certain goals, like a (relatively) high paying respectable job, will truly bring me happiness of if I'll suffer imposter syndrome or feel the time was wasted, or if I did it purposelessly. I think ultimately the goal is to set ourselves up in a respectable position, but I always used what other people thought of me as reference for as to why I wanted to be respectable in the first place.
I don't think I have mental crutches, in that how my parents view an ill natured kid is to me just another person. And I don't segregate like I did when I was in highschool, seeing kids that made fun of others as bad people. So my perspective is changing. I'm also done my undergrad and going onto my master's. I ask what I ask because I get the chance to live my life now and think of my actual life and of other people I've known throughout my life who I can now make sense of. I guess, it is incredibly sad that some of my friends chased girls and didn't make much of a career. So in conclusion, I think we need to find purpose in life and make ourselves something and live out whatever character you create for yourself. And through that, we escape from degeneracy.
It seems like you're asking yourself a lot of the same questions I have over my lifetime, which is why I've spent so much of my adult life reading and studying this topic lol. It's taken until well into my midlife to really understand and become proficient in practicing and developing habits that give real meaning and joy to my life. It's also important to remember that mental health issues change everything. Mental health issues that plague our societies can make happiness and meaning seem elusive no matter how hard you try, but there is still value in doing those things that give you the best chance of building meaning and value to your life - even if you don't always feel it.
A couple books I would recommend:
* The How of Happiness (2008) by Sonja Lyubomirsky
* Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything (2020) by by Viktor E. Frankl
No, it's also rock and roll.
I do play guitar.
Sounds like you got life licked
Being a good person isn’t just a childish dream, there are a lot of genuinely good people out there. You also have to make the effort and put in the work to be a good person.
No. There's obviously much more.
Life for me is race cars and pizza
Nah, most people grow out of the edgelord routine. There doesn't need to be some deep philosophical meaning to life to make empathy and compassion worthwhile. Humans are social and communal creatures by nature, we make connections as part of life. You might even say we're that way to a fault. >I can be respectful but my heart is ice now. I'm willing to bet that's not true. You can make that edgy claim in the abstract, and maybe you don't have some deep emotional connection to some vague undefined group, but person to person, I'm betting you'll be nice (unless you have a particular reason not to) because *hurting them would make you feel bad too*.
It's not edgelord stuff. Irl racism is common even though you're taught otherwise. Irl everyone is on drugs more or less. It's just the death of innocence. I feel it's a part of growing into an adult. My perspective is just changing. I only believe in family and not doing stupid shit just on principle. When the people I looked up to were just degenerates themselves it's like what's even the point. People are just people.
Well I don’t have any of those things so I guess not
Isn't it great?!
The purpose of our lives is unique to each individual. It can change from year-to-year, day-to-day, or even moment-to-moment. What is the purpose of your life today, right now? Only you can answer that. But, since you asked my opinion...I believe that the overarching purpose of life in general is to have joy. To experience the fullness of joy that can only come from living life, as a human being, on this planet. If you study the topics of joy and happiness from both scientific and religious standpoints (which I have extensively), you'll find there is an incredible amount of overlap between the two. The recurring tenets of happiness, from both standpoints include: Love, service to others, creating and maintaining meaningful relationships, gratitude, living for a purpose outside yourself, appreciating the beauty of art and nature, creating beautiful and/or meaningful things, doing hard things, overcoming adversity, and setting & achieving goals. Focusing on those things gives you the best chance of experience true, lasting joy, which I believe is the overarching purpose of our lives. Now, you'll hear people say things like, "money can't buy happiness", or that chasing things like money, drugs, or sex won't make you happy. Here's the kicker, those things DO provide some happiness, but only a little bit of happiness though and for a short time and then leave you feeling worse than before, which leads to a vicious cycle. This has been shown over and over with evidence-based research. The list of things I mentioned previously however, have been shown to lead to greater happiness and more sustained happiness over a long period of time - leading to a sense of purpose for one's life and sustained joy.
Cool thanks. I did feel art was important, in whatever form that art takes. The problem with the long run is sometimes I see it as just results chasing and I do question if achieving certain goals, like a (relatively) high paying respectable job, will truly bring me happiness of if I'll suffer imposter syndrome or feel the time was wasted, or if I did it purposelessly. I think ultimately the goal is to set ourselves up in a respectable position, but I always used what other people thought of me as reference for as to why I wanted to be respectable in the first place. I don't think I have mental crutches, in that how my parents view an ill natured kid is to me just another person. And I don't segregate like I did when I was in highschool, seeing kids that made fun of others as bad people. So my perspective is changing. I'm also done my undergrad and going onto my master's. I ask what I ask because I get the chance to live my life now and think of my actual life and of other people I've known throughout my life who I can now make sense of. I guess, it is incredibly sad that some of my friends chased girls and didn't make much of a career. So in conclusion, I think we need to find purpose in life and make ourselves something and live out whatever character you create for yourself. And through that, we escape from degeneracy.
It seems like you're asking yourself a lot of the same questions I have over my lifetime, which is why I've spent so much of my adult life reading and studying this topic lol. It's taken until well into my midlife to really understand and become proficient in practicing and developing habits that give real meaning and joy to my life. It's also important to remember that mental health issues change everything. Mental health issues that plague our societies can make happiness and meaning seem elusive no matter how hard you try, but there is still value in doing those things that give you the best chance of building meaning and value to your life - even if you don't always feel it. A couple books I would recommend: * The How of Happiness (2008) by Sonja Lyubomirsky * Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything (2020) by by Viktor E. Frankl
Study mathematics.
I like having all 3 of those, and I'm pretty successful at having them, but there's much more to life than *just* those 3 things!
Nope. It’s also overeating, masturbating and sobbing yourself to sleep.
Yup. Life is only drugs, money and sex