What's the point...?

[StealthyGunnar]

Link to original post: [drupal=3200]What's the point...?[/drupal]



Our parents want us to do well in school, study hard, and go to college. My dad has always want me to do well in school. I nearly have a 4.0 GPA and have done well in school all my life, but what's the point?

You go to school, or you skip. You pass, or you don't. You go to college, or you don't. What's the point? We live the lives we live just thinking it's all going to matter later in life. And for what? So, we can live the rest our lives in comfort? How long will it last? We live, and we then die.

What's the point of trying anymore?

 

[황미영]

I would say that doing good in school and going to college will help you get a career. Which in turn helps you get a lot of money and a good life. I mean, money does bring happiness am I right?

 

[StealthyGunnar]

Money brings momentary pleasure, but it will not last.

 

[황미영]

Eh, I say you bring happiness to yourself.

At the moment I'm not in college or anything. I used to be but I didn't really like it. And now I'm going to join the Navy to do something with my life besides the same old thing. But basically with money you can live a stable life and do other things that you can enjoy. Where as if you didn't have the education, one would require two or more jobs to keep a steady life. I would know, since my mom has one job and the help of her parents and the divorce money and shiz. And my dad has two jobs.

I dunno, I'm not good with words. So, I can't write up some powerful message.

 

[Melomaniacal]

Do you have no goals or aspirations for your life?

 

[황미영]

Do you have no goals or aspirations for your life?

What if someone didn't have that. What then?

 

[Reim]

Well I, for an example, just want a job that I'll enjoy. Money isn't the most important factor for me. I just based my college education on what I want to do later in life.

 

[Melomaniacal]

What if someone didn't have that. What then?

If you have goals, then obviously you should pursue them.
If you do not, I think you need to reevaluate what you want in life and try to find something. I would be extremely impressed - and that is a massive understatement - if you could think of absolutely nothing you want to do/see/experience in life.

 

[Jam Stunna]

It's more about quality of life. Nothing lasts forever, and yes, we will all die, but that doesn't mean that having a comfortable life or lots of money or a beautiful family is ultimately pointless. These things matter while you're alive, and being successful at school and work makes achieving those things more likely.

 

[황미영]

If you have goals, then obviously you should pursue them.
If you do not, I think you need to reevaluate what you want in life and try to find something. I would be extremely impressed - and that is a massive understatement - if you could think of absolutely nothing you want to do/see/experience in life.

Well, basically I'm just trying to live a happy life. Even though I'm not doing much, like getting an education or a career. I'm still as happy as I can be.

 

[Melomaniacal]

Well, basically I'm just trying to live a happy life. Even though I'm not doing much, like getting an education or a career. I'm still as happy as I can be.

Well, that's a goal the world shares. It's how you go about achieving happiness that alters from person to person.

If you can be happy without money, that's great. The issue is that it's hard to be happy when you don't know if you'll have enough money to eat next week.

I know we all (me included) like to think "oh, I don't need money to be happy," but realistically... we do. At least to an extent that varies from person to person. I know I don't need to be rich to be happy, and I'm sure you don't either. Some people need millions of dollars to be happy, others don't, but very few can truly say they would be happy and starving to death.

 

[Xiahou Dun]

Why should I eat this delicious sandwich? I will only become hungry again later on anyway.

Never mind, all that really doesn't matter because this sandwich is extremely delicious and something does not have to be infinite everlasting supreme pleasure to be worth doing.

 

[황미영]

Well, that's a goal the world shares. It's how you go about achieving happiness that alters from person to person.

If you can be happy without money, that's great. The issue is that it's hard to be happy when you don't know if you'll have enough money to eat next week.

I know we all (me included) like to think "oh, I don't need money to be happy," but realistically... we do. At least to an extent that varies from person to person. I know I don't need to be rich to be happy, and I'm sure you don't either. Some people need millions of dollars to be happy, others don't, but very few can truly say they would be happy and starving to death.

I know what you mean. Which is why I have a job. ;D (Not trying to boast about anything, it's a ****ty job after all.)

 

[Kewkky]

Why eat, if you're gonna be hungry again? Why rest, if you're gonna get tired again? Why take a bath, if you're gonna get dirty again? Why marry, if you both will die eventually?

Truth is, life is not about progress... It's about results. We as rational human beings, strive to gain these results and some pleasure from them. From what I can tell, you're only 1/4 through your life right now (~20 years)... You still have 3/4 of your life ahead of you, expecting to reap the ripened fruits of your labor right now is impossible.

To reach a goal, you must first satisfy the criteria. Do you want to be NOT dirty? You have to take a bath, then you'll be clean. Do you want to be NOT hungry? You have to eat a sandwich, then you'll be full. Do you want to be NOT tired? You have to rest, then you'll be full of energy. Do you want to be NOT alone? You have to marry someone you love, then you'll have a family.

It's not the process we strive for, but the results. Questioning why we have to go through the process before achieving results isn't why life is about. To feel the pleasure we get from a goal achieved, we first must sacrifice something to reach it. If you could have everything you ever wanted, you would be bored... I mean, where's the fun in that? It's the thrill of finally achieving what you want through hard work that makes you enjoy life to it's fullest...

So, man, I tell you this: keep studying, get a job, marry someone and have kids, then look back to this day, to the topic you made here in SWF... You'll laugh at how young you were back then, and be happy that you went through all of the trouble to gain the great life you have.

 

[jivegamer]

...marry someone and have kids...

You don't...have to have kids to be happy necessarily. You might even be happier not having children. You want to make sure you can provide them with a good life before you make a decision to bring them into this world. Just think before making such a big decision...

...back to the topic. You basically have to have goals that you use to bring satisfaction in your life, like Kewkky said. It's also important to keep in mind that the choices you make will affect those around you even after your material existence has ended. If you're well educated, you can make more of a difference in any number of areas. You could make a scientific discovery that makes life easier for everyone, or you could become politically influential and make policy decisions that affect generations to come. All of our actions have long-standing consequences, so don't think that anything you do is useless just because you'll cease to exist one day.

...to put it another way, just because all that is solid melts into air doesn't mean that we can't change the way the wind blows

 

[El Nino]

Link to original post: [drupal=3200]What's the point...?[/drupal]



Our parents want us to do well in school, study hard, and go to college. My dad has always want me to do well in school. I nearly have a 4.0 GPA and have done well in school all my life, but what's the point?

You go to school, or you skip. You pass, or you don't. You go to college, or you don't. What's the point? We live the lives we live just thinking it's all going to matter later in life. And for what? So, we can live the rest our lives in comfort? How long will it last? We live, and we then die.

What's the point of trying anymore?

There's a saying about the consequences of "making adequate money," but I forgot how it goes.

If your parents have been making enough money to afford you certain comforts, then I wonder if you have ever had to go hungry for a long period of time. If not, you wouldn't see the value of "living comfortably." It becomes like air. One doesn't know what it's worth until it's gone.

If you seek motivation, one method of finding it would be to throw yourself out into the world on your own and try to make it work. Try working 60 hrs a week on minimum wage, and see how far you can go. Maybe you'll go far. Hunger is one h*ll of a motivator.

 

[Ciro67]

There is no point. Why would I want to live if its just full of depression and loneliness.

Am I just prolonging what will happen anyway and should just go now? Or should I do something useful if I'm gonna die like join the army.

 

[Ciro67]

Do you have no goals or aspirations for your life?

There's nothing to achieve. Life is pointless.

 

[StealthyGunnar]

I do have goals - I want to help change the world for the better.

And as for there being any point in existing, one can only speculate. I'm not going to bring religion into this, though I am and have always been a Christian. Thanks for all the replies. I just wanted to see what some of you on smashboards thought.

 

[Snail]

Things can only be useful in relation to other things... Life is the only thing we will ever experience so it's quite strange to be looking for a "purpose" or "point" to life - isn't life the only purpose itself, the highest achievable goal? It's all there is; what could possibly be a purpose to the only thing in existence? Something would need to exist external to life, but as life is the very precondition that enables us to perceive anything, wouldn't such a thing, if it exists, be beyond our reach?

/crappy philosophy

I think the "point" to school, college, society, everything we do - is to prolong life (and preferably with as little suffering as possible).

But if you're struggling with these kinds of questions, you might want to read into existentialism (Sartre, Nietzsche, Camus). I found it quite interesting : )

 

[_Keno_]

Ahahaha, I actually made a thread with this very same name on a different forum a few months ago. My problem was that nothing had absolute purpose, and I found that my viewpoint on life and meaning is already a type of philosophy called Existentialism. Snail has already given you some names for reading into. I also suggest you look into it.

Same with you, Ciro.

 

[Insetick]

Maybe there isn't any true meaning or purpose to existence. However, most people including myself try to create meaning in their lives by creating goals.

If you give up on this world, then you're only hurting yourself.

 

[§witch]

HIGH FIVE FOR NIHILISM

wooooooooo

 

[zifn15]

When it comes to the idea of finding meaning in life I like what Joseph Campbell said on the subject.

First he posed the question "what is the meaning in a flower?" the answer. By itself it has no meaning but when placed in context with the other organisms and life around it then its meaning and purpose in life begins to emerge. That's at least one way to think about the meaning of a human life. Taken out of the context of history and society and the impact that one life has on so many other people and animals and other life the life is meaningless but in that context each life has a purpose and does have meaning.

These are just the ideas I subscribe to tho

 

[Majority]

Why should I eat this delicious sandwich? I will only become hungry again later on anyway.

Never mind, all that really doesn't matter because this sandwich is extremely delicious and something does not have to be infinite everlasting supreme pleasure to be worth doing.

Honestly, this was extremely well said.

 

[Xiahou Dun]

I do have goals - I want to help change the world for the better.

That's not a goal.

That's a bumper sticker.

Grow up.

 

[#HBC | Acrostic]

I think that every minute matters in your life, my life, and the life of everyone who surrounds us. God gave us the ability to have free will. We are free to make decisions and choose how we affect the people around us. We can make the people we meet on a daily basis miserable or ecstatic. Whenever I feel lonely, what's stopping me from making new friends, exploring new places, and lazing in the sun? To be honest, no one is really stopping you. If it costs you a homework assignment, a quiz, or a test who cares? The only reason why those things are important to you is because you make them important to you and you value them. At any time you can rewrite the pages of your future in any way you want. It can be disorderly or cohesive, traditional or creative, & religious or secular.

It's great that you want to help the world. I'm content with just helping my family and friends. I volunteer at a hospital but I do that because it makes me happy when I help sick patients. If hospitals aren't your type of deal then try soup kitchens or Habitat for Humanity. Nobody is being picky. Do what you want the way you want to do it. Live life the way you want to live it.

Sure. Life is fleeting, but if life is short then you might as well go out with a bang. When you die, that might be it. You might be asleep forever and do nothing for the rest of eternity. Or you might be in heaven with God or hell with Satan. It sounds boring either way. The only thing you know, I know, and everyone else knows is that we exist now. If you're bored make life interesting. If you're depressed make life happier. If you're a mess then throw away the junk and straighten out priorities. Life is tough but it's one hell of a game. Don't throw it away.

 

[Suspect]

Someone put this kid on suicide watch

edit: If you are a Christian why in the hell did you ask this Question? Im not taking that "Oh i just wanted to see what other people thought" as a answer

*drinks a bleach martini*

 

[RATED]

just live however u want as long as u don't hurt others in any way.

Cash : u seem like a person that had lived "meeting other people expectations" , IMO stop doing that. I am getting college education by the moment and even though I still have left 3 years( my last year of bachellor and 2 years of masters) I know that " studying at school by almost 12 years , by then getting to college like 5 or 6 years and then WORK WORK WORK is BORING as hell! but I suggest u to study bcuz in these times , living without a college thingy is kinda hard.

Study whatever u think that would make u happy to learn about, make a life out of it.

 

[Kewkky]

You don't...have to have kids to be happy necessarily.

It was an example. :embarrass

It would make ME happy having a wife and children. Or can I only use universal statements and not my own wishes as examples? >_>

 

[PassWurD]

Think positive maaaan.

 

[StealthyGunnar]

That's not a goal.

That's a bumper sticker.

Grow up.

Grow up? I don't intend to grow up faster than I need to - I am 15 -_-

And if you're not excepting "Oh, I just wanted to see what other people would say" as an answer than please leave. I just want to know what my fellow peers are thinking. This isn't meant to be so serious.

 

[Sucumbio]

Doc Holliday: What do you want Wyatt?
Wyatt Earp: Just to live a normal life.
Doc Holliday: There is no normal life, Wyatt, there's just life, ya live it.
Wyatt Earp: I don't know how.
Doc Holliday: Sure ya do, say goodbye to me, go grab that spirited actress and make her your own. Take that spirit from her and don't look back. Live every second, live right on through to the end. Live Wyatt, live for me. Wyatt, if you were ever my friend... if ya ever had even the slightest of feelin' for me, leave now, leave now... please.
Wyatt Earp: Thanks for always being there, Doc.

Always jerks a tear, that scene.

I like the point that there is no point but the point itself. >.> yeah. As doc et al basically say, the point of life is to live. -how- you live is the question, not why...

 

[Sterowent]

i think it's more about why you live, really. i mean, people keep bringing up goals and aspirations, but what if the goal is not obtainable through any means your society offers? everybody is looking for happiness, or at least looking in a direction revolving around happiness - such as the absence of it, the events towards achieving it, or the preservation of it -, but what if happiness isn't the goal? what if the 'why' of living is directly obstructive to the 'why' of your peers? only when we understand 'why' can we understand 'where' and then 'how'.

ohhh, this is fun.

 

[mountain_tiger]

I do have goals - I want to help change the world for the better.

And as for there being any point in existing, one can only speculate. I'm not going to bring religion into this, though I am and have always been a Christian. Thanks for all the replies. I just wanted to see what some of you on smashboards thought.

[COLOR="#FFCBA"]Saying you want to 'change the world for the better' is very vague. How exactly do you plan to make the world better, and in what ways?

Suicide isn't recommended if you can help it, but really it should be the choice of the individual whether or not they decide to end their life. If someone wants to use it as a comfort mechanism or feels that life isn't worth living, then I don't see what the problem with it is...[/COLOR]

 

[StealthyGunnar]

[COLOR="#FFCBA"]Saying you want to 'change the world for the better' is very vague. How exactly do you plan to make the world better, and in what ways?

Suicide isn't recommended if you can help it, but really it should be the choice of the individual whether or not they decide to end their life. If someone wants to use it as a comfort mechanism or feels that life isn't worth living, then I don't see what the problem with it is...[/COLOR]

In case everyone wants to know, I am not going to commit suicide. lol.

In any case, I did want to do something with math and science - scientist. I would be the noble scientist who found the cure for cancer!

 

[#HBC | Acrostic]

In case everyone wants to know, I am not going to commit suicide. lol.

In any case, I did want to do something with math and science - scientist. I would be the noble scientist who found the cure for cancer!

Doesn't work that way. Give it five years. Then re-evaluate.

 

[Suspect]

such a hypocritical christian

 

[Mewter]

such a hypocritical christian

Wah....?
Keep that out of here.

Anyways, you're here. You're alive. Do something about it.
Oh, and don't expect to find the cure for cancer that easily. Especially as one of thousands of other "noble" scientists you'll undoubtedly meet.

 

[#HBC | Acrostic]

The shimmy: Professors in fields such as chemistry, physics, engineering, molecular biology, and so forth don't earn a justifiable amount of money for their hard work and intelligence. There is no set time frame for obtaining a PhD. It could take anywhere from four to nine years depending on the immensity of the project being worked on for the research paper. During that time period, professional degrees such as a JD only takes three years and professions such as litigation have a potential yield of 150,000-200,000 from the get go. While you attempt to struggle to find the cure for cancer, your classmates could be financially independent, married, and helping out their family with their problems while you are still begging mom and dad for a check to cover for next month's allowance.

Additionally there is more that goes into research than just academic knowledge. Researchers have to obtain funding from organizations and corporations in order to sponsor their research. Even though you might have something extremely pertinent, it may get shot down because you can't generate early results and can't make the deadline. In addition, you will get sidetracked with teaching undergraduates and dealing with master students along with a number of other projects. If you are successful and manage to have a completed product, then you will have to go through the FDA, EPA, and numerous other federal regulatory agencies to test the effectiveness of your product. In order to pay for the tests you may need to market to drug companies and have them back your product up. In the testing phase, it is possible that your drug will have adverse effects on ill patients. Some of them might develop heart burn or arthritis. Sometimes this exchange is a trade-off in order to save their life, but the question remains whether or not you could have done more research to create a better cure. When it comes time to apply your cure it may be marketed at prices that no one can afford because the drug company is trying to earn it's money back. It could no longer be the cure you wanted.

At the end of the day you might return to your modest university housing arrangement and five-figure salary with nothing to show for it. At the end of the day you might have killed a patient because the drug had adverse effects to their allergy. At the end of the day you might just wonder what would have happened if you chose another job. Then you'll wonder what is the meaning in even bothering. But you'll drown it out in a bottle of Remy Martin and wake up the next day to give it another go. Because everyone suffers drawbacks and gets depressed. It's just that when you try to tackle Moby Dick, failures are a dime a dozen. You might be old and lonely. How many other people can you relate to with your level of scientific knowledge and intelligence? It doesn't get girls at the bar, but they might want free samples of your wonder drug.