Your life philosophy, why you exist, and what you live for

[GeorgW]

I hate humanity, am an absurdist, I live every day out of curiosity and to make my GF happy (if I stopped I think she'd mind). I exist to save humanity, I just don't know how or why yet.
Also, the only redeeming quality of the universe is love, everything else should be destroyed.

 

[Scarecrow]

The world is garbage! All that matters is my art!

 

[Duck Sandwich]

I continue to exist in order to achieve my ultimate goals in life - to improve myself in my areas of interest (mixed martial arts, physical fitness, rock climbing, my career path in the radio business) and to lend whatever help I can to others along the way. I want to ensure that the world (or at least a few people living in it) is better off than it would be if I didn't exist.

A lot of what I live for can be summed up by the following quote from Ryu (Street Fighter)
"Every moment gives us a chance to become more than what we are."

I'm always trying to improve myself, both on-air and in the ring. The thrill of overcoming a tough challenge - seeing how far I've come and knowing that my hard work is paying off is, for me, the greatest feeling that I can experience.

And nothing gives me that feeling more than sparring with an opponent who's evenly matched with me, when we're both fighting at our best, pushing ourselves to our limits. That is what I live for.

My own philosophy on life(if you could even call it that)is almost entirely rooted in my belief that I don't matter, so I don't place expectations on myself...and I don't stress about anything. It's incredibly freeing. I know people who are desperately trying to achieve things, they don't seem too happy...and they aren't aging too well. Seriously, looking haggard at 24? What the hell!? They resent me because I am single, work a minimum wage job, and am permanently happy.

You bring up an interesting point. It contrasts very much with my own. I do have an obsession with trying to achieve things, but it gives me a focus in life. Over the christmas holidays, I've been staying back home with my parents, and several things that occupied my schedule (my part-time job, college, MMA training) have been absent from my life. Without those things, my once-fairly-busy schedule has been nearly emptied, and I'm just not as happy as I was before.

Similar to what you described, there is that brief feeling of "Man, it's awesome that I've achieved what I've set out to do" followed soon by "Okay, time to achieve something even bigger than what I was happy with before," but each achievement feels more awesome than the one before it.

 

[kaljtgg]

I live in the pursuit of knowledge, nothing makes me happier than knowing something I did not know a moment before.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Why I exist is easy to answer of course; mum and dad screwed, resulted in me.

As for the rest, fuck if I know, I have nothing of the sorts. I just continue to exist but as it is right now I don't give a shit whether I do or not, lost pretty much everything I really care about. No dreams or anything, barely any self-appreciation beyond the superficial and no drive to do anything.

Oh sure I'm well-fed, clothed, provided with luxurious entertainment and all that, so there's no need for that "spoiled brat think about them Third World kiddies" but on the inside I'm empty, hollowed out.

Sorry to bring the thread down. I've been having professional help for about a year now I guess, hasn't done me anything good yet.

 

[Lyx]

I do not live for something else. I am because i like my existence and what i can do with it.

(Translation: Wrong question for my case)

 

[UltraDeth]

I don't really have any dreams or aspirations. Games are really the only thing I'm good at in my life.

 

[AquaAscension]

It wasn't until reading this that I began to realize I don't have much of a purpose at the moment. There isn't a single driving force right now for why I'm alive. This is not sad though.

What I think it comes down to is even though, right now, my life seems purposeless, it's because I've allowed it to get that way. I also think, as I look back on some of my experiences, one of my huge motivators for living, breathing, eating for energy was to educate people and/or talk to them in some way that would ideally make their lives better.

I wrote poetry mostly when I had a purpose (i.e. a social group of people I hung out with). I played music for people, organized get togethers for people, taught people through volunteering my time as a poet and a speaker. Hmmm... Well, this has helped solidify my new year's resolutions. So thanks I suppose.

I exist to make the world a better place.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

I live for finding a reason to live, pretty much. That make sense? I think it does.

 

[kfwanderer]

To answer such a big question, I first have to state this fact:

The human brain takes in and processes four hundred billion pieces of information every second. Four hundred BILLION. Not thousand. Not million. But 400,000,000,000.

That said, humans are only aware of about two thousand per second. Two thousand out of four... hundred... billion. That means for every two hundred million pieces of information that my brain processes, I'm only aware of one.

And THAT means that we, as humans miss almost thirteen years of experiences every second we live. It means we're spiritually and mentally blind. What are we missing? What could we know, if we were only more aware? Would we be aware of the thoughts and feelings of others? The ability to see the future? To control energy? Manipulate time? Matter? Space? Would we hear the voice of God?

As big as these concepts are, they can't make up for the vast enormity of information that we are, for some reason, programmed to ignore in our own heads. And I dedicate my life to trying to uncover as much of that information as possible. I study the martial arts mostly, as my method to do this. It is, in fact, why martial arts were made in the first place. I also study meditative techniques and various philosophies and ways of thinking.

Results have been enlightening. And sometimes unsettling. But I'd recommend it to anyone who feels unfulfilled in their lives, when they can't figure out what's missing.

If you want to know what it feels like to be aware of all that, consult a authistic person. They are so introvert because they can't handle all the information that comes their way. they have not learned to filter, and each bt of information that comes through is as important as any other. True, you can make yourself more perceptive by training, and can probably handle it, but all the information that we miss, is missed because it doesn't let a human live efficient. From an evolutional standpoint, that is. Maybe it's actually what enlightment means. I wouldn't know.

You could very well be right, and probably are to some degree. But I also feel that there are certain aspects of reality that we very much need to be aware of as a species, and I think that, perhaps, we're stagnating somewhat as a result of NOT being more aware. It's just my opinion, and by no means am I trying to state such as fact. But this was a thread about our own personal viewpoints, and that's mine.

 

[Cobbs]

Id like to think i can make the world a better place somehow, but deep down i know that i wont be able to make that much of a difference. However i dont think that will stop me.
Yeah that works

 

[Hiikuro]

What is the reason you live everyday, the ideal that drives you, that permeates your very being or the underlying emotional attachment that affects every facet of your existence? Has it been affected or (if you wish) guided by religion? Has it been changed by the world you have become a part of, or the life you have lived thus far? Share it and discuss.

...

I should also mention I'm a painter, a writer, a poet and a creator in general. To make something with one's own hands, talent and skill and present it to the world holds a joy like none other. Creation is a big part of my existence, and I sure love doing it!

I am glad I'm not the only one with such a creative outlook on life. I am almost entirely driven by creative pursuits, without it I would be a tree without its lush and vibrant leaves.

I am not religious, but I do not reject the possibility. I find religion to be irrelevant, even if any is true, as my core philosophy transcends religion (it isn't trivial to explain, so I won't). I do however use pretend supernatural concepts and entities as a way to entertain myself or help me explain the world around me, but at the same time I reject all of it and only accept anything which has been well-tested scientifically (it is a form of doublethink that I'm very comfortable with).

I once entertained myself with the idea that the point of our universe is to breed gods, the successful gods being the most creative individuals. From my experience, the love of my own creations, my own fictional worlds, is strongly reminiscent of the love a god has for its creation. It also made me understand why bad things exist, for bad things feel important from an artistic perspective. But I only take this as an interesting possibility and not as a belief.

I live to experience any and all sensations. Positive and negative feelings are all good and beautiful. I've experienced the most intense feelings in the spectrum of emotions and the incredible nuances therein.

At times my mind can drag me into surreality, where I feel the connections and songs of everything. I live in a word on the border between dream and reality. Everything is beautiful, nothing is ever abhorrent in the right mindset. Moving between mindsets and experiencing the ever changing mutations of the self is wonderful, I can love and hate the same thing in seconds.

Wherever I am and whatever I do, I always want to shape everything around me so to make it aesthetically pleasing. I am very often frustrated when I have immense creative lust bottled up with no proper channel to release it.

At the very peak moments of my existence, I live not in myself, but at the same time live in the things and entities around me.

As I now land with my feet on the ground again, I can summarize it all as 'I live to experience'. Though I doubt that summary is relevant for me in two minutes time.