Quote:
Originally Posted by coachpipe
Recently I just havent been able to have a good attitude towards anything. I guess I just dont understand the meaning of life in the aspect we are to work our whole lives for what? Some of us work 80 hours a week just to put food on a table and to pay off debt with very little spending money. Is this all it is? I find it hard to believe We are here just to work. Go to work to buy a house that you are never in because you are at work. To pay for things you dont need, so you can bring them to your house that youre not at because of said job. The world has way to many beautiful aspects(im talking about the earth itself not the cancerous people on it) for people not to be able to see it all. Oh but if you work blah blah blah you can do nice things blah.
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As a non-religious person, it comes down to this for me: Find what makes you happy; do as much of it as you can. And I mean that in the richest sense of the word.
I do think that many people simply buy in to some version of the "American Dream" which is simplified to "make as much money as you can so you can buy the nicest stuff."
I realized early on that one of my most valued things is free time. While I enjoy my work, it doesn't provide me my greatest satisfaction. However, I have reached a point where I make enough money to provide a comfortable living for myself and my wife, where we can enjoy some creature comforts and where we have a fair amount of time to do other things we enjoy. I don't need a bigger house, a bigger TV or a nicer car (I don't own a car). Those things won't really make my life better -- at least not in the way having more time will.
My purpose in life is essentially maintaining this balance while enjoying the experiences it affords me. I think it's absolutely critical to realize that while you may need tangible goals in your life to keep you motivated, those goals are not the purpose of your life. They are the means, not the ends. Particularly when it comes to a career, that next promotion is only important in so far as it affords you more of what value most.