6 answers
Robin F.’s Answer
My answer is in no way definitive, and I'm working on this myself at the moment. What I discovered is that looking inside of me to see what really brings me joy and not letting myself be kept down by other people's ideas of what I should and shouldn't be doing has gotten me closer to the answer of what living is for and what I'm doing on this planet. Things seemed empty and pointless when I just behaved the way I thought everybody else wanted me to, even ways. I thought my parents had raised me too. But now that I'm realizing I need to set my own values, I think I'm closer to feeling like the light inside me is beginning to shine. That seems like a good purpose of life. Enjoying having my own light shine for me and knowing that it's also giving pleasure to others and enriching their lives as well.
A good example is that I'm working on starting a line of inspirational clothing. There's plenty of advice from family members, friends, and of course the ubiquitous internet about making a business plan, thinking about whom I'm appealing to, defining my ideal customer, etc. That's all good advice, but I've discovered that taking too much of it is robbing me of the joy of simply creating things that I think are beautiful. So I've decided to follow my own path of developing what I like to make and then making it available for other people to purchase. I might not sell as much that way, but I think I will enjoy the process a lot more.
I recently saw a really interesting book ("How to Be A High School Superstar") that talked about the importance of leaving plenty of free time to explore things that you think are interesting and of exposing yourself to lots of things even if you're not sure they're going to be interesting to you. This can help you find things that made your life worth living so that you can enjoy the time you have rather than the standard advice to pack your schedule full of supposedly enriching or worthwhile activities.
The bottom line is that if your psyche is telling you you're not sure why you're here, you probably haven't truly discovered the things that make even answering that question not too important because you're simply enjoying what you're doing everyday. My best advice is to look inside yourself and figure out about what would make life worth living for you. I think that answer might be different for everyone. And maybe part of life's purpose is simply to pursue the path of trying to figure out what that might be. What do you think? Thank you for this great and thought-provoking question.
Pradip’s Answer
Aristotelianism.
Aristotle believed that the purpose of human life is to achieve the highest good(happiness). But he also believed that the meaning of happiness differs from one person to the other.
Every skill and every inquiry, and similarly, every action and choice of action, is thought to have some good as its object. This is why the good has rightly been defined as the object of all endeavor [...]
Everything is done with a goal, and that goal is "good".
— Nicomachean Ethics
Here I quoted a small para from the Nicomachean Ethics.
Platonism
In Platonism, the meaning of life is in attaining the highest form of knowledge, which is the Idea (Form) of the Good, from which all good and just things derive utility and value.
Cynicism
Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates, first outlined the themes of Cynicism, stating that the purpose of life is living a life of Virtue which agrees with Nature. Happiness depends on the state(mental) of a human being. Cynicism used to live in barrels, which gave them the name “The Barrel Philosophers”. They believed that self-control is important over the luxuries and suffering is a result of poor judgment.
Epicureanism
Life's purpose is in seeking modest pleasures, to attain tranquility and freedom from fear (ataraxia) via knowledge, friendship, and virtuous, temperate living; bodily pain (aponia) is absent through one's knowledge of the workings of the world and of the limits of one's desires. Combined, freedom from pain and freedom from fear are happiness in its highest form.
Stoicism
The meaning of life is "freedom from suffering" through apatheia, that is, being objective and having "clear judgment", not indifference.
The main directives of stoics are the reason, virtue, and natural law. They believed that these could abide by the self-control of a person.
The Stoic ethical foundation is that "good lies in the state of the soul", itself, exemplified in wisdom and self-control, thus improving one's spiritual well-being: "Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature."The principle applies to one's personal relations thus: "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy"
Here's a para from the Internet. But a lot of modern philosophers alia believed that the purpose of life is to attain salvation etc.
I believe that everyone can define their own purpose to live. But these are some popular opinions on the purpose of life. And mine would be closer to Aristotle’s view.
Jennifer’s Answer
- Making others happy
- Making the world a better place
- Living a successful life
- Making positive connections with others and enjoying those around you
- Having a positive impact on the lives of others
- Living a successful life
- Empowering others
- Traveling the world
Kamal’s Answer
Making a Community Contribution
Prioritizing Home and Family
Finding Career Success
Inspiring Others
Living Mindfully
Achieving Life Balance
Protecting the Environment
Raising Successful Children
Living with Joy
Leaving a Legacy
Making Others Happy
ABHISHEK’s Answer
Paola’s Answer
Wow! What an interesting question. I commend you for thinking about this hard topic. For many people job and money is the purpose of living but that is definitely not it. It is not wrong to have a good job to pay for necessities but that should not be the focus of your life. I suggest the following three - Faith, Family, Friends. Giving of your time, strength and resources to others gives purpose to life. Take a break from TV, Social Media, Games which can give us a wrong sense of purpose of living. Do something productive - Read, Learn, Help. For more information try jw.org under "Young People Ask". Has answers to several of this hard questions of life.
Hope this helps you!
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