The more I learn about misfortune, the less I see the point of life.

[Deleted member 42060]

This has been on my mind lately. Whenever I see people die from accidents, people who just want to achieve their dreams, it came to me the question of “Then what’s the point of life if you’re just going to die like that, regardless of how ambitious you are?” Of course, this may seem like the typical cynical question like “What’s the point of life if we’re going to die anyway”—they may be similar, but the former is driven by exasperation rather than nihilism.

I’m exasperated because, for instance, I worked my ass off to save one million dollars, then at the end of the day, someone will steal it, and it’s not because of my stupidity or carelessness, but simply because of my misfortune. Then what’s the point of working your ass off? All those efforts became all for naught. And this isn’t something that makes you wiser or smarter or stronger, it just literally wastes your money. And time.

I’m exasperated (once again) that there’s actually an unnecessary failure that doesn’t make you wiser or smarter or even stronger—that it only wastes your time and energy. They say failure is key to success—but actually, it’s not anymore at this point, unless that failure is really necessary that can make you grow as a person. If it’s unnecessary, then it doesn’t do anything for you.

(And they say that there’s no such thing as failure—well, until exams and quizzes came. Sure, you can grow if you fail in life, but if you fail in grades, that failure is absolute.)

I’m also starting to believe that working hard doesn’t necessarily make you successful. All advices are not guaranteed. When I had this revelation, I became somewhat tired. A bit hopeless—as much as I hate to admit it. I’m not anxious or depressed—just annoyed. You can’t help but be annoyed at the fact that sometimes extremely lazy people live longer than extremely ambitious people—kind of like bad people live longer than good people, but that’s a shallow analogy. And those extremely lazy people will think like “I may not have ambitions, but at least I’m alive!”

And speaking of good people, I think going to heaven earlier is just a big cope. Not that I’m disrespecting religion or whatever, but I’m starting to think that it’s just a way for us to feel better about misfortune. That God has chosen us to be unlucky for some greater purpose. The uncomfortable truth is that the universe doesn’t actually care whether you’re dead or not.

Of course, I wouldn’t be saying this if I were poor. If I were poor, I’d only worry about food and water—not the truth about the existence of life or whatever. I told this to my friend, and he said that “I should live in the now, and not worry about the past and future”—sure, that’s sound advice, but I just can’t help overthink about this stuff.

I’m just exasperated.

All the things I learned started to become false, making me have my own judgments about life. Indeed, the world is not fixed—and that’ll surely annoy math lovers. One last quote that I want to drop in here: “You have your way. I have my way. And for the right and correct way, it does not exist,” quoth Friedrich Nietzsche. But another one of my friends disagree with the last sentence since she pointed out that “why do laws and the Ten Commandments exist if the right and correct way doesn’t exist?”

Well.

That’s for you to find out.

P.S. Life is pointless. But that’s okay.

Another P.S. I need to learn Stoicism to cope with this stuff.​

 

[Kilolo]

to begin with, it's called misfortune because it wasn't supposed to happened.

it's just like saying there could be a hole in the condom, might as well not using any.
that just plain idiotic.


what human should focus after a misfortune happened is reparation and damage control. which is why most of the time a monument got erected after a huge disaster happened.

 

[Minx]

That's life, it can be cruel and merciful at the same time. It has never been fair, and never will. At least in my opinion.

Let's say in the past, artists aren't as much appreciated as in recent years. People back then think art is a waste of time, some may still think the same. But look at how much famous illustration earns these days. If it weren't for the existence of the internet, it might be even harder for the artist to search for people to commission their art. But now, they can simply post on their social media.


What I'm trying to say is, the world is constantly changing as time move on. Eventually, we will also have to bid farewell to our loved ones. We also will grow old and depart from this world. As to what happened afterward, no one knows.

 

[Layenlml]

I mean, knowing how big the universe is and how we are just pebbles living in a bigger pebble is just enough for you to feel like this.

Knowing how long lived the universe is the 'Legends' we know are litteraly nothing in the grand scheme of things, even the most important person or action would be forgotten in like 10 thousand years which is nothing to the universe so... yeah.

We are insignificant, searching for something that makes you feel significant is what we live for, even if it's pointles at the end.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

This has been on my mind lately. Whenever I see people die from accidents, people who just want to achieve their dreams, it came to me the question of “Then what’s the point of life if you’re just going to die like that, regardless of how ambitious you are?” Of course, this may seem like the typical cynical question like “What’s the point of life if we’re going to die anyway”—they may be similar, but the former is driven by exasperation rather than nihilism.

I’m exasperated because, for instance, I worked my ass off to save one million dollars, then at the end of the day, someone will steal it, and it’s not because of my stupidity or carelessness, but simply because of my misfortune. Then what’s the point of working your ass off? All those efforts became all for naught. And this isn’t something that makes you wiser or smarter or stronger, it just literally wastes your money. And time.

I’m exasperated (once again) that there’s actually an unnecessary failure that doesn’t make you wiser or smarter or even stronger—that it only wastes your time and energy. They say failure is key to success—but actually, it’s not anymore at this point, unless that failure is really necessary that can make you grow as a person. If it’s unnecessary, then it doesn’t do anything for you.

(And they say that there’s no such thing as failure—well, until exams and quizzes came. Sure, you can grow if you fail in life, but if you fail in grades, that failure is absolute.)

I’m also starting to believe that working hard doesn’t necessarily make you successful. All advices are not guaranteed. When I had this revelation, I became somewhat tired. A bit hopeless—as much as I hate to admit it. I’m not anxious or depressed—just annoyed. You can’t help but be annoyed at the fact that sometimes extremely lazy people live longer than extremely ambitious people—kind of like bad people live longer than good people, but that’s a shallow analogy. And those extremely lazy people will think like “I may not have ambitions, but at least I’m alive!”

And speaking of good people, I think going to heaven earlier is just a big cope. Not that I’m disrespecting religion or whatever, but I’m starting to think that it’s just a way for us to feel better about misfortune. That God has chosen us to be unlucky for some greater purpose. The uncomfortable truth is that the universe doesn’t actually care whether you’re dead or not.

Of course, I wouldn’t be saying this if I were poor. If I were poor, I’d only worry about food and water—not the truth about the existence of life or whatever. I told this to my friend, and he said that “I should live in the now, and not worry about the past and future”—sure, that’s sound advice, but I just can’t help overthink about this stuff.

I’m just exasperated.

All the things I learned started to become false, making me have my own judgments about life. Indeed, the world is not fixed—and that’ll surely annoy math lovers. One last quote that I want to drop in here: “You have your way. I have my way. And for the right and correct way, it does not exist,” quoth Friedrich Nietzsche. But another one of my friends disagree with the last sentence since she pointed out that “why do laws and the Ten Commandments exist if the right and correct way doesn’t exist?”

Well.

That’s for you to find out.

P.S. Life is pointless. But that’s okay.

Another P.S. I need to learn Stoicism to cope with this stuff.​

Working hard has never guaranteed success, not not working hard has almost always guaranteed failure.

Who cares about some dude who died before their time? All that matters is YOU are alive to continue your pursuits.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Well, I always believe that the destination is meaningless and so is the journey and everything else you do. So why don't you just die?

Because you don't want to, because biologically your body don't want to. Your mind don't want to become the meaningless speck that is the seven billion parasites on planet Earth.

Life is never fair, it is never just. You fight to live in this world, you fight to win. If you yourself is not competing, with others or at the very least yourself, others will compete with you. You will always be an example, a unit of measurement and maybe even a goal from the day you are born and till the day when nobody remembers you (true death). Hardwork does not guarantee reward but not performing definitely means failure, even if you fail to achieve what you want to do in life, at least you are still moving forward, for those who stood still are getting pushed down the societal ladder by the current.

An example, you said that what is the point of working hard for a million dollar only to lose it all? While what is tangible is lost, the intangibles like your time spent, you experience earned, your network gained is still there. As long as your foundation is still there, you can make another goal in life.

 

[Zirrboy]

“Then what’s the point of life if you’re just going to die like that, regardless of how ambitious you are?”

My entertainment

Though I must admit that I don't quite understand the need for absolutes, be it in a positive sense, like "hard work pays off", or the likes of edgelord nihilism. But perhaps that is just because I have found mine.

 

[greyblob]

sounds like you're growing up. I had similar thoughts when I was 16, 17 maybe.
life isn't fair. hard work doesn't guarantee success. I could make millions trading fake coins online or randomly die because a guy wanted to have some bat soup.
laws are there so society doesn't crumble under its own weight. religion is the same with the added benefit of not having to think about your own mortality since god has a plan for you.
philosophy is a waste of time. if life is meaningless, give it your own meaning. that's it.

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

Life is to live off the randomness of things that would to will happen as time goes on. You might not appreciate everything because one likes order while other prefer to have chaos. Unfairness is what you always see in you yet don't necessarily see what others have which you already own yet still view in a narrow mind.

We may just be parasites just living life without any meaning whatsoever but what defines us is what we aspire and have a goal which are basically different from our animal counterparts.

Animals always think of what's their next meal like yet we have grown far beyond that yet still view it in a narrow minded view.

You don't appreciate what you see in yourself and think more about logic and all that but still believe in philosophy when it counts. Thats the contradiction in being human and we can understand that.

Life to be random yet still find interesting things is what keeps our motivation going, finding our purpose, setting a goal, be fulfilled and live off lazily, be human and whatnot and it doesn't even need to consider what that goal really is, just that we have our own destination thats different from others yet still have purpose in life.

I may be dumb and uneducated in more things in life but thats actually what makes me improve more since as time goes on, we mature and live more to life than being dull and boring. Being smart makes you feel that life is meaningless yet idiocy brings forth new meaning to things you disinterest you. Without enjoying life, you became one that you hated as a kid which left you feel like everything is meaningless without exploring things which makes us human.

We aren't just made to think less but to think more in life and only once you find your purpose would you be willing to pursue that.

 

[owotrucked]

One of the point of life is to contribute to others (society, community or family etc) in a way that fulfills all your material and emotional needs.

Everyone has a specific set of gift based on their personality. For instance, an Enstein might not flourish in an activity requiring lots of social interaction. A social butterfly might be frustrated by the lack of social interaction when being writer. A entrepreneur might feel frustrated of not concretising their own ideas when being an employee.

Society will guide people towards what it wants and not what it need. The world is shifting so fast by the end of your studies many things will have changed. One moment, they want bridge engineers. The other, data scientists. Companies used to value their long time employee and gift them golden watch after decades of loyalty. Now, they yeet them at the bat of an eye because that's what truly work for the new economic paradigm.

In other words, career paths are more unreliable than ever. They purely look at what the tapped market shows at a given time. But untapped markets can provide unclaimed rewards.

Society doesn't look at who you are, what's your strengths, your tastes, and your ability to wedge your contribution to the market.

Saving money, if anything, can be used to earn autonomy, to support daring life changing endeavors so that you can find your calling.

The idea is that human wants to leave a mark that outlasts their life. It can be through children, through work, through the people you've interacted with, through ideas left behind in books.

If you are aimless and get swallowed by the system into a random career and turn into a slave wage who only waste money because no idea how to spend it, you'll get cornered into a hopeless dead end. The only light left would probably be raising children.

Edit: If you feel gloomy, read Frieren at the funeral. It's about an elf faced with existential hurdles as she outlives any other species.

 

[Amok]

A flower possesses sublime beauty before it decays into the atomic.

 

[Aaqil]

 

[BearlyAlive]

"Life as we know it was a mistake"- not sure if Miyazaki or the universe

Going at it from a biological point of view, humanity was an accident. So I'd like to think whatever happens isn't your personal fault but karmic retribution for being human.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Here's a comprehensive guide to how I deal with life's misfortunes

>have problem
>don't care
>have no problem

Simple as.

Just complete the task, endure it, and survive. If the world wants to put you down, spite it by living another day. Improve yourself. Read up. Eat healthy. Exercise. Make sure your body is up to par in dealing with these trifling issues.

Soon, you'll fine your steeled apathy to be your greatest ally.

 

[Viator]

In my opinion, life is about the present moment. Appreciating what you have in the now, and enjoying all the little things in life, with hope it might be a bit better for you going forward. Of course there will be tragedy, and days where it's just hard to be alive. But I try to focus on what I have rather than what I don't have. Materialism means very little to me beyond having small comforts and the ability not to have to worry about just my basic survival. I don't need recognition or fame. My favorite poem perhaps of all time is Alexander Pope's ode on solitude. I value the simplicity of life itself. My greatest desire is simply to be the pebble in the pond. For those people and things I do effect in this life, I hope my existence leaves things just a little bit better and brighter. No one has to even acknowledge it. I am as I am, and I am determined to enjoy the time I have.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

I notice you take a very human-centered outlook on existence. "Why are these things happening if it doesn't make us stronger", "why do we live if our ambitions may never be fulfilled", "all these things aren't supposed to happen" etc etc. I may be paraphrasing you.
Maybe thinking about things from a different point may help you. If you face the world with the expectations that it will care for you, you are set up for disappointment.

 

[Anon_Y_Mousse]

Misfortune is a part of life, learn to accept it. (PS: I don't mean this in a derogatory manner, it is what it is)

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

To live is to realize how evil life can be.

 

[owotrucked]

I notice you take a very human-centered outlook on existence. "Why are these things happening if it doesn't make us stronger", "why do we live if our ambitions may never be fulfilled", "all these things aren't supposed to happen" etc etc. I may be paraphrasing you.
Maybe thinking about things from a different point may help you. If you face the world with the expectations that it will care for you, you are set up for disappointment.

Humans navigates the world through a set of expectations and beliefs.

For instance, students sit in class for hours with the faith that it will be useful for their future.
People across the world use dollar because they trust that its current value.
Employees work in a job with the expectation that they will be paid.
Hard worker saves money because they believe it will retain its value in the future.
Readers invest themselves in a story believing that there will be enjoyable pay-offs.
Lovers marry each other, believing this will bring happiness.
People work hard today, believing that tomorrow will come.
Pedestrian cross the road believing that no truck is going to run them over.

We make countless pacts with the world, believing that we'll be rewarded in exchange for sacrifices. But when beliefs are broken and lies are uncovered, we lose trust in all pacts. As a result, there is no hope left because directions are lost. What to trust anymore? If a single black swan is enough to turn years of effort into ashes, is there any meaning in struggling?

All the things I learned started to become false, making me have my own judgments about life. Indeed, the world is not fixed

In summary, I support that OP's struggles have a strong basis. I think his questioning is legit, and deserves deep thoughts.

There are many answers to this, but what works best with me is to find a work that completely use all personal strengths. A child's doodle might be worthless, but through honing skills to their absolute limits, anything can become valuable. Not everyone can reach the end of that journey, but every step of it can be fulfilling in itself.

That way, it's easier to put superficial material wants aside, and die without any regret.

 

[Deleted member 42060]

Two things I absolutely don’t want to happen to me: be sentenced to lifetime imprisonment, even though you’re completely innocent, and be dragged by some random terrorist and get beheaded for no reason. If I did get falsely accused and sentenced to lifetime jail, and I just want to become a successful author, and that dream is destroyed by injustice—I may not be able to handle it. Especially when everyone else forgets about me—my friends, family, everyone. There’s no point in living with such misfortune. I’d just commit suicide at that point.

Of course, there’s going to be a twinge of hope that you might get absolved.

Someday.​