Yourself Archives - Page 7 of 8 - How to Live a Meaningful Life

Many of my friends complain about their jobs, love lives and how they don't own anything. These days, it feels like we live in a time where we are expected to live lives that don't matter, within a system that doesn't care about us. If we asked people about life in the past, they would say life was hard, things were difficult, but at least it felt like what we did matter. For us young people today, things have changed, and we find ourselves asking, let's talk about why life suck so much. It is All About Money It is easy for some people to blame capitalism; if anything, it is the easiest scapegoat. There is no doubt that corporations and corrupt politicians rule the world and stack the decks in their favour. We can all see who stands at the top of the pyramid. There is a group of rich and powerful people at the top who appear to rule the world. Those people up there get to live the life, and the rest of us are stuck down here metaphorically cleaning the floors. The world around us has taught us that jobs and the consumerist lifestyle are the only places we can find meaning. Further to this, we are told that those systems exist for the benefit of us all. Schools and the media train us to believe that even if things don't seem right, this system is still the best thing for all of us. In other words, even if life feels like it sucks, it is better for us all if we go along with the jig. The story boils down to capitalism; after all, it is the system that won out over the world because it was best suited to humans' desires and needs. On top of this, we are ensured that it must be a great system because it leads to our collective betterment. All this works to enables a lifestyle that helps us get what we want, which must be what is best for us, right? Yet, every morning we wake up too early when our alarms go off. Then we rush to eat a convenient but unhealthy breakfast before we rush off to work or school. On our way to where we are going, we jaywalk across busy streets because we can't wait for the light to turn green. Through all this rushing, if we ever get the chance to think, we might ask ourselves, why does life suck so much? Do We Live To Work? Every day people cram into crowded public transit filled with people suffering the same demeaning fate. We pass through the cities where we work in tin cans, breathing recycled air, is such close contact to strangers that we can feel their heat. At the same time, we rarely talk or treat these people as humans. On many mornings in my city, there are health emergencies on the subway. During these emergencies, services are stopped, and everyone waits in the crapped space hidden away from the light of day. Waiting patiently for some sad persons to be removed from the train so we can get back on our way. The saddest part about these sorts of emergencies is that they rarely happen outside of rush-hour. Some would argue that this happens because fewer people are riding during those hours. We all know that it happens because life is so much more stressful during rush-hour, which is the cause of these emergencies. After our commute, we pack into office buildings, factories, schools, shops or restaurants and waste away our time. Not only are we surrounded by people we wouldn't see otherwise, but we do work that we have trouble seeing the value of. Yet we accept it because this is our life, and this is what we are supposed to do. If you were to do a google search, you would find that stress is one of the leading causes of sickness and eventually death. The leading causes of stress often come down to work and money, though those two things are pretty much the same thing. We need money to live, so we must work so we can keep living. Yet, at the same time, our lives under these circumstances feel meaningless and force us to ask, why does life suck so much? We Are Made To Feel Like Losers As most of us aren't affluent social media influencers, we are made to feel like we have lost and are losers. From this perspective, one of the most common things to do is to blame the winners or the rich. It seems obvious to blame the successful, as the successful are the ones who are most clearly benefiting from the current system. The problem is that they are playing the game like everyone else. And although they appear to be doing much better, they are still stuck playing the same game. Of course, this isn't all about skill; a lot of success comes from upbringing and parents. So from this perspective, we are made to feel like losers because we didn't win the parental lottery. Blaming doctors, lawyers, and business owners by saying they are winning at the expense of everyone else isn't exactly accurate. Either is pointing the finger at the poor and saying they are losing for everyone else's benefit. But if you take a minute to think, neither of these things make sense because blaming other people for our problems does nothing to help us. No doubt there are winners and losers in any game, and for the most part, neither party has many choices. Everyone has to take the cards they've been dealt and play the game the best they can within the rules' confines. In the end, everyone does what they think they should do with the tools that they have been given. For some, this works out great, while for others, it sucks. But even if this story makes sense and is the case, it has a fatal flaw, and that flaw is that it focuses on the wrong factors. Even though we are told to focus on success and wealth, that isn't actually what matters. We need a place to sleep and food to eat, but what matters in life is up to us. Why Does Life Suck so Much? Because we have been tricked The world we live in sets the rules and deals out the random circumstances. As we grow older, we move forward and do our best with the tools that we have. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, other times nothing happens at all. We all know but sometimes refuse to acknowledge that we shouldn't blame other people for doing what they think is right, even if they are wrong. So for the same reason, we shouldn't allow other people to define what is suitable for us or what we should do. The truth is, we need to challenge ourselves to do what we are supposed to do; in other words fulfilling our purpose. By doing this, we make the world a better place because we live a meaningful life that helps us and the people around us live better. The real problem is that we are made to believe that there is only one way to live a life, while others are wrong. But that isn't the case; there is no right way to live our lives. The best way to live life is our way, which should ensure that it doesn't suck. By learning about the system and accepting that it exists, it is up to us to discover how we want to live. Finding purpose is a great start, and it will help us find direction. But once you've done that, you need to figure out how to keep living in a meaningful way. If you find yourself wondering why does life suck so much? You need to ask yourself, what am I doing wrong? Why am I living in a way that sucks? Once you figure that out, you can work towards living a more meaningful life that makes sense. The point of all this is to say that life only sucks because we think we have to live a certain way when we don't have to. You are always free to live differently, as meaning and purpose are still up to you. You don't need to conform to the ways of living that suck, instead choose to live life your way. What are you doing to make you life a little less bad? Do you feel like your efforts are making a difference?