The purpose of life
What are you living for?
I always ask myself why I was born, why I am living, and what the purpose of my life is. Sometimes, I wonder if I am the only one who thinks about these questions. However, I believe that many people have asked themselves the same questions at some point in their lives.
For me, having a purpose is important because it gives me a direction to move forward. If I do not have any purpose in my life, I find it difficult to decide where I should go or what I should do next. A purpose gives me motivation and helps me keep moving, even when things are difficult.
For example, when you study something, you usually need a goal and a deadline. If you want to pass an exam, you know what you need to achieve and how much time you have. Without a goal, it can be difficult to stay motivated because you do not know what you are working toward.
I feel that life itself works in much the same way. We need something to look forward to, even if we do not know exactly how to achieve it yet.
But what happens if we have no purpose at all? Is life simply about passing time until we die?
Is Life Just Passing Time Until Death?
Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher and mathematician, explored human existence and the ways people distract themselves from thinking about difficult questions in his work Pensées.
One idea associated with his philosophy is that people often keep themselves busy to avoid confronting their own existence and mortality. We work, entertain ourselves, and pursue different activities, but do we ever stop to think about why we are doing them?
If life has no particular purpose, perhaps we can simply enjoy our time until we die. We do not necessarily need to achieve anything. We can eat delicious food, travel around the world, spend time with people we love, and enjoy our daily lives.
Actually, I do not think this way of living is necessarily wrong. If someone is satisfied with their life, why should they need a bigger ambition?
However, I personally find it difficult to live without any direction. Life can be long, and nowadays, people may live to be 100 years old. If we spend most of our lives doing things that we do not really want to do, I think we may eventually regret it.
Of course, nobody knows how long they will live. That is exactly why I think we should be careful about how we spend our time. We cannot get back the time we have already spent.
I do not mean that we must always be productive or achieve something extraordinary. Resting, doing nothing, and enjoying a quiet day can also be valuable. The problem is not spending time doing nothing. The problem is spending our lives following a path that we never really wanted to take.
So, how can we find a purpose that makes our lives meaningful?
Are We Living for Ourselves or Others?
I think one reason people struggle to find their purpose is that society already has its own definition of success.
Having a family, owning a house and a car, earning a high salary, and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle are often seen as signs of success. People may believe that if they achieve these things, they will have a happy and successful life.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting these things. Some people genuinely want to have a family or own a house, and these things can bring them happiness and security.
However, I sometimes wonder whether we pursue these things because we truly want them or because we want to show others how successful we are.
For example, imagine someone who works long hours every day to earn more money and get promoted. They may eventually achieve a high position and earn a good salary, but they have little time or energy left for their hobbies, friends, or family.
Is that really the life they want?
Perhaps they genuinely enjoy their work and are happy with their choices. If so, I do not think there is anything wrong with their lifestyle. But what if they are doing it only because they believe they should be successful?
I think this is where we need to be careful.
Sometimes, we do things not because we want to do them, but because we are afraid of what other people will think if we do not. We may choose a particular career because our parents expect us to. We may work overtime because we want our colleagues to think we are hardworking. We may pursue a higher salary because we believe we should earn more as we get older.
Without realizing it, we can spend years trying to meet other people’s expectations.
People often say that we should find a balance between social expectations and our own desires. However, I am not sure that we always need to do so. Why should we try to satisfy expectations that do not match our own values in the first place?
Of course, we cannot always do whatever we want. We need money to live, and we have responsibilities to other people. Sometimes, we have to do things that we do not enjoy.
But I believe there is a difference between accepting responsibilities because we think they are important and following expectations simply because we are afraid of being judged.
For me, wasting my life means spending too much time doing things I do not really want to do, just because I think I am supposed to do them.
I do not want to reach old age and realize that I have spent my entire life trying to become someone other people wanted me to be.
Does a Meaningful Life Require Ambition?
If we do not have to follow society’s definition of success, what should we pursue instead?
I used to think that having a clear ambition was important. I believed that I needed to set goals, work hard, and keep improving myself. Without a goal, I felt that I had no direction.
However, I have started to think differently.
I believe that a meaningful life does not always require a big ambition. We do not all have to become CEOs, start our own businesses, or achieve something that impresses other people.
Imagine someone who enjoys spending time with their family, walking their dog, cooking delicious meals, and exploring new places. They do not have a particular career goal, and they are not interested in becoming rich or famous. They simply enjoy their life.
Would you say that this person has no purpose?
I would not.
If they are satisfied with their life and can spend their time doing things that matter to them, I think they are already living meaningfully.
On the other hand, someone might achieve great success in their career but still feel unhappy because they have been pursuing goals that do not reflect what they truly want.
This makes me wonder whether we sometimes confuse having a purpose with having an ambition.
An ambition usually means something we want to achieve. It may have a clear goal, such as becoming a manager, earning a certain amount of money, or starting a business.
A purpose, however, can be something broader. It can be a way of living or a set of values that guide our decisions.
For example, someone might want to live freely, help other people, spend more time with loved ones, or keep learning new things. These desires do not necessarily lead to a specific achievement, but they can still give direction to someone’s life.
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I think this is an important distinction because our goals can change as we grow older. Something that mattered to us ten years ago might no longer be important today.
If our entire identity is based on achieving one particular goal, what happens when we achieve it or realize that we no longer want it?
Perhaps we need to be more flexible about what purpose means to us. Instead of searching for one big goal that will define our entire lives, we can focus on what matters to us at each stage of life.
Rediscovering Myself After Five Years of Living for Work
For the past five years, I feel that I have been living for work.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about my career, improving my skills, and trying to move forward professionally. I used to think that becoming a CEO or reaching a higher position would be a good way to earn more money and become successful.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve your career. Work provides financial security, and it can give us a sense of achievement. I am grateful for the experience and skills I have gained through my work.
However, I have gradually realized that I do not want to spend my entire life working.
I do not want to keep working harder just because I can. I do not want to spend most of my energy on work and have no energy left to explore other interests. And I do not want my job title or salary to determine how successful I feel about myself.
I have started to realize that there are other ways to express who I am.
When I think about the things I enjoyed as a child, I remember drawing manga and creating my own website. I enjoyed making things and expressing my ideas. At that time, I did not think about whether these activities would lead to a successful career. I simply enjoyed doing them.
Somewhere along the way, I became more focused on work and practical goals. I started thinking about what I should do rather than what I wanted to do.
Now, I want to explore other possibilities. I am interested in marketing, user experience, creative projects, and teaching Japanese. I do not know exactly where these interests will lead me, but I feel that exploring them gives me another way to express myself.
Maybe I do not need to choose just one thing to pursue for the rest of my life.
I used to think that I wanted to become a CEO to earn more money. But now, I feel that what I really want is to be the CEO of my own life.
To me, this means making my own decisions about how I want to work, how I want to spend my time, and what kind of life I want to build. It means taking responsibility for my choices instead of allowing other people’s expectations to decide my future.
Being the CEO of my own life does not mean that I can do whatever I want without considering the consequences. I still need to earn money, fulfill my responsibilities, and make realistic decisions.
However, I want to make these decisions based on my own values rather than simply following a conventional path.
I may not have found my purpose yet, but at least I am beginning to understand what kind of life I do not want to live.
How Can We Find Our Purpose?
So, how can we find a purpose that reflects who we really are?
I have tried thinking about this question, and I came up with three steps.
First, write down the things you enjoyed doing as a child.
When we are children, we often do things simply because they are fun. We do not always worry about whether we are good at them or whether they will help us earn money in the future.
For me, drawing manga and creating my own website were things I enjoyed. Looking back, I can see that I liked creating things and expressing myself.
Of course, our childhood interests do not necessarily determine our purpose as adults. We change as we grow older. However, looking back at what we naturally enjoyed might help us rediscover parts of ourselves that we have forgotten.
Second, write down what you are good at, especially things that other people often compliment you on.
Sometimes, we do not recognize our own strengths because they feel natural to us. Something that is easy for us might be difficult for someone else.
For example, people might tell us that we are good at explaining things, listening to others, solving problems, or coming up with ideas. These comments may give us clues about our strengths.
Third, find a way to combine what you enjoy with what you are good at.
You do not necessarily need to turn your favorite hobby into a job. In fact, making money from something you love can sometimes take away part of the enjoyment.
However, finding opportunities to use your strengths while doing something you enjoy may help you build a more satisfying life.
For me, I want to explore creative work and projects that involve understanding people’s needs. I also want to keep learning and experience different ways of living.
I do not know whether these interests will eventually become my career or simply remain part of my personal life. I think it is fine not to know yet.
Finding a purpose does not have to happen all at once. Sometimes, we discover what matters to us by trying different things and paying attention to how they make us feel.
Conclusion: What Are You Living For?
I still ask myself what the purpose of my life is. I do not have a perfect answer, and I am not sure that I will ever find one.
However, I have started to think that finding a purpose is not necessarily about discovering one big ambition or achieving something extraordinary.
Perhaps it is more about understanding what matters to us and making choices that reflect those values.
We all have different circumstances, responsibilities, and desires. Some people find meaning in their careers, while others find it in their families, hobbies, relationships, or personal freedom. There is no single definition of success that applies to everyone.
I do not think we should judge our lives only by how much money we earn, what position we hold, or how successful we appear to other people.
Instead, I want to ask myself a different question: Am I living the life I actually want to live?
I do not want to spend my life simply following expectations and waiting for the next achievement. I want to have the freedom to explore, create, learn, and experience different things.
Maybe my purpose will change over time. Maybe I will discover new interests that I cannot even imagine today. I want to leave room for those possibilities rather than force myself to choose one path now.
After five years of living for work, I am finally beginning to see that my life can be about more than my career.
I may not know exactly where I am going, but I want to be the one who decides the direction.
After all, I do not have to be the CEO of a company.
I should be the CEO of my own life.
