Ask HN: How do you find meaning in life? - wsdfsayy
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muzani
Start with the end in mind. Everyone dies. I try to die on my own terms.

There's a lot to think about in death. How do you die? Who will be at your
funeral? What do you leave behind?

You can control how you die, by committing suicide. But that's wasteful. Your
life is valuable. But like any valuable, you shouldn't just keep it locked up.
Valuable things should be used or traded - risk your life something that _can_
kill you but is worth it. Start a business, climb Everest, volunteer to help
in a dangerous country, be an activist for something worth dying for.

You'll want to think about what happens after you die. You'll have stuff. What
happens to it? Does it go to your family? A cause? Does it disappear in a
disorganized jumble?

Also the afterlife. People have literally sat down for thousands of years
pondering this. Don't reinvent the wheel; dig up what others have researched.
As time goes on, a lot of religions are hijacked by people who want power.
It's best to read the studies of early scholars than latter ones.

At least two thirds of people were born with the wrong idea of the afterlife.
Statistically, you're one of them. Don't idly follow whatever you were born
into. Pick something consciously (your default is fine). Run experiments. If
it doesn't click, try something else.

Your life is exceptionally valuable. It belongs to only you. There's nothing
wrong with being a cog in the corporate machine. There's nothing wrong with
being an acstetic monk. You don't need to contribute anything into the world.
You don't need to have a family or even a cause.

But whatever you do with your life, it should be a conscious, deliberate
decision.

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p0d
As a christian I follow the teachings of Jesus and believe this life is just
the beginning. This doesn’t mean I walk around in a state of bliss. I often
think on the meaning of my work in IT. At nearly 50 I am beginning to realise
daily life has more meaning when I focus less on myself and more on others.

A funny thing happened last Christmas which highlights my being too
introspective. I wrote a poem for the first time in my life and gave it to my
wife, son and daughter. They absolutely misunderstood the poem and thought it
was about our strong family bond. The poem was actually about stars, space and
time. I honestly believe my family’s interpretation of my poem was better than
my own. This was just a quirky reminder for me of how I was missing the bigger
picture by being so internally focussed. I also think it may be my last poem
;-)

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mindcrime
I don't believe in "finding" meaning in life. I think you create your meaning
(or maybe "choose" your meaning if you prefer). As the old saying goes "The
meaning of life is a life of meaning". My personal take on that is that you
get to decide what a "life of meaning" is to you.

As an atheist who tries to believe in free will, but who frankly has a hard
time seeing how the universe is anything other than strictly deterministic
(ergo, free will is actually an illusion), I don't see much room for any idea
of an objective "meaning of life" that comes from any external source, or even
any intrinsic notion of that sort that is universal to everyone. So you get to
choose... or if free will really is an illusion, you get to walk around
thinking you chose. :-)

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natch
Have fun and try to leave the world a better place than you found it.

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mbrock
I don't look for any ultimate or final meaning, ordinary everyday meaning
seems quite sufficient. But worldly meaning is a vast thing with unfathomable
depths.

[https://meaningness.com/misunderstanding-meaningness-
makes-m...](https://meaningness.com/misunderstanding-meaningness-makes-many-
miserable)

 _“What’s something useful and enjoyable I can do now?” prompts the answer
“Who cares—so what?” Mere usefulness and enjoyability doesn’t sound good
enough. This “complete stance”—of enjoyable usefulness—is emotionally
unattractive at first. Once accepted, though, it does eliminate the anguish of
an existential dilemma. If you can let go of the grandiosity that leads you to
imagine that some special task awaits you, and the false hope that getting
enough of what you want would make life satisfactory, you can be useful and
enjoy yourself._

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rayraegah
I've been looking for the purpose in life since I asked that question out loud
once. Maybe I'll find it, maybe I won't.

I live through everyday to the best of my abilities doing the things I love to
do, have to do, and only I can do. I have no regrets.

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continuational
I find meaning in living an enjoyable life and trying to make the life of
future generations even more enjoyable (starting with my own kids, but
hopefully something wider too eventually).

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dgarud
Find who you really are. In the sense of the one who says - 'my body...' , 'my
mind...'

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mabynogy
It's reproduction because you exist. We are the goal of life of our parents.

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taf2
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