

Ask HN: Are most people complacent? - aik

I've seen a lot of wisdom on HN and so am posting this in search of some of it:<p>I spend a lot of time thinking of ways I can improve this world and the people in it.  The catalyst for most of this drive is the fact that most people I meet don't seem happy or satisfied with life.  I want to help them find purpose.  However, I am starting to wonder if such an effort is futile in the end, or if it my thinking is off.<p>We all strive to find purpose in this world until we give up or find it. I believe I have found mine for the moment (by whatever somewhat-unknown means) and have found it incredibly rewarding and satisfying, and seeing others be apathetic/lifeless/careless towards most things is becoming increasingly disturbing to me.  I can't count the number of times my co-workers mention that they hate their job and are doing nothing to solve the issue.  A lot of people don't seem to care about much beyond remaining in comfort and having fun once in a long while.  While in school (and college) people invest huge amounts of time and money into these massive self-development schemes (school) without focus or purpose.  It screams confusion and mindlessness!<p>I wonder if I'm fighting unchangeable human nature.<p>Are people changeable?<p>Is purpose something that can be found by all, or only some?<p>Does clear purpose always lead to joy as it has for me?<p>Is general inaction and having a risk-free and comfortable life perfectly good, or can it always be considered "settling" and irrational aversion to change?  Is it just a different personality type?<p>Or is it complacency and confusion?  I'm banking on this.
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Travis
These are the questions that make us human. I, all to frequently, feel like
everyone around me is simply a machine for turning O2 into CO2. Reminds me of
this xkcd -- <http://xkcd.com/610/>

I believe that everyone _can_ find their purpose (or purposes). Most people
won't. I don't know why; perhaps it's easier? Maybe we should look to the
Wizard of Oz -- Dorothy was purposeless, until she found one. If you interpret
the story as an allegory, her trip down the yellow brick road was her search
for purpose. It's even possible to say that the whole thing was in her mind,
which made her adventure the manifestation of her confusion (chaos manifested
in a tornado, nonetheless).

General inaction might be "settling" for you, while it might be perfectly fine
for another. That other person may be focused on having children and a family
-- not necessarily a waste of their time.

OTOH, I alternate between inaction and motivation on a weekly basis. So even
an individual is not as consistent as you might assume.

But I do see the world as something only consciously inhabited by about 1% of
its inhabitants. No moral objection; the red pill isn't for everyone -- it can
be scary down the rabbit hole.

