How to Find Meaning and Purpose Amid a Meaningless Existence

Everything seems meaningless, yet what and who you are matters. If you are there, your existence has significance for yourself and for those around you. Only you can find and create meaning for your existence and fulfill your purpose.

Look Within

In a reality filled with_interesting complexities like wars, violence, hatred, and racial prejudice, the search for meaning becomes even more critical. If life presents you with a void, you must embark on a journey of self-discovery to find purpose.

One way to start is by reflecting on what you truly enjoy doing and whether your passion can benefit others. If your answer is 'yes,' it might be your purpose.

Understanding the Question: What is the Meaning of Life?

Even when the world feels orderly and meaningful, we must still discover our place in it. Throughout our lives, we are shown examples by our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, teachers, and employers. However, ultimately, we must decide for ourselves what our purpose is, within the world as we find it.

Consider the words of John Lennon: "The purpose of life is to be happy." This was his response when his teacher asked, "What is the purpose of life?" The teacher told John’s aunt, "John didn’t understand the question." John responded, "The teacher didn’t understand life."

Does Purpose Have Nothing to Do with Meaning?

It might seem paradoxical, but even in a meaningless world, you can still find purpose. For instance, in a cosmos where everything is void, one can seek to be a rich and meaningless billionaire like Elon Musk, a meaningless scientist like Albert Einstein, a meaningless artist like Leonardo da Vinci, or a meaningless inventor like Nikola Tesla.

If you believe that everything is meaningless, simply be really good at doing meaningless things. There’s nothing wrong with this approach. Purpose doesn’t inherently need to be meaningful, and one can have a purpose without it needing to have any meaning.

Existence and Meaning Are Illusions

Existence has no intrinsic meaning, life has no inherent purpose, and nothing inherently has any meaning. We endow these concepts with meaning, just as we perceive beauty and purpose in the world. If you feel that everything is meaningless, you are choosing to see it that way. It’s a matter of perspective.

To respond succinctly, you can change your perspective to find meaning and purpose. By shifting your viewpoint, you can transform the bleakness of a meaningless world into a place rich with purpose and significance.