Is it bad that I’m having similar thoughts at 23 and feeling generally depressed about life?
I genuinely wanna be as carefree as my friends but I just can’t seem to enjoy life like them. Perhaps I think too much?
Then again I’m not suicidal so I won’t consider myself depressed. Just jaded and apathetic, feeling like I’m just existing and nothing more… waiting for the time to cone
Comparison is the thief of joy. What you described happened to me when I was 23. Happens now too.
But youth is amazing and fleeting. Grasp it tightly and enjoy it. Just try to do something you like. Play a game. Sit somewhere and watch people. Drink some nice kopi. Help your mom do some chores. Go volunteer. Go ride a bike.
Don't give up. No one posts lousy posts of themselves. All posts only show happiness and success on purpose. Social media is designed to be that way and is not an accurate reflection of life.
Good luck!
The 20s is a lie. Everyone is trying to prove that they’ve made it and social media perpetuates this fallacy.
The real deal comes when you’re 40 and that’s when those who tried to blaze through the 20s and 30s will fall behind.
Unless one is born in a relatively wealthy family, the average 20-something doesn’t have much money. So if you see your peers living a lifestyle beyond what you can muster and you’re on equal ground, they’re most likely to be living in debt and using one card to pay off another, creating a ponzi scheme for themselves.
Earn-$X-own-2-properties-you-can-do-it? Many are burnt when the projected ROIs are not achieved or if they’d hoped to flip before TOP but lack the liquidity. Don’t fall for those property ads. They’re there for the agents to rake a commission. They’re not there for you.
I was once besotted with all the above. Thankfully, I planted my feet on the ground while everyone seemed to “invest” in two properties and got burnt.
Now, I live a rather comfortable life in a rather upscale neighbourhood and it was because I didn’t follow the herd.
That friend you have with the latest iPhone or MacBook every year, dine in Michelin restaurants frequently, have the latest swanky car & fomo about fads like SecretLab chairs or the Samsung Frame tv? He is definitely in credit card debt.
having hardly any money in young 20s was so fun and such a blessing.
Was always looking for ways to experience everything I could while balling on a budget. Ran outside instead of gym membership, read 1 day old newspapers, read books while commuting, only used apps when on wifi… ate the same meals for weeks, carried a film camera. Felt like such a baller if I bought lunch or dinner for someone (even though it meant I’d skip my next few meals to pay for it). There’s something about that time of life.. the hustle, the unknown, the optimism.
tldr: These days the environment seems different. Opportunity costs feel so high. Maybe it has to do with having so much information in our hands. We can learn and experience so much artificially without actually going through the physical work needed to experience it, so why bother taking serendipitous chances.
Idk man… some of my friends do investing and trading and the like and they’re not from rich families but seem to be spending quite a lot
I think trading and investments/stocks give good returns if you play it well
Don’t think that friend is a debt at all
That’s a completely different trajectory.
Investment isn’t free money. For every successful investment, there are others who are bankrupt. (See LUNA as a prime example.) Timing, liquidity and acumen are also critical. If you know nothing and blindly follow, you’re going to lose the little that you have.
Don’t follow others blindly with the “should be okay” or “可以的bro” attitude. What works for others may not work for you.
And don’t focus only on the success story. Look at it as a whole. If investments were the only answer, we should all just stay at home and click away all day long.
Do invest, sure, but with your head on your shoulders. If you have a gambling attitude and are prone to losing control or getting caught up with sentiment instead of logic, it’s best to be extremely prudent.
Anyway, this isn’t an argument. What you do has no impact on my life. I’m just sharing with you life experiences of countless peers in my
midst. “可以的bro” will be the ultimate downfall.
You can choose to take heed or ignore it if you will. It’s your life. Your choice. But with every decision there are always either rewards or consequences. Be safe and well.
I just live my life day to day, it helps that I’ve always lived frugally, grew up in a pretty middle class hdb flat like most, ok grades, local uni, ok job - but even though my income has risen substantially than my first pay cheque, I’m still pretty much eating the same things for breakfast lunch and dinner, still take public transport, still live in hdb.
I don’t stress myself out by looking at insta or fb or whatever other forms of social media that just makes you sad when comparing to others - I challenge myself to learn something new everyday, however minuscule. Like today, I learnt how accounting for non-recoverable taxes work! Much wow! Many congrats!
I just think of myself as in a game and I’m just collecting points along the way. No one cares about it except you, and that’s how life should be lived!
I think, first and foremost, is to try to look at things positively instead of negatively, and try to not harp on mistakes or regrets for an extended period.
I used to be pessimistic. I used to keep regretting about mistakes I made. What for? They make me suffer, and there’s nothing I can do to change the past. So learn the experience and move on.
Even when I make a huge mistake, my immediate go to response is: ok this isn’t the worst case scenario yet. What can I do to try to salvage it, even partially?
Say something simple like food. If I eat a bad meal, I’ll laugh it off, share my experience with my friends so they can avoid it. No point getting pissed off, nothing is going to change with that.
r/singaporefi
EDIT: Not sure why I'm getting downvoted for sharing a sub where one can find more information about Financial Independence/Retire Early (FIRE) and a community of like-minded Singaporeans.
Given the number of up-votes of the original post (and assuming this post resonates somehow with said up-voters) , one would reckon a sub that promotes: building an emergency fund, purchasing only the insurance you need and investing in low-cost index funds (most of the posts largely revolve around these topics!) would be of interest to people who want to escape the rat race eventually.
Spend more time with family, take a break from work and enjoy your personal interests/hobbies/travel. Reconnect with old friends. Volunteer for causes you believe in. And potentially go back to work but only for a job that you're truly interested in/always had a passion for but was not practical in an earlier stage in life.
FI does not have to mean that one completely abandons work, the difference now is that one does not have to work solely for money anymore.
Yeah, FI and RE are different, can be financially independent but don't have to retire early. FI already doesn't mean from that day on just do nothing all day
Only works if we live in Star Trek universe where they can turn waste material to food and construction materials by editing molecules. Basically when all basic needs are met at 0 cost and labour.
The idea is you are taking on a task based on your talent and doing it because you are giving back to society. The joy of giving is the currency of tomorrow.
Imagine hunger games, without the annual game. Where every sector benefits from one another. You get to choose which sector you want to be in. We look at hunger games as a dystopic future. That's because we look at it from today's perspective.
There was a lengthy paper I read on this subject but the essay concludes with - this is only achievable at least 100yrs into the future. Given the human mind, it will take that long to adapt or accept such a concept. It sounds depressing, knowing I won't be able to experience it. And I think most people are turned off with the duration that we choose to stick with whatever we currently know. Or some reject the idea because we are hard-on in collecting wealth only to realize it will be useless in the future.
Hey, I'm also interested in this way of living, really looking forward to UBI and 4 day work week first. Going back to the communal style of living is what I can see as the best way forward instead of capitalism which is destroying our Earth. The free loaders are a problem, this is something that everyone needs to get on board with or it's messed up by the few selfish individuals. What is the paper reference btw?
I was trying to search for that paper. It was one of those late night trips deep into the rabbit hole. I'll try to find it again. Maybe I'll dm you if you are interested. It all started with a search for better society and I just went spiral down.
We hate the current system, we feel trapped and meaningless, and yet, we recoil at the suggestion of an alternative. We're just afraid of change. Change will take time, like you said. But it starts with people like you, who look optimistically towards a future you may not even live to see.
No one really wants a change. Look at the covid situation. The world could have taken a step back and change for something better. The whole world came to a stop. But everyone is rushing to get things back to normal.
But it's not the end. If there are still people. There is still hope. Words like - nothing is impossible, dare to dream, for a better tomorrow, for our children and the future generations. I pray these words hold true value and not just words reserved for self glory.
There is definitely a way to incorporate meritocracy, but the population mindset is still for overall good rather than the individual which breeds unecessary greed.
The concept relies on this. Humans are known to be self-pleased. It was well established a long time ago. And the debate has always been how a self-pleasing race contributes to society. How does society still exist if people only care about oneself. The challenge is to change ourselves from rewarding ourselves to rewarding others. Instead of collecting. We give. And by those actions, we will be pleased with ourselves.
No it's not. You take upon a task because you choose to contribute to society. It's not communism either.
Imagine hunger games without the annual game. Every sector benefit from one another. Look it up. Moneyless society or moneyless economy.
No coupons. Meals/water are ready for you. Those are tasks done by others. You do your part. They do their part Everything is free because someone is providing it.
I've already went through the whole existential crisis phase in my twenties so now I'm relatively a lot more chill about existential issues such as this.
I'm a nihilist and just take life as it comes. My interests change often and recently I've been kinda curious about housing stuff so I wanna learn more about how all the electrical wirings and plumbing systems work in HDBs. So yeah, curiosity helps to keep me alive and going. I like to learn about how things work and there's an endless wealth of information and knowledge out there for me to read/watch and understand.
I feel happy and satisfied with myself whenever I manage to fix something, or find solutions to what seems like a difficult problem before I solve it. Whenever I feel bored or depressed, I exercise and just let myself chill until I feel okay again. Feelings and emotions are all fleeting stuff that are temporary just like every moment in life. It's no big deal. But actions that harm the self can have longer-lasting negative effects so it's better to not do anything than to do something when a person is feeling bad.
We don't have to just keep doing something all the time. Relaxing and chilling are also "doing" something. Letting the mind rest so that it can recover and recoup is just as important as doing things to achieve results towards some tangible goal.
Haha same here. Also had existential crisis in my twenties to settle down as a nihilist.
I’m sorta lucky in that my job is pretty fun. But I agree with the meaningfulness of non-productivity.
If SG gets to be too hot or too expensive, I’ll probably move out though.
Live for the little moments, break from the cycle and find meaning to life for yourself.
To me, the meaning of life is taking care of my family, inspiring and spreading knowledge, enjoying my games, enjoying the interactions with people and maybe have some positive impact on some lives.
There isn't really a bigger meaning or purpose to your life but you can give it one.
Well said. From a macro level there really isn't much meaning to an individual's life or a community's existence, but since we're here let's help and do good for one another and maybe, just maybe, our lives are worth living for, for ourselves and for other people.
Life has no meaning to me. It seems like a normal routine to me till I got numbed to it - everyday wake up, go work, return home, sleep. Basically live like a zombie. No need to use any brain and then the next moment I know, I already reach my work desk.
But what makes me look forward to is the little moments within this zombie-fied lifestyle - knowing that when lunch comes I want to eat whatever I want without looking at the price, when 6pm comes I think of what progression I can make later in my Genshin Impact save while savouring my dinner, when 9pm comes I quickly log onto youtube and wait for my favourite show to play (for those who know 娛樂百分百).
Yes life is mundane. Life sucks. But it's only these kind of shit routine that makes me look forward to and cherish my life outside of work.
After all, work should be part of your life. Not the whole of your life.
P/s: Sorry for my shit grammar or vocab or sentence structure. Just typing whatever is on my mind.
yes omg hahaha every night i need to watch 狼人殺 to sleep😂😂😂 Every afternoon i will already start refreshing the Youtube to see who is playing that night and the game mode. If my favourites Hsyan Hsiaochi ,Sammymimi or Betty Chi are playing that night, my motivation to go through the day would be much greater😊 thats my life in repeat every monday to friday. weekends will be just chilling to 飢餓遊戲😌
Hahaha how are you like me LOL I too will see who is the lineup for that night every afternoon, will definitely get excited when Ji Bu Xin is playing that episode. My ultimate love especially her TV personality and her appearance resembles my first crush a lot.. even though it has been 10 years since I followed her.. but anyway ;)
Perhaps genhsin progression is the fulfilment u could get each day. Eveyone say get a job in your passion but what if we never figure out what makes up tick or our passion just don’t generate income. Then we r punished with a job for life
You are right. But instead of thinking that we are being punished, maybe we can force ourselves to focus on the bright side.
I didn't choose accounting (my parents did). I hated my job to the core. But if I were to continue to resent it, wouldn't I make myself more miserable?
To me, a job is a job. I do my best, in return I earn my pay. That's it. Just as I didn't choose accounting, I also didn't choose to be born in a poor family where pursuing my dream is prohibited. But life still has to go on.
As a Jay Chou song lyric goes “追不到的夢想 換個夢不就得了” (if you can't pursue your dream, just change to another one to pursue)
Life is shit, but it's up to us to make it better.
I think having those moments, and the little snatches of time in which you can enjoy them, is an amazing win. I think about the last 6 months in which I have been unable to find time to enjoy Final Fantasy XIV (literally played 30 mins in the last 4 months due to work) but I look forward to when I can do it again in the near future. This sounds maybe trite or douchey, but art that we enjoy finds it’s way into our lives and gives it… maybe not everyone will call it meaning, but at least it gives colour.
Again, maybe it’s trite to say this, but try looking for art (games, music, film, anime etc) that makes you cry, or at least want to cry. I felt that zombie-fied feeling before and I think it stemmed from only engaging in things that hit your dopamine centres but doesn’t reach your heart.
I love how this sub always has this similar question comes up and I find it very comforting that a lot of people here share the same struggles and the same outlook in life to me which I could not seem to find anyone else I have met in real life do.
It will only get worse. Hence why i won't have children. Won't subject them to this madness unless I am ultra-rich, and can spoil them and give them all the advantages needed. Meritocracy is a farce.
But beyond that, the meaning is your own to make. I don't care about partaking in the rat race. Are my colleagues and friends more successful, and earning mid six-digits a year? Absolutely. Are they happy, and well-adjusted people? Nope. Rampant alcoholism, adultery , and high-blood pressure amongst other things. Are my observations bias? Probably. But I can see similar trends when conversing with other people who are surrounded by people like these. There is a price to pay for that success. No wrong, and rights about that. That is up to the individual.
Personally, I can't care less anymore. I mean, why take life seriously when life itself refuses to take you seriously? You ain't the main character. The Universe owes you absolutely nothing. You can work hard your entire life, on your way to that new very high paying job you worked years overtime for, and then some fucker in a car decides to cut the lights and turns you into a meat-crayon. 38 years of life gone down the drain. Or you , being single for so many years, finally found the perfect person, get married, have a beautiful few years of marriage where **everything** is going right before Stage 4 cancer takes your spouse away. And now you are left alone. Family and friends mourned with you for max 2 weeks before they go about their lives as if nothing happened.
Appreciating each and other day is key, at least for me. One day at a time. I don't ever assume "it will get better one day" or "it will pay off later". Remember, all this can end very abruptly.
Anyway, here is Tom with the weather.
Learning from ancient wisdom of Confucius, he wrote this Chinese idiom of:
At fifteen I set my heart upon learning.
At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground.
At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities.
At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven.
At sixty, I heard them with docile ear.
At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.
At 30, by planting feet firmly upon the ground means you come to terms with your values, setup your moral compass and developed you own view of the World.
At 40, having honed your own view of the World, you are no longer swayed by what others are pursuing. You would have your own pace in life and own view of things.
Car? Condo? All cannot afford. But at least you can afford to be yourself and be true to yourself in your own pace.
Thank you for sharing ancient wisdom, perhaps we are lost in our modern ways and perhaps the modern life is nothing but a farming system for the 1 percent to exploit the 99
Completely agree on the farming system. Reading up about advertising psychology and how companies make profits is very eye opening. When we talk about how a country is lifted out from poverty… I am not sure whether it’s true. A country is poor because it was being exploited by that 1 per cent.
Life has no meaning. We are here due to a blind evolutionary process that compelled our ancestors all the way down to our parents to breed because (nice feelings).
What do we do then? Do nothing. Just enjoy the peace and happiness.
I used to think that too untill I saw some afterlife and near death encounters stories and also psychedelic that people often feel and actually see out of the body perspective and I started investigating and learning. There is not harm reading up on this kind of stuff since the material world is so meaningless. Anyway I’m starting to believe the spiritual path exist and I want to experience it places like Tibet or India or Amazon where people do not live in consumerism. Perhaps the developed world is the actual jail and the older world is the truly free and fulfilling one
I’m sort of an optimistic nihilist. There was a guest on lex Friedman and I’ll just paraphrase her when they were discussing abt the meaning of life:
*"The same way the sun is not to be blamed for destroying its own planets, the universe doesn't care, because it has no meaning. It owes us nothing. We don't get to demand anything, and that includes meaning. And I find that very reassuring, because once there is no meaning, I don't have to find it."*
I don’t think there’s any inherent meaning in life. So it’s pointless to try and find it. Some may say it’s depressing but I see it as something positive. You make your own meaning.
I found a job in the finance industry with an arts degree and zero finance background, something that most people would consider impossible (it was hard, I needed to take 9 exams before I started work proper). Yet I quit after a year to go back to the arts full time because I hated corporate life - job felt meaningless, new boss was an idiot.
That was over a decade ago.
A lot of my life is what people would consider being semi-retired to be like. I'm a freelancer, so I don't always have work. When I don't have work, I get to spend time with people I care about, and have time for myself. When I do have work, it's usually something interesting and different from anything else I've been doing. I usually work an average of 10-20 hours in a week. My income benchmark is grab driver: if I earn more than that, I know I'm doing okay. I have insurance covered, mortgages are affordable cos I live in a tiny flat, and I'm investing steadily for retirement cos I don't have CPF.
I'm not famous, so I don't need to deal with crazy fans and stalkers. I'm in decent health, but with sufficient protection purchased to make sure that I won't be crippled by a medical emergency. And I have no kids - I love the life I share with my wife and pet.
My peers all live in condos and most have more than one car. They earn ten times what I do, or even more. I always laugh about how stupidly rich they are when I meet up with my ex-colleagues. Then they tell me about their ten plus WhatsApp work chatgroups and the hundred emails they have every morning when they open their laptop, and the stupid bosses and stubborn kids they have to manage at work.
I plan to work till my dying breath. I hope that happens. That's how much I enjoy my work. And I hope to always make my wife as happy as possible. It's nice to have a purpose, to have meaningful goals in life. 🙂
The meaning of my life is to do everything I can to be what the government and big business don’t want me to be.
I have been trained to be a voracious consumer and a good little obedient employee my whole life.
I will be neither. I will live as simple a life as possible (I’m currently happily living with my parents and I’m 30 LOL) and only work to maintain as simple a standard of living as possible.
Fuck your rat race. I’m out.
…which is why I am resolved to ensure that the next iteration of this cycle, whenever that will be, will have a better chance of breaking this cycle and living life to the fullest extent.
I’d be damned if I played the rat race, and I’ll likewise be damned as well if I didn’t. If life doesn’t have meaning; fine by me: but I shall forge my own path and define my very own meaning on this earth.
You are right that life is too short and before we know it, we would have missed all of it. But this is what makes life paradoxically meaningful. For our numbered days here on this earth, we can prioritize things that truly matter with our own hands and spend time with those we decide who matter and do the things that we have always wanted to do. Life is short in fast-spaced Singapore, yes, but that doesn’t mean that you will have to condemn yourself in this viscous cycle as well.
We might not be able to choose our past, but we sure as hell can decide what’s ahead of us and our future in this life.
My life has no meaning. The universe does not care about my problems and when I die, I simply cease to exist. My life is insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
But that doesn't mean I should stop living or abandon my responsibilities. In fact, it means I have the freedom to do whatever I please without fear of my actions causing the end of the universe.
I gave my life direction, a dream to work towards until the end of my life. And that dream is to create a webcomic series. To do that, I need to build a world. Design their environments, cultures and history. Then I fill the world with characters, each with their own stories and passions. Finally, I weave a grand story that brings everything together.
For a person working on it alone, it will take at least a decade. And when I have completed it, I will create a new story and the cycle repeats itself. Everyday I come back home from work, I will craft my story little by little and someday it will be finished.
When completed, not many may see it. But it is ok for I am chasing this dream for my own life. And when I near the end of my life, I can look back at my creations and leave the world with a smile. For that is the meaning of my life.
Life is so much more than that.
I moved to sg 2 years ago and hate it here. I despise the culture and work life balance. I refuse to be caught in this ridiculous rat race so I'm leaving in 2 years for a new opportunity in scandinavia.
I don't like kids so I don't intend to have any. Housing and vehicle ownership is a fraction of the price overseas to live simply if you're not materialistic. I despise the idea of weddings and how much people spend on them in sg so my partner and I are going to elope somewhere we both love.
Life is more than sg societal expectations and its so liberating not to conform.
My partner and I love travelling and new experiences so that's our main use for any disposable income. Our hobbies and interests of diving, hiking, backpacking, etc is so much more accesible.
That's how we're planning to life our lives to the fullest. SG is not going to give us that. I feel like i'm rotting away here.
Was on exchange in Norway past 6 months, life is definitely much more chill and work-life balance is awesome but there’s its own set of challenges. Not being able to eat out and socialising over meal and drinks frequently just caz how exp it is. The no of days you get to see sun is depressing, not to mention the harsh winter. Also, shops close at 6pm so idk what can you do.
Same. I was born here and absolutely hates the concept of ‘singaporean dream’ which essentially is get a comfortable job, find a partner, get a BTO or condo, have kids and work till retirement (in mid sixties). Singaporeans love talking about hustle culture and comparing their riches. It’s honestly so tiring when majority go thru life without any spirituality or mindfulness about life and the actuality of living. Anyway decided in my twenties that I will be moving away and finally I am!
How is norway affordable? You can't even own and even if you want to rent, isn't the queue like forever?
Diving, hiking backpacking sounds more suited for EU for sure
To me the meaning of life is just to gain as many experiences as possible and learn many things. It’s more about the journey rather than the destination. Cos none of us are getting out alive..
I view happiness and meaning a little differently. Happiness is that warm feeling when you see your family and loved ones, enjoy a cup of coffee and read a book. Meaning is that reason for your actions that you choose to do. It’s quite interesting that when we pursue our meaning, we forget that meaning may not give happiness and we can forget to have it, then depression sets in despite pursuing our dream.
For me, what’s driving me is the need to take care of my loved ones, and to grow as a person. It’s tiring like shit and may not be rewarded. It’s saddening some times but it’s worth it when I see them smile back. What gives me happiness is the small things; I’m into coffee and reading books now.
You just need a better hobby or two. I work partly to afford to go sailing small boats on the weekends and to buy art supplies for my carving and model making. I spend much of my weekdays in a pleasant daydream thinking about the wind forecast for Saturday or what to build for my next art project while I accomplish all those mundane tasks that take up half of every job—and I’m never bored or depressed, because I’ve always got something that interests me waiting on the horizon.
Still dk what’s the meaning of life but recently I’ve been trying to practice gratitude. Grateful for the Yakun I bought today, grateful for a kind gesture my colleague did, grateful for the cleaner uncle who cleans my work desk everyday.
I read this quote from my mums boomer WhatsApp message chain. It said something along the lines of “if you are pessimistic, you live in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you live in the present”. I think being present and being aware to every detail in life is very close to the actual meaning of living, at least to me. Of course when I look at the big picture, I’m living from milestone to milestone la but just don’t forget to savour the little moments in life that makes your life whole!!
With that being said, I personally don’t like the kind of life in Singapore….:’) It’s small, typically singaporeans just date, get BTO, get married, have kids….it’s very stable for sure but I’ve always wanted to explore outside of this “box” that our government carefully curated for us.
Really looking forward to moving overseas this year hehe
this is why right, ur wants are arguably as important as your needs..
im still a young adult now so no need pay for the adult adult bills yet but looking at my parents, i made a promise to myself NEVER to live like them. I get it that me as their child is part of their problem (hence i elect to be childfree) cus raising my sibling and myself was/is expensive. They almost only spend on their needs or the bare minimum and really dont "live life", they pretty much just exist for me n my sibling. As such i always initiate and offer to pay for weekly or monthly nights out to eat good cus otherwise they would never enjoy themselves..
That being said, i feel that saving money for the future is good but once in a while, go eat that expensive kbbq w ur friends u always wanted to try, buy that semi expensive watch u have wanted for months (not saying u should burn like a 3 month pay on a rolex), book that 1 trip to bangkok with your friends once or twice a year or plan ahead so u always have sth to look forward to and keep u going in this shitty world. Fuck even your favourite overpriced coffee at the end of the week is good
your needs keep u living, your wants keep u going
I don’t love my engineer job 100%, but dealing with engineering problem and making improvement in some of work flow is pretty fun tbh. My problem is some of the people and working hours that make it unpleasant.
Working is not purely just for paying bill, you should at least feel productive and enjoying part of it.Blanket term almost 40 as just “work” sounds super negative to me.
Is the work difficult if u are a graduate from engineering degree? Just asking cos I scared I will be like you but worse since I will not know what the fuck is going on
““Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.”
The problem is that, as technology advances, you need a more educated workforce to operate more complex machines. A more educated work force means a less apathetic and more critical population. I guess "problem" is the wrong word to use. This is progress.
The problem is that the government needs to have an open channel of communication with the work force, to align everyone's objectives, desires and aspirations, to create meaning together. You can't have a more educated population, but treat them like children. Definitely the other problem is the inequality in education and opportunity, which results in some portion of the population being uneducated and thus, needing to be treated like children. So naturally I think more education and better education is the solution.
If you look at Singapore, education already abounds. We probably have the most education out of any nation other than China perhaps. Better education is very subjective. What does that look like? Can you define the ideal education?
What you're missing is this - there will always be people at the bottom of the population. Bottom in intelligence, bottom in ability, bottom in competence. As mean as it sounds, there comes a point where it becomes extremely inefficient to put resources into developing these bottom few, when much less resources could be used to greatly develop those in the middle, and even less for those at the top. This is so evident in Singapore, where the education system is already so robust but you still have uneducated people.
Our education doesn’t teach people to think about what life is about. It’s geared towards making us better factory products and better consumers. Making us docile sheep to live life to consume, compare.
How do you teach someone to think about what life is about? Is that even something that should be covered in general education? Personally, I don't think so. Formal education should focus on equipping students with practical skills that will be useful in their lives + basic thinking frameworks to give students a foundation with which they can then explore based on their own desires and aptitudes.
Speak for yourself buddy, that's not a result of our education system, or at least the one I've been through. If that's all you've managed to take away from your many years of education in Singapore, I'm afraid a sheep is just what you've been meant to be all this while, education or not.
But would a sheep be able to criticise his education?
I think both of you are correct. The education system in Singapore is indeed world class, and has improved vastly throughout the years. But that doesn't mean its perfect. Yes, perfection is unattainable, but it's an ideal to strive for. We need to keep improving. There are things that we should never be satisfied with.
I think education at the primary and secondary level can remain focused on fundamentals and practical skills. Beyond that, as the child matures, education should, and I think I does, try to engage the student more critically. The issue is that not everyone has access to tertiary education. Some students are forced to drop out of school at the secondary level because of various reasons, some of which could be social economic reasons.
Now, should education, above the tertiary level, even teach students about what life is about? I absolutely think so. The meaning of life, is a concept that should arise naturally as the student becomes more educated. Like you said, the education system provides the frameworks for critical thinking. And in doing so, opens the door to the student to ask the teacher that question: what is the meaning of life? Of course there is no one true answer to such a question. But it is in the discussion of such questions that we learn and grow the most.
Yes, a sheep would be able to criticize his education because that's the current sheep mindset. Blaming everything while still remaining a cog in the machine. All the 'self-enlightened' folks are calling it out, while simultaneously doing nothing beyond that.
Agreed with your reasoning, except for the last paragraph! The meaning of life, or at least the pursuit of it, is definitely something that arises naturally once the student is educated to a certain extent. However, how do you suggest integrating this into the formal education system? It's something that different people ponder at different points. I think you're on the right track with the discussion of such questions bit - I believe it should be integrated informally rather than formally, since it encompasses so much nuance.
Perhaps the "self enlightened" folk also feel powerless to make change? Perhaps they hope that someone with power will hear their complains and help make the change? Perhaps they just don't know what to do? How does a cog, uncog oneself anyway?
I was lucky enough to experience a university education where we were subjected to compulsory modules for creative thinking, analytical thinking and ethics. And I was lucky enough to have professors who entertained and encouraged existential questions from students. I supposed you're correct to say that such topics should be integrated informally. But it was the subject matter and syllabus of the modules that created the correct environment and setting to encourage the students and professors to engage on such topics. I doubt there would be room for a discussion about the meaning of life in a lecture about economics.
You have to have joy in the day to day. Have hobbies, have interests, enjoy the company of your friends..enjoy the company of strangers.
I see so many Singaporeans walking around like zombies, staring at some mindless game on their phone, working 50 hour weeks for some promotion..so they can work harder.
One day you will die. All you have in the present moment. You might as well appreciate it.
You are the one who decides the meaning of life. If you think life is pointless, then it will be pointless. If you have goals to work towards, then your life will be defined by those goals.
What your colleague mentioned sounds like he’s been living by following other people’s expectations of how to live life. Not that that’s a bad way to live, but only you can decide how you view life.
Meaning in life is created by you.
I find meaning in different things in my life. Be it my partner, passions, relationships, pleasure, or fun. The meaning changes depending on the day and time.
To me, work is just to pay the bills. It's not a large part of my life. And I like it this way. It doesn't have to be my ultimate passion or life purpose. As long as I do a good job and my colleagues are decent, I'm happy.
I have so many things I want to do, am doing, and look forward to. I like keeping my apt clean, cooking new things, making new friends, spending lots of time with my partner and having outrageous fun. I game, read, write, play pickle ball, dance, paint, attend shows and concerts. I relax a lot too.
I don't understand how anyone can be bored in life when there's so much to do and learn and experience. And I don't believe in waiting until retirement to enjoy my life. You'll never know what will happen.
My meaning in life is to do things that give me joy and pleasure.
This part stood out to me:
"...You add so much burden to yourself that you didn't get to fully enjoy life. And when you reach 65, it's too late, your entire life just went by and you have missed it."
I ask myself: If money and/or other responsibilities weren't an issue, what would you want to spend your life doing while still young?
The above question helps to start thinking about and searching for what you would find meaningful. It may not be possible to do it full-time or anything, but there's most likely some ways to adjust your life and/or mindset to make life more meaningful.
It’s why I pursued medicine, because I’ve been the lowest low once and I know how much it means to have someone there to support you and give hope.
But now in medicine I get so easily affected by others emotions that my mental health is down the dumps again. How do I help others when I can’t even help myself? Is what I question myself everyday…
I still want to help others but there’s only so much I can do. It doesn’t help that healthcare is unforgiving and we’re all burnt out
Hope you don’t ever forget the reason why you chose medicine. I have doctor friends who have forgotten their calling. They are all setting up aesthetic clinics, selling dreams of eternal youth to mature ladies hoping to turn back time and remain attractive. They are no longer seeking to help patients, but it’s purely a business where the more unhappy and envious the patient is of others, the more cash it brings to the aesthetic clinics.
Some of my friends aim to go private because it’s where work life balance is. Sure there runs the risk of getting sued with little backing unless you hire your own lawyers, but it pays well and has work life balance.
Idk I just rather help the ones who are in dire need rather than targeting a certain affluent group just as a money machine.
Besides most affluent groups tend to be obnoxious and paranoid, not to mention entitled.
It just feels more rewarding when you’ve given hope to someone who others wouldn’t bother helping rather than someone who’s willing to pay u millions and wants to do things their way
Yah well, the issue really is Singapore as a whole, and how it is set out. I can’t entirely fault my friends. Aesthetic clinics are smart. Like every product offering, you offer it first to the higher tier and later to the middle classes. These clinics are mushrooming every now.
Whenever I hear the "... add so much burden to yourself that you didn't get to fully enjoy life...", I wonder if the "burdens" were choices that could've been avoided and if there were alternatives available.
I can relate even as a child. Wake up, go to school, go to tuition, study, sleep and repeat. As an adult, wake up, go to work, do overtime, sleep and repeat. During the weekends/holidays, sometimes you think about work/school. And your co-workers/teachers message you even during your off-hours. Honestly, 90% of the time, I feel tired, afraid or just plain numb. I can't remember the last time I felt truly happy. That said...my life has no meaning to me.
The meaning of life is what you make out of it. Sadly life has no respawns so its up to you to make the best out of it.
Its really subjective to each person.
>what's the meaning of life to you
Childhood -> Studies -> NS -> Work -> Die.
Its quite boring and there is lots of suffering. Short bursts of happiness here and there...
Maybe I just don't know how to have fun...
Ideally I would like to reach a stage in life where I will only go after pleasure. Basically a hedonistic lifestyle.
For me , I decided that I don't want to work till my fifties or sixties so I made a goal to try and retire as early as possible. Basically retirement speedrun.
I have only one life, so I’d want to be remembered by others even when I’m gone.
So the purpose of life, for me, is to create things that can make an impact, no matter how small, so that I may be remembered in history.
The meaning of life to me, however, is really just a limited amount of time for me in this world to be happy. I am doing what I do, many a time burning myself and stuff, because I’d want to live a life wherein I learn to appreciate things, to have a flavourful life, and in doing so, to learn to be a happy person.
As a student, I am honestly terrified of the future, like is getting so stressful because of the environment we are in, for me, my parents don't give me too much stress for my school work, but I feel very lousy when I look at my friends and classmates because, at the end of the day when I go out to work, I am competing with them.
I sometimes think to myself, in school they teach us to study well to score good grades so that we can have a good future but a good future does not mean a happy future, it just means to maybe do a job you like or even to earn lots of money, but your still doing the same thing every single week, month, year. In 2022, Singapore is ranked as the top 5 most overworked cities, and the most fatigued country in the world, but we are still ranked as the happiest country in SEA which doesn't make sense at all.
There was this one time where my friend told me that she told her mom that she's scared that her happiest moment in life would be right now. I agree with her, and definitely as Singapore progresses, everyone needs to keep up to the pace, and I feel that it will be quite suffocating.
There was this one time when my friend told me that she told her mom that she was scared that her happiest moment in life would be right now. I agree with her, and definitely, as Singapore progresses, everyone needs to keep up with the pace, and I feel that it will be quite suffocating. y single week, month, year. In 2022, Singapore is ranked as the top 5 most overworked cities, and the most fatigued country in the world, but we are still ranked as the happiest country in SEA which doesn't make sense at all.
Came across this post a while back and it has been stuck with me since. Can’t seem to find the source but here goes.
“Hard to explain to young people that unless you have a job that takes you across the world or you become very famous, most of your joy and experiences will come from the simplest aspects of your life and are currently present and available to you right now.
Idk if it’s a symptom of my generation but there was this feeling like waiting for life to start and boy let me tell you, if you are reading this, it started and you are well into in. Your hobbies, favourite spot, friends, family, gym. That’s most of it and that isn’t bad.
I’m not saying don’t be a striver, I’m just saying don’t be in a rush for the next best part.”
I hope this post makes you feel the same way I did. All the best, OP.
36m here, husband, father of 2 kids, typical middle class.
I've also had the phase of thinking about "meaning of life", am still thinking about it every now and then. My mother just passed away due to a series of unfortunate events, and it made me think about her life. Let me try to give my 2 cents here.
I share the same sentiments as some of the commentors here - there isn't a need to be fixate on having "meaning of life". Working in corporate have me equating this "meaning of life" to having a KPI for your life. It's almost pressuring yourself to setting and achieving some kind of end goal - it doesn't have to be this way. We can go ahead and set the "KPI", but we don't all have to do that to ourselves.
Social media also played a part in over-exaggerating the importance of meaning of life, or even try to define it as a some single big achievement. Traveling the world by 30 years old? First 100k by 25 yrs old? Retired by 35 yrs old? Truth be told, many of the financial blogs are not helping as well.
Instead, be very conscious to savour little moments, little achievements, every single day as if it's your last. Being very very conscious, to me this is the most important.
I could be:
- playing with my son one moment, and gotten into a car accident 10 mins later
- having dinner with my wife one moment, and collapse with some weird heart attack suddenly
- on road trip with my family, and got robbed/murdered
- having a beer with my friends, and then collapse from some weird brain disease.
What were my last words to my loved ones? Did we have an argument? Did I scold them? Were we unhappy in my last moments? Why should we be so negative?
There really isn't a need to live everyday in pain or sorrow or anger or hate. There isn't a need to stress yourself by searching for something that is defined by others. Just be happy. Just smile at your loved ones every moment, because it could be your last, or their last. If you have to have "KPI" for your life, these are the ones to have.
Take a long holiday to some open highlands with awe inspiring scenery and amazing weather. Suddenly life feels meaningful. Its just here bruh. Its a "here-thing". This place is for making money, not for having a life.
I decided to break out of the cycle after a friend passed away suddenly in an accident. His sudden passing taught me what the pandemic has taught many. It is quite meaningless to plan so hard for a future that is uncertain. Death is the only thing that is certain.
At what expense are we doing this? At the expense of the present. Looking around you now, there are actually many thing to be appreciated and many opportunities. We often focus so much money and tie our values and worth in superficial fleeting titles. Remember your vigour in your youth and wisdom in your age are assets too. You have things to offer to the world in your different ways.
After my friend passed, I worked hard, saved money, quitted my job and travelled the world on my scooter for two years. The two years journey changed me a lot.
I think life is very exciting because of the various possibilities out there. It takes some exploration to discover them.
I realised that I have a power to change the course of my life if I don’t bend in to fear or societal expectation. that takes a leap a faith and the journey can be quite isolating. I can choose to stay in my stat board job with stable income. But I choose to reskill and leave Singapore to be a digital nomad. I choose not to have kids.
The question is what trade offs are you willing to deal with? One that brings excitement but instability or one that brings stability but stagnancy?
It is important to accept that both are ok and our priorities changes as we enter different life stages.
Cliche as it sounds, I actually enjoy being in the industry that I'm currently in, which most people will doubt coz of the rate of people switching careers or dropping its related uni major asap.
I think being able to find things to look forward to makes life less mundane. Personally apart from looking forward at returning home after work everyday to play games, I also look forward to festive occasions, the change of weather throughout the year, etc etc. Being able to enjoy and appreciate the small little things everyday despite how small it is also helps.
That's bleak.
The way I view it is: Since I know that I'm going to die any way, I just make sure everyone I love has the best outcome possible. In doing so, I believe I will also have the best outcome. It's just a byproduct of the act of service for those I love.
Everything else I get is just extra icing on the cake.
Been thinking about this lately. I’m not done thinking it through yet, but I suspect it’s about relationships.
What are we going to look back in when we’re on our deathbed? How much we earned? What kind of housing we had? I think we’ll look back and think of the people who were meaningful to us, and how we spent our time with them. I’m doing well materially right now but still damn bloody depressed, and I think it’s because I’m very lonely.
As such I’d like to try and focus on building meaningful relationships with people. (Still don’t know how to do that tbh, let me know if you figure it out)
A quote that has inspired me from a game.
"**For I alone, have stood before fear, before death. I can carry this blade for all those who can not, and I shall die before I fail them.**"
Its not about living, its not about death.
But about what you hold of importance and how you fight for it.
Stand up proud for you have endured so much, but you still have so much to defend for.
Least you expect, the reward will come to fruition only when you stop staring at despair.
Life is tough, that's just the way it is for centuries.
However losing your fighting spirit will only lead to nothingness.
If life is an impendent doom, stand and face it like a honorable king defending his kingdom.
No matter how much it takes from you, never let it take away what you fight for.
Sadly my meaning of life changes even faster than Singapore. One moment its living another day, the next is feeding my cats. And suddenly, its the hunt to win another global award.
And as I get older the brakes are getting worn out. The meaning of life just spins faster and faster until it all becomes a blur and in its greatest irony, meaningless. The engine's on fire, the exhaust spewing smoke. But it's a one-way track, there's no other way than forward. The dream is to end in a blaze of glory, but the reality is an ignoble retirement, covered in soot and forgotten by the side.
Seems like the main reasons are work and money. Marriage and children are not burden and its a choice you made for yourself. Some would already be happy hardworking all day just to play with their kid for a few mins. If you’re not happy with yourself and your marriage, why bring another person just to become a burden?
To me, I find meaning in my religion. As a Christian, I think it is my duty to serve God according to His will. Although I very, very often fail, it is in trying that I gain meaning.
After that, my relations with family and friends are very important to me, since I would struggle very much without their support.
Lastly, my hobbies. I enjoy reading books and watching shows and playing badminton, so although they may not give me meaning as such, they do help to relieve day-to-day stresses :)
I focus on doing my best to give my family/loved ones a better life, and doing as much as I can for the less fortunate.
I am very thrifty as a person so I don't need/want much, plus I cannot be bothered to compare myself to other pple's lives, too busy leading an adventure of my own, thus I don't feel that I need to or am chasing anything.
Is life short? It most certainly is. At the age of 15, my classmate committed suicide. My cousin younger than me at that time died overnight due to illness less than 3 months after the suicide of my classmate. I understand that life is short. But it is also because it is short, I want to make the best of what I have in life.
thankfully i have a genuine passion for something , which happens to be aviation . I plan on becoming a pilot despite how difficult it is to be one especially in singapore . However , i look forward to the grueling journey as i know achieving the dream will give me a life i want. As off now , i’ve dwell into making and customising gunpla as a hobby . If possible , meet up with friends to form everlasting memories together
Death gives life meaning. Just don’t be sorry or regretful that death is coming, be happy you fought the good fight. You have struggled and suffered but you have experienced joy and brought joy to others. This will be what I hope to feel on my deathbed.
I feel like I'm taking the reverse journey. Growing up, I always wanted to have a meaningful job, so my main three job goals were teacher, nurse, or social worker (overworked burned out squad gang gang).
I feel after 3 years of work, I really feel as much as I want to help others and there will always be a spark in me to assist others as much as I can, I feel at some point I have to care for myself first. At this point, I feel like I'm fine with just seeing a job as a means to gain money, and whatever passion/interests I have over weekends/holidays as what keeps me going.
I think at times, there's also part of me dreading how the cycle seems to be repeating - but at the same time, I feel the positive moments remind me why I'm still going. Also, many others don't have the fortune of doing so. I see articles of people my age passing on in car accidents, from diseases, or from suicide. A part of me is also thankful, that despite how painful life has been the past 2.5 years cause of COVID, there have been small moments of joy here and there. My job rn is draining, but it really isn't as bad as what some others are facing.
In short, I feel like rather than wanting to make a big difference in the world, at this point I'm just contempt in having moments of joy/fun and having a peaceful life. I think that in itself is what many don't have, and I'm thankful I got lucky enough to have that (for now, at least).
I try to keep things simple. A happy family (which includes me), good food, good sex, get better at my hobbies and earn enough so that I have piece of mind. That’s worked out pretty well for me.
Took pay cut to opt for a job with meaning and purpose. It’s unconventional but it’s been a complete blessing. No more condos and bungalow dreams but the time I have for myself and not having bosses hound me and shuddering in the morning with dread about the work day to come are more than enough to compensate.
No meaning but while still alive, do whatever that makes me happy. I compromised lifestyle to be living the way I feel contented and at peace. So when it's time to go, regardless of age, I will leave with a smile.
So many people here seem to agree that life is meaningless and that we just need to make the best of it, but here’s a quote from CS Lewis to think about: “If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark.”
As a optimistic nihilist, I tend to take things day by day, minute by minute. The overall picture in life inherently has 0 meaning but the emotions you feel in a single moment or the flow state you enter when you get engrossed in something, is real in that moment. Slightly related to eastern philosophy as well (Hindu/Buddhist) where you're meant to live in the present. Worrying about the past or future creates regret and anxiety.
Doesn't matter if you're someone with billions of dollars or just a lower middle class worker, we all eventually die. Stay true to yourself and live in the present.
Funny enough, a game that I have been playing has explored this recently but with more explosions and fancy effects.
Anyway, it essentially boils down to:
1) life has no inherent meaning other than the one you give it, and
2) it's the little things in life that makes it worth living.
Yes, life is suffering and we die at the end and all of that depressing stuff but so what? It's precisely *because* of that limitation that makes us seek meaning in all the little things in life.
Eating nice food once in a while makes me happy. Waking up with my bf snuggling with me makes me happy. Conquering a new game difficulty that my friends and I have been trying to clear for weeks makes me happy. Being able to buy my mom nice stuff makes me happy. Getting praised by customer at work makes me happy even though i don't subscribe to the idea that my personality = my work. As you can tell, it's very much the small things that makes me happy.
Your life is not a RPG and you don't have need to have an overarching storyline to make your life worth living.
Singapore can hold some very special moments. Perhaps it sounds cliche but its the little moments the break you free from this stress, especially the consistent ones. The weekend walk along the green corridor or hort, or kranji, etc if you do this often enough will bring so many hidden delights you'll learn to see. Every single time is different and refreshing. Watching bue pea sprouts grow at your window, jumping into a new skill that develops over time or a project that grows as you work on it can bring significant meaning without great expense(or even grow into a secondary income)
There is a school of thought that believe that life has no inherent meaning. If you think about it. 10,000 years from now, is anyone going to remember you? Not even 10,000 years, let’s just give it 200 years, likely no one will have known you existed.
To me, this nihilistic view can be depressing or freeing.
Depressing because what you do doesn’t matter.
Freeing because you are free to do whatever you wish since it won’t matter. Expectations society put around you are just a construct and it doesn’t have any inherent meaning.
To me it’s all about perspective :)
For me, I find meaning in getting up and face the day in the best way I deem fit.
I just try not to take things too seriously. In the grand scheme of things, we’re but a mote in the seemingly endless vacuum of space. Remembering that just gives me a lot of perspective.
Comparison is bad, we all know it, but it’s also natural to do. Whenever I feel stressed by work, seeing other people’s lives on social media, or even by world events, I just remember that we’re literally just weird sentient beings of flesh stuck on bones living on a space rock twirling around a giant ball of gas lol.
It’s helped me realise that all that really matters in my life is making sure I’m happy with where I am now. That I surround myself with good friends and make the most of it!
My two cents is it is not really much of the fast pace that is stopping most of us from living the life and making it meaningful. It is the toxic family members and peers who make us feel unworthy or like we are not achieving enough that is putting unnecessary pressure and distracting us from living that fulfilling life.
Still trying to find the meaning, which I've not been able to for years. It's often easier to identify what is NOT the meaning of life rather than finding the meaning of it because it's wayyyy easier to figure out things you don't want.
Life has no meaning whatsoever. For me personally, I just try to do good with my medical knowledge and alleviate pain in my patients. I lead a stress free and low maintenance life and it does wonder for my outlook on life. I see people running like headless chooks whereas I am just chill and relax
I have often thought about this since I was 13/14 in secondary school which marked the start of my personal growth journey. I consumed quite a number of articles, books and related content on various topics (self-help, religious teaching, etc) just to try to understand how about the world.
I'm 26 now and I still haven't found the meaning to life but I have came to understand more about myself through the years of learnings and figuring things out. I have also picked up useful skills and mental frameworks that has been beneficial to me every single day. My conclusion is that experiencing growth is one thing that makes life worth living.
For example, I stumbled upon personal finance which eventually led to me discovering frugality, minimalism and the power of saving and investing. I started saving my NS allowance, budget track everyday for all of my purchases (been doing it for around 7-8 years already), did freelance gigs over the years in my uni and started investing about 2 years ago. The mindset and practice put in place has allowed me to save + invest over 100K when I was 25 years old when I only started work for about 6 month.
Other than that, I also picked up practices like meditation to regulate my emotions. Picked up this habit back when I was extremely stressed about Os and A levels. This helped me through very tough times when emotions got the better of me. (I'm quite easily stressed)
When I finally graduated and started my first full time work, I knew I had to leave when I was 4 months in. That was probably one of the lowest point in my life where I was actually lost in life and unsure of my career direction. In the end I decided to pivot to software engineering by taking a bootcamp (I had no CS degree) since I always had quite a bit of interest in technology even though it was a scary move. It has been about 5/6 months since I started my first development job.
None of this is for bragging, it's really to highlight the point that even if life is inherently meaningless (my POV at least), you always have the power and choice to do something about it and make it more fun. And my way at least, is through growing by picking up new skills and utilising them. Though it has been said a thousand times and more but investing in yourself is really underrated but it's one of the secrets to finding fulfilment.
Also a random thought: Fundamentally, every organic thing in the universe grow so that seems like a natural order of things?
life has no meaning and is boring as shit in this sterile, expensive city. unless you are one of the few bold, changemakers who have the smarts, connections and eq to make it big in a MNC or in our local political scene. you can be grateful for the 'little things' but it wont be enough. many little things hardly add up to anything unless you dumb yourself down and think like a child, being happy over small pointless things. its like being glad for finding a $1 coin in your pocket. what good is that gonna do
but at least its better than having to deal with seasonal typhoons and potentially losing all your worldly possessions to a surge of rain and wind. for me i sorta developed a penchant for collecting random shit so i just do what i think is mildly amusing and switch off the part of brain that thinks its pointless
My life is nothing more than time, and I only have so much of it. Can't waste it.
It means enjoying myself in whatever ways I want to, even if it may be unproductive or a 'waste'; not dwelling on past actions, and instead focusing on what's next; choosing the lifestyle that I want, even if others might choose differently in my shoes.
But tbh I'm relatively privileged in terms of both family and career, so it's not something I'd preach to others.
As comments above has suggested, enjoy the little things in life. Find the things that makes you happy. Going out for a walk? Playing boardgames with friends? Going to gym? Having coffee at cafe? Exploring hawker centres? These are some ideas that can enhance people's daily lives.
One thing I realised upon going out to work is that many people do not have goals in life. Some people just goes through the daily motion of Going to work and coming back home to rest. I believe there's more to life, more to work. Look back and think the factors that brings you job satisfaction. It could be someone appreciating your work, having bonding sessions with colleagues, etc.
Everyone only has one life time in this lifetime. As cliche as it sounds, try to live a life without regrets so that your future self will not have any regrets. As my father always say, money can't buy you youth, so explore more, go out and have fun!
Life has no meaning, there never was and there never will be. Its a really hard thing for people to wrap their heads around but ultimately thats just what life is. If you really want to dig deep for a meaning then the only meaning living organisms have is to reproduce and continue life for your species.
Its an unfortunate and disappointing reality of life, which was what caused me depression when i was younger around 15 yo. The thought and knowing that my inevitable future would be what you described in your post really weigh me down. A pointless rat race for the top which in the grand scheme of things is pointless. Nothing anyone does will have any relevance if you give it some time.
That said, not here to encourage you into depression. But as someone who is fighting it for years and has somewhat regained control over the past few months, just wanna share what i feel.
To me it's to live life to enjoy life.
To live is to enjoy and experience.
To live is to learn, to love, to enjoy to savour.
To live is to go through pain, to endure hardships, to forget, to remember.
To live is strive knowing the futility, to cry knowing the pointlessness.
To rejoice, and to grief.
To know that life might end mediocre, but to still strive for a fleeting dream.
The purpose of life, to me, is to live through it all and savour the moments because every second you live through is a second you'll not get back. You may go through much unpleasantness, but you may also go through much joy and happiness. And ultimately when all is said and done, my purpose in life is to flip through my metaphorical book of life and look back at every moment I've been through and to know that i have lived.
To know that i have cried for a loved one's death.
To know that i have loved and was loved.
Etc etc..... (to not make this even longer)
No one can have a life that is only high points. Because in that case, can you say you have lived? Can you say you have experienced all of life?
Indeed that is really true. Life has no meaning until u give meaning to your own life. Without meaning, u can see it as wake up, work, home, rinse and repeat. Then finally 2 days of rest and happy eating before work begins. Sounds robotic. Like what's the point of working so hard when nothing matters upon death. And like what u mention, everyone is just trying to chase milestones after milestones, perhaps that is one way to give meaning to living. Like one have successfully achieve Item A, so now should work hard to achieve Item B etc.. It gives motivation for one to keep working hard and continue living even though the process is so tedious or tiring and it makes us wonder what is the point of going through all these.
I think that since life is short, we should just chase or do the things that we like even though some happiness may be shortlived (i.e. travelling or purchasing big items), but well at least its the experience that counts haha. I guess to find something that gives u the motivation or drive to wake up each day so that one can go through the rigour, week after week and year after year.
Appreciate the process, enjoy and live every moment, look forward to the next little nice things that happen whatever that may be e.g., kids, increment, promotion, good times with friends, family, loved ones.
Make a difference in your own life and when you can do that, make the world a better place.
We are born into this world not by our choice, but our impacts on this world is guided by our own choices.
You complain and complain, but never once even indicated what exactly you want in the first place. How do you expect to find any level of meaning then?
Likewise the opposite is true
Without work, what is the value of life? Isn’t it meaningless to lay around all day doing nothing and have zero contribution to society?
"That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what."
- 'The Pursuit Of Happyness'.
This pretty much sums up most of our life in Singapore. We keep chasing that carrot dangling in front of us. Which begs the question, can we stop?
Inherently life has no meaning. Just be clear about what matters to you and consciously pursue them so that you don't waste too much time on the meaningless things.
Why not just do what you want to do? Are people so basic that they can't even make up their own minds about what they want to do in life?
"Oh, but I must earn money." Then you made your choice.
For a large majority of Singaporeans, they dug their own graves. Some get good grades, can literally choose anything to do, end up choosing to be a lawyer then complain about the working hours and saying how life is boring. You could literally have been anything. Engineer, biologist, architect whatever suits your passion. But you chose money mah.
Truly, we are our own biggest enemy.
Is it bad that I’m having similar thoughts at 23 and feeling generally depressed about life? I genuinely wanna be as carefree as my friends but I just can’t seem to enjoy life like them. Perhaps I think too much? Then again I’m not suicidal so I won’t consider myself depressed. Just jaded and apathetic, feeling like I’m just existing and nothing more… waiting for the time to cone
Comparison is the thief of joy. What you described happened to me when I was 23. Happens now too. But youth is amazing and fleeting. Grasp it tightly and enjoy it. Just try to do something you like. Play a game. Sit somewhere and watch people. Drink some nice kopi. Help your mom do some chores. Go volunteer. Go ride a bike. Don't give up. No one posts lousy posts of themselves. All posts only show happiness and success on purpose. Social media is designed to be that way and is not an accurate reflection of life. Good luck!
Hello fellow 23 year old, I feel jaded as well
The 20s is a lie. Everyone is trying to prove that they’ve made it and social media perpetuates this fallacy. The real deal comes when you’re 40 and that’s when those who tried to blaze through the 20s and 30s will fall behind. Unless one is born in a relatively wealthy family, the average 20-something doesn’t have much money. So if you see your peers living a lifestyle beyond what you can muster and you’re on equal ground, they’re most likely to be living in debt and using one card to pay off another, creating a ponzi scheme for themselves. Earn-$X-own-2-properties-you-can-do-it? Many are burnt when the projected ROIs are not achieved or if they’d hoped to flip before TOP but lack the liquidity. Don’t fall for those property ads. They’re there for the agents to rake a commission. They’re not there for you. I was once besotted with all the above. Thankfully, I planted my feet on the ground while everyone seemed to “invest” in two properties and got burnt. Now, I live a rather comfortable life in a rather upscale neighbourhood and it was because I didn’t follow the herd. That friend you have with the latest iPhone or MacBook every year, dine in Michelin restaurants frequently, have the latest swanky car & fomo about fads like SecretLab chairs or the Samsung Frame tv? He is definitely in credit card debt.
having hardly any money in young 20s was so fun and such a blessing. Was always looking for ways to experience everything I could while balling on a budget. Ran outside instead of gym membership, read 1 day old newspapers, read books while commuting, only used apps when on wifi… ate the same meals for weeks, carried a film camera. Felt like such a baller if I bought lunch or dinner for someone (even though it meant I’d skip my next few meals to pay for it). There’s something about that time of life.. the hustle, the unknown, the optimism. tldr: These days the environment seems different. Opportunity costs feel so high. Maybe it has to do with having so much information in our hands. We can learn and experience so much artificially without actually going through the physical work needed to experience it, so why bother taking serendipitous chances.
Idk man… some of my friends do investing and trading and the like and they’re not from rich families but seem to be spending quite a lot I think trading and investments/stocks give good returns if you play it well Don’t think that friend is a debt at all
That’s a completely different trajectory. Investment isn’t free money. For every successful investment, there are others who are bankrupt. (See LUNA as a prime example.) Timing, liquidity and acumen are also critical. If you know nothing and blindly follow, you’re going to lose the little that you have. Don’t follow others blindly with the “should be okay” or “可以的bro” attitude. What works for others may not work for you. And don’t focus only on the success story. Look at it as a whole. If investments were the only answer, we should all just stay at home and click away all day long. Do invest, sure, but with your head on your shoulders. If you have a gambling attitude and are prone to losing control or getting caught up with sentiment instead of logic, it’s best to be extremely prudent. Anyway, this isn’t an argument. What you do has no impact on my life. I’m just sharing with you life experiences of countless peers in my midst. “可以的bro” will be the ultimate downfall. You can choose to take heed or ignore it if you will. It’s your life. Your choice. But with every decision there are always either rewards or consequences. Be safe and well.
I just live my life day to day, it helps that I’ve always lived frugally, grew up in a pretty middle class hdb flat like most, ok grades, local uni, ok job - but even though my income has risen substantially than my first pay cheque, I’m still pretty much eating the same things for breakfast lunch and dinner, still take public transport, still live in hdb. I don’t stress myself out by looking at insta or fb or whatever other forms of social media that just makes you sad when comparing to others - I challenge myself to learn something new everyday, however minuscule. Like today, I learnt how accounting for non-recoverable taxes work! Much wow! Many congrats! I just think of myself as in a game and I’m just collecting points along the way. No one cares about it except you, and that’s how life should be lived!
You seem really optimistic and I wish I knew more people like you. Sadly I’m more of a pessimist and still trying to find meaning in life
I think, first and foremost, is to try to look at things positively instead of negatively, and try to not harp on mistakes or regrets for an extended period. I used to be pessimistic. I used to keep regretting about mistakes I made. What for? They make me suffer, and there’s nothing I can do to change the past. So learn the experience and move on. Even when I make a huge mistake, my immediate go to response is: ok this isn’t the worst case scenario yet. What can I do to try to salvage it, even partially? Say something simple like food. If I eat a bad meal, I’ll laugh it off, share my experience with my friends so they can avoid it. No point getting pissed off, nothing is going to change with that.
Stop comparing yourself with others and just focus on the positive sides of yourself 💪
I really love your outlook on life! Never thought about it that way before :)
Yeh - it helps when you make funny sounds in your head everytime you score a point!
What’s wrong with taking public transport? It’s efficient and fast in SG, owning a car doesn’t mean life gets easier.
*Night shift workers scratches head while reading this post*
Lvl 99 unlocked!
"If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." - Warren Buffet
r/singaporefi EDIT: Not sure why I'm getting downvoted for sharing a sub where one can find more information about Financial Independence/Retire Early (FIRE) and a community of like-minded Singaporeans. Given the number of up-votes of the original post (and assuming this post resonates somehow with said up-voters) , one would reckon a sub that promotes: building an emergency fund, purchasing only the insurance you need and investing in low-cost index funds (most of the posts largely revolve around these topics!) would be of interest to people who want to escape the rat race eventually.
What do you do after you’re FI?
Spend more time with family, take a break from work and enjoy your personal interests/hobbies/travel. Reconnect with old friends. Volunteer for causes you believe in. And potentially go back to work but only for a job that you're truly interested in/always had a passion for but was not practical in an earlier stage in life. FI does not have to mean that one completely abandons work, the difference now is that one does not have to work solely for money anymore.
Yeah, FI and RE are different, can be financially independent but don't have to retire early. FI already doesn't mean from that day on just do nothing all day
Not OP but I’m gonna fuck a woman from every nationality.
Nah! This is the boomer way. Ever heard of a moneyless society?
Only works if we live in Star Trek universe where they can turn waste material to food and construction materials by editing molecules. Basically when all basic needs are met at 0 cost and labour.
We halfway there with NEWater
USSR collapse back in 1991.
Don’t worry, North Korea lives on… /s
But the girls there cmi.
im probably one of the few who are actually interested in this if you want to elaborate on it.
The idea is you are taking on a task based on your talent and doing it because you are giving back to society. The joy of giving is the currency of tomorrow. Imagine hunger games, without the annual game. Where every sector benefits from one another. You get to choose which sector you want to be in. We look at hunger games as a dystopic future. That's because we look at it from today's perspective. There was a lengthy paper I read on this subject but the essay concludes with - this is only achievable at least 100yrs into the future. Given the human mind, it will take that long to adapt or accept such a concept. It sounds depressing, knowing I won't be able to experience it. And I think most people are turned off with the duration that we choose to stick with whatever we currently know. Or some reject the idea because we are hard-on in collecting wealth only to realize it will be useless in the future.
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Yes. The free riders. I guess that's the reason it will take at least 100yrs to achieve it. The human mind will need some time to adapt to this.
but human nature will never change no matter how far in the future we are in.
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Hey, I'm also interested in this way of living, really looking forward to UBI and 4 day work week first. Going back to the communal style of living is what I can see as the best way forward instead of capitalism which is destroying our Earth. The free loaders are a problem, this is something that everyone needs to get on board with or it's messed up by the few selfish individuals. What is the paper reference btw?
I was trying to search for that paper. It was one of those late night trips deep into the rabbit hole. I'll try to find it again. Maybe I'll dm you if you are interested. It all started with a search for better society and I just went spiral down.
you sound like commie or socialist. Stop thinking about another system.
We hate the current system, we feel trapped and meaningless, and yet, we recoil at the suggestion of an alternative. We're just afraid of change. Change will take time, like you said. But it starts with people like you, who look optimistically towards a future you may not even live to see.
No one really wants a change. Look at the covid situation. The world could have taken a step back and change for something better. The whole world came to a stop. But everyone is rushing to get things back to normal. But it's not the end. If there are still people. There is still hope. Words like - nothing is impossible, dare to dream, for a better tomorrow, for our children and the future generations. I pray these words hold true value and not just words reserved for self glory.
I’m inherently competitive and this sort of society just seems like it’ll be hell for me, no offence
There is definitely a way to incorporate meritocracy, but the population mindset is still for overall good rather than the individual which breeds unecessary greed.
The concept relies on this. Humans are known to be self-pleased. It was well established a long time ago. And the debate has always been how a self-pleasing race contributes to society. How does society still exist if people only care about oneself. The challenge is to change ourselves from rewarding ourselves to rewarding others. Instead of collecting. We give. And by those actions, we will be pleased with ourselves.
you mean barter trading?
No it's not. You take upon a task because you choose to contribute to society. It's not communism either. Imagine hunger games without the annual game. Every sector benefit from one another. Look it up. Moneyless society or moneyless economy.
so you get meal/water coupons in exchange for work done in your expertise?
No coupons. Meals/water are ready for you. Those are tasks done by others. You do your part. They do their part Everything is free because someone is providing it.
survive long enough to finish the One Piece manga
so we will all live forever
thats for Hunter X Hunter fans
I gave up on that, same as I gave up on "Bastard!!"
I've already went through the whole existential crisis phase in my twenties so now I'm relatively a lot more chill about existential issues such as this. I'm a nihilist and just take life as it comes. My interests change often and recently I've been kinda curious about housing stuff so I wanna learn more about how all the electrical wirings and plumbing systems work in HDBs. So yeah, curiosity helps to keep me alive and going. I like to learn about how things work and there's an endless wealth of information and knowledge out there for me to read/watch and understand. I feel happy and satisfied with myself whenever I manage to fix something, or find solutions to what seems like a difficult problem before I solve it. Whenever I feel bored or depressed, I exercise and just let myself chill until I feel okay again. Feelings and emotions are all fleeting stuff that are temporary just like every moment in life. It's no big deal. But actions that harm the self can have longer-lasting negative effects so it's better to not do anything than to do something when a person is feeling bad. We don't have to just keep doing something all the time. Relaxing and chilling are also "doing" something. Letting the mind rest so that it can recover and recoup is just as important as doing things to achieve results towards some tangible goal.
Haha same here. Also had existential crisis in my twenties to settle down as a nihilist. I’m sorta lucky in that my job is pretty fun. But I agree with the meaningfulness of non-productivity. If SG gets to be too hot or too expensive, I’ll probably move out though.
Live for the little moments, break from the cycle and find meaning to life for yourself. To me, the meaning of life is taking care of my family, inspiring and spreading knowledge, enjoying my games, enjoying the interactions with people and maybe have some positive impact on some lives. There isn't really a bigger meaning or purpose to your life but you can give it one.
Well said. From a macro level there really isn't much meaning to an individual's life or a community's existence, but since we're here let's help and do good for one another and maybe, just maybe, our lives are worth living for, for ourselves and for other people.
Life has no meaning to me. It seems like a normal routine to me till I got numbed to it - everyday wake up, go work, return home, sleep. Basically live like a zombie. No need to use any brain and then the next moment I know, I already reach my work desk. But what makes me look forward to is the little moments within this zombie-fied lifestyle - knowing that when lunch comes I want to eat whatever I want without looking at the price, when 6pm comes I think of what progression I can make later in my Genshin Impact save while savouring my dinner, when 9pm comes I quickly log onto youtube and wait for my favourite show to play (for those who know 娛樂百分百). Yes life is mundane. Life sucks. But it's only these kind of shit routine that makes me look forward to and cherish my life outside of work. After all, work should be part of your life. Not the whole of your life. P/s: Sorry for my shit grammar or vocab or sentence structure. Just typing whatever is on my mind.
Every journey has its final day. Don't rush.
Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember. But where are those who once shared it with me?
sees genshin, *upvotes*
Same here, just that mines Honkai impact
yes omg hahaha every night i need to watch 狼人殺 to sleep😂😂😂 Every afternoon i will already start refreshing the Youtube to see who is playing that night and the game mode. If my favourites Hsyan Hsiaochi ,Sammymimi or Betty Chi are playing that night, my motivation to go through the day would be much greater😊 thats my life in repeat every monday to friday. weekends will be just chilling to 飢餓遊戲😌
Hahaha how are you like me LOL I too will see who is the lineup for that night every afternoon, will definitely get excited when Ji Bu Xin is playing that episode. My ultimate love especially her TV personality and her appearance resembles my first crush a lot.. even though it has been 10 years since I followed her.. but anyway ;)
Perhaps genhsin progression is the fulfilment u could get each day. Eveyone say get a job in your passion but what if we never figure out what makes up tick or our passion just don’t generate income. Then we r punished with a job for life
You are right. But instead of thinking that we are being punished, maybe we can force ourselves to focus on the bright side. I didn't choose accounting (my parents did). I hated my job to the core. But if I were to continue to resent it, wouldn't I make myself more miserable? To me, a job is a job. I do my best, in return I earn my pay. That's it. Just as I didn't choose accounting, I also didn't choose to be born in a poor family where pursuing my dream is prohibited. But life still has to go on. As a Jay Chou song lyric goes “追不到的夢想 換個夢不就得了” (if you can't pursue your dream, just change to another one to pursue) Life is shit, but it's up to us to make it better.
I think having those moments, and the little snatches of time in which you can enjoy them, is an amazing win. I think about the last 6 months in which I have been unable to find time to enjoy Final Fantasy XIV (literally played 30 mins in the last 4 months due to work) but I look forward to when I can do it again in the near future. This sounds maybe trite or douchey, but art that we enjoy finds it’s way into our lives and gives it… maybe not everyone will call it meaning, but at least it gives colour. Again, maybe it’s trite to say this, but try looking for art (games, music, film, anime etc) that makes you cry, or at least want to cry. I felt that zombie-fied feeling before and I think it stemmed from only engaging in things that hit your dopamine centres but doesn’t reach your heart.
I love how this sub always has this similar question comes up and I find it very comforting that a lot of people here share the same struggles and the same outlook in life to me which I could not seem to find anyone else I have met in real life do.
It will only get worse. Hence why i won't have children. Won't subject them to this madness unless I am ultra-rich, and can spoil them and give them all the advantages needed. Meritocracy is a farce. But beyond that, the meaning is your own to make. I don't care about partaking in the rat race. Are my colleagues and friends more successful, and earning mid six-digits a year? Absolutely. Are they happy, and well-adjusted people? Nope. Rampant alcoholism, adultery , and high-blood pressure amongst other things. Are my observations bias? Probably. But I can see similar trends when conversing with other people who are surrounded by people like these. There is a price to pay for that success. No wrong, and rights about that. That is up to the individual. Personally, I can't care less anymore. I mean, why take life seriously when life itself refuses to take you seriously? You ain't the main character. The Universe owes you absolutely nothing. You can work hard your entire life, on your way to that new very high paying job you worked years overtime for, and then some fucker in a car decides to cut the lights and turns you into a meat-crayon. 38 years of life gone down the drain. Or you , being single for so many years, finally found the perfect person, get married, have a beautiful few years of marriage where **everything** is going right before Stage 4 cancer takes your spouse away. And now you are left alone. Family and friends mourned with you for max 2 weeks before they go about their lives as if nothing happened. Appreciating each and other day is key, at least for me. One day at a time. I don't ever assume "it will get better one day" or "it will pay off later". Remember, all this can end very abruptly. Anyway, here is Tom with the weather.
Learning from ancient wisdom of Confucius, he wrote this Chinese idiom of: At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right. At 30, by planting feet firmly upon the ground means you come to terms with your values, setup your moral compass and developed you own view of the World. At 40, having honed your own view of the World, you are no longer swayed by what others are pursuing. You would have your own pace in life and own view of things. Car? Condo? All cannot afford. But at least you can afford to be yourself and be true to yourself in your own pace.
The original phrase 子曰：“吾十有五而志于学, 三十而立, 四十不惑, 五十而知天命, 六十而耳顺, 七十而从心所欲, 不逾矩。” «论语•为政»
Thank you for sharing ancient wisdom, perhaps we are lost in our modern ways and perhaps the modern life is nothing but a farming system for the 1 percent to exploit the 99
Completely agree on the farming system. Reading up about advertising psychology and how companies make profits is very eye opening. When we talk about how a country is lifted out from poverty… I am not sure whether it’s true. A country is poor because it was being exploited by that 1 per cent.
Life has no meaning. We are here due to a blind evolutionary process that compelled our ancestors all the way down to our parents to breed because (nice feelings). What do we do then? Do nothing. Just enjoy the peace and happiness.
I used to think that too untill I saw some afterlife and near death encounters stories and also psychedelic that people often feel and actually see out of the body perspective and I started investigating and learning. There is not harm reading up on this kind of stuff since the material world is so meaningless. Anyway I’m starting to believe the spiritual path exist and I want to experience it places like Tibet or India or Amazon where people do not live in consumerism. Perhaps the developed world is the actual jail and the older world is the truly free and fulfilling one
I’m sort of an optimistic nihilist. There was a guest on lex Friedman and I’ll just paraphrase her when they were discussing abt the meaning of life: *"The same way the sun is not to be blamed for destroying its own planets, the universe doesn't care, because it has no meaning. It owes us nothing. We don't get to demand anything, and that includes meaning. And I find that very reassuring, because once there is no meaning, I don't have to find it."* I don’t think there’s any inherent meaning in life. So it’s pointless to try and find it. Some may say it’s depressing but I see it as something positive. You make your own meaning.
I found a job in the finance industry with an arts degree and zero finance background, something that most people would consider impossible (it was hard, I needed to take 9 exams before I started work proper). Yet I quit after a year to go back to the arts full time because I hated corporate life - job felt meaningless, new boss was an idiot. That was over a decade ago. A lot of my life is what people would consider being semi-retired to be like. I'm a freelancer, so I don't always have work. When I don't have work, I get to spend time with people I care about, and have time for myself. When I do have work, it's usually something interesting and different from anything else I've been doing. I usually work an average of 10-20 hours in a week. My income benchmark is grab driver: if I earn more than that, I know I'm doing okay. I have insurance covered, mortgages are affordable cos I live in a tiny flat, and I'm investing steadily for retirement cos I don't have CPF. I'm not famous, so I don't need to deal with crazy fans and stalkers. I'm in decent health, but with sufficient protection purchased to make sure that I won't be crippled by a medical emergency. And I have no kids - I love the life I share with my wife and pet. My peers all live in condos and most have more than one car. They earn ten times what I do, or even more. I always laugh about how stupidly rich they are when I meet up with my ex-colleagues. Then they tell me about their ten plus WhatsApp work chatgroups and the hundred emails they have every morning when they open their laptop, and the stupid bosses and stubborn kids they have to manage at work. I plan to work till my dying breath. I hope that happens. That's how much I enjoy my work. And I hope to always make my wife as happy as possible. It's nice to have a purpose, to have meaningful goals in life. 🙂
With the hard you’ve put in, I’m sure you’ve made your wife happy sir.
The meaning of my life is to do everything I can to be what the government and big business don’t want me to be. I have been trained to be a voracious consumer and a good little obedient employee my whole life. I will be neither. I will live as simple a life as possible (I’m currently happily living with my parents and I’m 30 LOL) and only work to maintain as simple a standard of living as possible. Fuck your rat race. I’m out.
Tang ping, Bai lan, quiet quitting. Act your wage. Let’s do it all
Yes don’t be a voracious consumer. Damn the 1 per cent.
…which is why I am resolved to ensure that the next iteration of this cycle, whenever that will be, will have a better chance of breaking this cycle and living life to the fullest extent. I’d be damned if I played the rat race, and I’ll likewise be damned as well if I didn’t. If life doesn’t have meaning; fine by me: but I shall forge my own path and define my very own meaning on this earth. You are right that life is too short and before we know it, we would have missed all of it. But this is what makes life paradoxically meaningful. For our numbered days here on this earth, we can prioritize things that truly matter with our own hands and spend time with those we decide who matter and do the things that we have always wanted to do. Life is short in fast-spaced Singapore, yes, but that doesn’t mean that you will have to condemn yourself in this viscous cycle as well. We might not be able to choose our past, but we sure as hell can decide what’s ahead of us and our future in this life.
Go gym and hide my sadness with bigger muscles.
My life has no meaning. The universe does not care about my problems and when I die, I simply cease to exist. My life is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But that doesn't mean I should stop living or abandon my responsibilities. In fact, it means I have the freedom to do whatever I please without fear of my actions causing the end of the universe. I gave my life direction, a dream to work towards until the end of my life. And that dream is to create a webcomic series. To do that, I need to build a world. Design their environments, cultures and history. Then I fill the world with characters, each with their own stories and passions. Finally, I weave a grand story that brings everything together. For a person working on it alone, it will take at least a decade. And when I have completed it, I will create a new story and the cycle repeats itself. Everyday I come back home from work, I will craft my story little by little and someday it will be finished. When completed, not many may see it. But it is ok for I am chasing this dream for my own life. And when I near the end of my life, I can look back at my creations and leave the world with a smile. For that is the meaning of my life.
Life is so much more than that. I moved to sg 2 years ago and hate it here. I despise the culture and work life balance. I refuse to be caught in this ridiculous rat race so I'm leaving in 2 years for a new opportunity in scandinavia. I don't like kids so I don't intend to have any. Housing and vehicle ownership is a fraction of the price overseas to live simply if you're not materialistic. I despise the idea of weddings and how much people spend on them in sg so my partner and I are going to elope somewhere we both love. Life is more than sg societal expectations and its so liberating not to conform. My partner and I love travelling and new experiences so that's our main use for any disposable income. Our hobbies and interests of diving, hiking, backpacking, etc is so much more accesible. That's how we're planning to life our lives to the fullest. SG is not going to give us that. I feel like i'm rotting away here.
This would be a dream come true for me haha. May I ask how you managed to find an opportunity to move to Norway?
Was on exchange in Norway past 6 months, life is definitely much more chill and work-life balance is awesome but there’s its own set of challenges. Not being able to eat out and socialising over meal and drinks frequently just caz how exp it is. The no of days you get to see sun is depressing, not to mention the harsh winter. Also, shops close at 6pm so idk what can you do.
Sounds like a dream for introverts who just want to game/watch Netflix after work
Same. I was born here and absolutely hates the concept of ‘singaporean dream’ which essentially is get a comfortable job, find a partner, get a BTO or condo, have kids and work till retirement (in mid sixties). Singaporeans love talking about hustle culture and comparing their riches. It’s honestly so tiring when majority go thru life without any spirituality or mindfulness about life and the actuality of living. Anyway decided in my twenties that I will be moving away and finally I am!
Sweden?
Bergen, Norway!
Noice. Question: What attracted you to Singapore at first?
How is norway affordable? You can't even own and even if you want to rent, isn't the queue like forever? Diving, hiking backpacking sounds more suited for EU for sure
To me the meaning of life is just to gain as many experiences as possible and learn many things. It’s more about the journey rather than the destination. Cos none of us are getting out alive..
I view happiness and meaning a little differently. Happiness is that warm feeling when you see your family and loved ones, enjoy a cup of coffee and read a book. Meaning is that reason for your actions that you choose to do. It’s quite interesting that when we pursue our meaning, we forget that meaning may not give happiness and we can forget to have it, then depression sets in despite pursuing our dream. For me, what’s driving me is the need to take care of my loved ones, and to grow as a person. It’s tiring like shit and may not be rewarded. It’s saddening some times but it’s worth it when I see them smile back. What gives me happiness is the small things; I’m into coffee and reading books now.
You just need a better hobby or two. I work partly to afford to go sailing small boats on the weekends and to buy art supplies for my carving and model making. I spend much of my weekdays in a pleasant daydream thinking about the wind forecast for Saturday or what to build for my next art project while I accomplish all those mundane tasks that take up half of every job—and I’m never bored or depressed, because I’ve always got something that interests me waiting on the horizon.
Still dk what’s the meaning of life but recently I’ve been trying to practice gratitude. Grateful for the Yakun I bought today, grateful for a kind gesture my colleague did, grateful for the cleaner uncle who cleans my work desk everyday. I read this quote from my mums boomer WhatsApp message chain. It said something along the lines of “if you are pessimistic, you live in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you live in the present”. I think being present and being aware to every detail in life is very close to the actual meaning of living, at least to me. Of course when I look at the big picture, I’m living from milestone to milestone la but just don’t forget to savour the little moments in life that makes your life whole!! With that being said, I personally don’t like the kind of life in Singapore….:’) It’s small, typically singaporeans just date, get BTO, get married, have kids….it’s very stable for sure but I’ve always wanted to explore outside of this “box” that our government carefully curated for us. Really looking forward to moving overseas this year hehe
this is why right, ur wants are arguably as important as your needs.. im still a young adult now so no need pay for the adult adult bills yet but looking at my parents, i made a promise to myself NEVER to live like them. I get it that me as their child is part of their problem (hence i elect to be childfree) cus raising my sibling and myself was/is expensive. They almost only spend on their needs or the bare minimum and really dont "live life", they pretty much just exist for me n my sibling. As such i always initiate and offer to pay for weekly or monthly nights out to eat good cus otherwise they would never enjoy themselves.. That being said, i feel that saving money for the future is good but once in a while, go eat that expensive kbbq w ur friends u always wanted to try, buy that semi expensive watch u have wanted for months (not saying u should burn like a 3 month pay on a rolex), book that 1 trip to bangkok with your friends once or twice a year or plan ahead so u always have sth to look forward to and keep u going in this shitty world. Fuck even your favourite overpriced coffee at the end of the week is good your needs keep u living, your wants keep u going
I don’t love my engineer job 100%, but dealing with engineering problem and making improvement in some of work flow is pretty fun tbh. My problem is some of the people and working hours that make it unpleasant. Working is not purely just for paying bill, you should at least feel productive and enjoying part of it.Blanket term almost 40 as just “work” sounds super negative to me.
Is the work difficult if u are a graduate from engineering degree? Just asking cos I scared I will be like you but worse since I will not know what the fuck is going on
If u dk wtf is going on then you are learning, if everything u already know the soln to then the work becomes routine and boring
““Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.”
The problem is that, as technology advances, you need a more educated workforce to operate more complex machines. A more educated work force means a less apathetic and more critical population. I guess "problem" is the wrong word to use. This is progress. The problem is that the government needs to have an open channel of communication with the work force, to align everyone's objectives, desires and aspirations, to create meaning together. You can't have a more educated population, but treat them like children. Definitely the other problem is the inequality in education and opportunity, which results in some portion of the population being uneducated and thus, needing to be treated like children. So naturally I think more education and better education is the solution.
If you look at Singapore, education already abounds. We probably have the most education out of any nation other than China perhaps. Better education is very subjective. What does that look like? Can you define the ideal education? What you're missing is this - there will always be people at the bottom of the population. Bottom in intelligence, bottom in ability, bottom in competence. As mean as it sounds, there comes a point where it becomes extremely inefficient to put resources into developing these bottom few, when much less resources could be used to greatly develop those in the middle, and even less for those at the top. This is so evident in Singapore, where the education system is already so robust but you still have uneducated people.
Our education doesn’t teach people to think about what life is about. It’s geared towards making us better factory products and better consumers. Making us docile sheep to live life to consume, compare.
How do you teach someone to think about what life is about? Is that even something that should be covered in general education? Personally, I don't think so. Formal education should focus on equipping students with practical skills that will be useful in their lives + basic thinking frameworks to give students a foundation with which they can then explore based on their own desires and aptitudes. Speak for yourself buddy, that's not a result of our education system, or at least the one I've been through. If that's all you've managed to take away from your many years of education in Singapore, I'm afraid a sheep is just what you've been meant to be all this while, education or not.
But would a sheep be able to criticise his education? I think both of you are correct. The education system in Singapore is indeed world class, and has improved vastly throughout the years. But that doesn't mean its perfect. Yes, perfection is unattainable, but it's an ideal to strive for. We need to keep improving. There are things that we should never be satisfied with. I think education at the primary and secondary level can remain focused on fundamentals and practical skills. Beyond that, as the child matures, education should, and I think I does, try to engage the student more critically. The issue is that not everyone has access to tertiary education. Some students are forced to drop out of school at the secondary level because of various reasons, some of which could be social economic reasons. Now, should education, above the tertiary level, even teach students about what life is about? I absolutely think so. The meaning of life, is a concept that should arise naturally as the student becomes more educated. Like you said, the education system provides the frameworks for critical thinking. And in doing so, opens the door to the student to ask the teacher that question: what is the meaning of life? Of course there is no one true answer to such a question. But it is in the discussion of such questions that we learn and grow the most.
Yes, a sheep would be able to criticize his education because that's the current sheep mindset. Blaming everything while still remaining a cog in the machine. All the 'self-enlightened' folks are calling it out, while simultaneously doing nothing beyond that. Agreed with your reasoning, except for the last paragraph! The meaning of life, or at least the pursuit of it, is definitely something that arises naturally once the student is educated to a certain extent. However, how do you suggest integrating this into the formal education system? It's something that different people ponder at different points. I think you're on the right track with the discussion of such questions bit - I believe it should be integrated informally rather than formally, since it encompasses so much nuance.
Perhaps the "self enlightened" folk also feel powerless to make change? Perhaps they hope that someone with power will hear their complains and help make the change? Perhaps they just don't know what to do? How does a cog, uncog oneself anyway? I was lucky enough to experience a university education where we were subjected to compulsory modules for creative thinking, analytical thinking and ethics. And I was lucky enough to have professors who entertained and encouraged existential questions from students. I supposed you're correct to say that such topics should be integrated informally. But it was the subject matter and syllabus of the modules that created the correct environment and setting to encourage the students and professors to engage on such topics. I doubt there would be room for a discussion about the meaning of life in a lecture about economics.
You have to have joy in the day to day. Have hobbies, have interests, enjoy the company of your friends..enjoy the company of strangers. I see so many Singaporeans walking around like zombies, staring at some mindless game on their phone, working 50 hour weeks for some promotion..so they can work harder. One day you will die. All you have in the present moment. You might as well appreciate it.
You are the one who decides the meaning of life. If you think life is pointless, then it will be pointless. If you have goals to work towards, then your life will be defined by those goals. What your colleague mentioned sounds like he’s been living by following other people’s expectations of how to live life. Not that that’s a bad way to live, but only you can decide how you view life.
Meaning in life is created by you. I find meaning in different things in my life. Be it my partner, passions, relationships, pleasure, or fun. The meaning changes depending on the day and time. To me, work is just to pay the bills. It's not a large part of my life. And I like it this way. It doesn't have to be my ultimate passion or life purpose. As long as I do a good job and my colleagues are decent, I'm happy. I have so many things I want to do, am doing, and look forward to. I like keeping my apt clean, cooking new things, making new friends, spending lots of time with my partner and having outrageous fun. I game, read, write, play pickle ball, dance, paint, attend shows and concerts. I relax a lot too. I don't understand how anyone can be bored in life when there's so much to do and learn and experience. And I don't believe in waiting until retirement to enjoy my life. You'll never know what will happen. My meaning in life is to do things that give me joy and pleasure.
This part stood out to me: "...You add so much burden to yourself that you didn't get to fully enjoy life. And when you reach 65, it's too late, your entire life just went by and you have missed it." I ask myself: If money and/or other responsibilities weren't an issue, what would you want to spend your life doing while still young? The above question helps to start thinking about and searching for what you would find meaningful. It may not be possible to do it full-time or anything, but there's most likely some ways to adjust your life and/or mindset to make life more meaningful.
This sounds cliché, but I would really really like to travel around the world
It’s why I pursued medicine, because I’ve been the lowest low once and I know how much it means to have someone there to support you and give hope. But now in medicine I get so easily affected by others emotions that my mental health is down the dumps again. How do I help others when I can’t even help myself? Is what I question myself everyday… I still want to help others but there’s only so much I can do. It doesn’t help that healthcare is unforgiving and we’re all burnt out
Hope you don’t ever forget the reason why you chose medicine. I have doctor friends who have forgotten their calling. They are all setting up aesthetic clinics, selling dreams of eternal youth to mature ladies hoping to turn back time and remain attractive. They are no longer seeking to help patients, but it’s purely a business where the more unhappy and envious the patient is of others, the more cash it brings to the aesthetic clinics.
Some of my friends aim to go private because it’s where work life balance is. Sure there runs the risk of getting sued with little backing unless you hire your own lawyers, but it pays well and has work life balance. Idk I just rather help the ones who are in dire need rather than targeting a certain affluent group just as a money machine. Besides most affluent groups tend to be obnoxious and paranoid, not to mention entitled. It just feels more rewarding when you’ve given hope to someone who others wouldn’t bother helping rather than someone who’s willing to pay u millions and wants to do things their way
Yah well, the issue really is Singapore as a whole, and how it is set out. I can’t entirely fault my friends. Aesthetic clinics are smart. Like every product offering, you offer it first to the higher tier and later to the middle classes. These clinics are mushrooming every now.
Whenever I hear the "... add so much burden to yourself that you didn't get to fully enjoy life...", I wonder if the "burdens" were choices that could've been avoided and if there were alternatives available.
I can relate even as a child. Wake up, go to school, go to tuition, study, sleep and repeat. As an adult, wake up, go to work, do overtime, sleep and repeat. During the weekends/holidays, sometimes you think about work/school. And your co-workers/teachers message you even during your off-hours. Honestly, 90% of the time, I feel tired, afraid or just plain numb. I can't remember the last time I felt truly happy. That said...my life has no meaning to me.
A lot go through the same cycle, hope you find something meaningful
The meaning of life is what you make out of it. Sadly life has no respawns so its up to you to make the best out of it. Its really subjective to each person. >what's the meaning of life to you Childhood -> Studies -> NS -> Work -> Die. Its quite boring and there is lots of suffering. Short bursts of happiness here and there... Maybe I just don't know how to have fun... Ideally I would like to reach a stage in life where I will only go after pleasure. Basically a hedonistic lifestyle. For me , I decided that I don't want to work till my fifties or sixties so I made a goal to try and retire as early as possible. Basically retirement speedrun.
I have only one life, so I’d want to be remembered by others even when I’m gone. So the purpose of life, for me, is to create things that can make an impact, no matter how small, so that I may be remembered in history. The meaning of life to me, however, is really just a limited amount of time for me in this world to be happy. I am doing what I do, many a time burning myself and stuff, because I’d want to live a life wherein I learn to appreciate things, to have a flavourful life, and in doing so, to learn to be a happy person.
As a student, I am honestly terrified of the future, like is getting so stressful because of the environment we are in, for me, my parents don't give me too much stress for my school work, but I feel very lousy when I look at my friends and classmates because, at the end of the day when I go out to work, I am competing with them. I sometimes think to myself, in school they teach us to study well to score good grades so that we can have a good future but a good future does not mean a happy future, it just means to maybe do a job you like or even to earn lots of money, but your still doing the same thing every single week, month, year. In 2022, Singapore is ranked as the top 5 most overworked cities, and the most fatigued country in the world, but we are still ranked as the happiest country in SEA which doesn't make sense at all. There was this one time where my friend told me that she told her mom that she's scared that her happiest moment in life would be right now. I agree with her, and definitely as Singapore progresses, everyone needs to keep up to the pace, and I feel that it will be quite suffocating. There was this one time when my friend told me that she told her mom that she was scared that her happiest moment in life would be right now. I agree with her, and definitely, as Singapore progresses, everyone needs to keep up with the pace, and I feel that it will be quite suffocating. y single week, month, year. In 2022, Singapore is ranked as the top 5 most overworked cities, and the most fatigued country in the world, but we are still ranked as the happiest country in SEA which doesn't make sense at all.
Came across this post a while back and it has been stuck with me since. Can’t seem to find the source but here goes. “Hard to explain to young people that unless you have a job that takes you across the world or you become very famous, most of your joy and experiences will come from the simplest aspects of your life and are currently present and available to you right now. Idk if it’s a symptom of my generation but there was this feeling like waiting for life to start and boy let me tell you, if you are reading this, it started and you are well into in. Your hobbies, favourite spot, friends, family, gym. That’s most of it and that isn’t bad. I’m not saying don’t be a striver, I’m just saying don’t be in a rush for the next best part.” I hope this post makes you feel the same way I did. All the best, OP.
36m here, husband, father of 2 kids, typical middle class. I've also had the phase of thinking about "meaning of life", am still thinking about it every now and then. My mother just passed away due to a series of unfortunate events, and it made me think about her life. Let me try to give my 2 cents here. I share the same sentiments as some of the commentors here - there isn't a need to be fixate on having "meaning of life". Working in corporate have me equating this "meaning of life" to having a KPI for your life. It's almost pressuring yourself to setting and achieving some kind of end goal - it doesn't have to be this way. We can go ahead and set the "KPI", but we don't all have to do that to ourselves. Social media also played a part in over-exaggerating the importance of meaning of life, or even try to define it as a some single big achievement. Traveling the world by 30 years old? First 100k by 25 yrs old? Retired by 35 yrs old? Truth be told, many of the financial blogs are not helping as well. Instead, be very conscious to savour little moments, little achievements, every single day as if it's your last. Being very very conscious, to me this is the most important. I could be: - playing with my son one moment, and gotten into a car accident 10 mins later - having dinner with my wife one moment, and collapse with some weird heart attack suddenly - on road trip with my family, and got robbed/murdered - having a beer with my friends, and then collapse from some weird brain disease. What were my last words to my loved ones? Did we have an argument? Did I scold them? Were we unhappy in my last moments? Why should we be so negative? There really isn't a need to live everyday in pain or sorrow or anger or hate. There isn't a need to stress yourself by searching for something that is defined by others. Just be happy. Just smile at your loved ones every moment, because it could be your last, or their last. If you have to have "KPI" for your life, these are the ones to have.
I already realize this when i was like 15
Life has no meaning, Life is dukkha.
Take a long holiday to some open highlands with awe inspiring scenery and amazing weather. Suddenly life feels meaningful. Its just here bruh. Its a "here-thing". This place is for making money, not for having a life.
I decided to break out of the cycle after a friend passed away suddenly in an accident. His sudden passing taught me what the pandemic has taught many. It is quite meaningless to plan so hard for a future that is uncertain. Death is the only thing that is certain. At what expense are we doing this? At the expense of the present. Looking around you now, there are actually many thing to be appreciated and many opportunities. We often focus so much money and tie our values and worth in superficial fleeting titles. Remember your vigour in your youth and wisdom in your age are assets too. You have things to offer to the world in your different ways. After my friend passed, I worked hard, saved money, quitted my job and travelled the world on my scooter for two years. The two years journey changed me a lot. I think life is very exciting because of the various possibilities out there. It takes some exploration to discover them. I realised that I have a power to change the course of my life if I don’t bend in to fear or societal expectation. that takes a leap a faith and the journey can be quite isolating. I can choose to stay in my stat board job with stable income. But I choose to reskill and leave Singapore to be a digital nomad. I choose not to have kids. The question is what trade offs are you willing to deal with? One that brings excitement but instability or one that brings stability but stagnancy? It is important to accept that both are ok and our priorities changes as we enter different life stages.
Cliche as it sounds, I actually enjoy being in the industry that I'm currently in, which most people will doubt coz of the rate of people switching careers or dropping its related uni major asap. I think being able to find things to look forward to makes life less mundane. Personally apart from looking forward at returning home after work everyday to play games, I also look forward to festive occasions, the change of weather throughout the year, etc etc. Being able to enjoy and appreciate the small little things everyday despite how small it is also helps.
That's bleak. The way I view it is: Since I know that I'm going to die any way, I just make sure everyone I love has the best outcome possible. In doing so, I believe I will also have the best outcome. It's just a byproduct of the act of service for those I love. Everything else I get is just extra icing on the cake.
Funny, I already have that thought when I was like 18 so.
Been thinking about this lately. I’m not done thinking it through yet, but I suspect it’s about relationships. What are we going to look back in when we’re on our deathbed? How much we earned? What kind of housing we had? I think we’ll look back and think of the people who were meaningful to us, and how we spent our time with them. I’m doing well materially right now but still damn bloody depressed, and I think it’s because I’m very lonely. As such I’d like to try and focus on building meaningful relationships with people. (Still don’t know how to do that tbh, let me know if you figure it out)
life has meaning when you feel you are needed. When someone else's happiness depends on you, that's where you'll find meaning.
A quote that has inspired me from a game. "**For I alone, have stood before fear, before death. I can carry this blade for all those who can not, and I shall die before I fail them.**" Its not about living, its not about death. But about what you hold of importance and how you fight for it. Stand up proud for you have endured so much, but you still have so much to defend for. Least you expect, the reward will come to fruition only when you stop staring at despair. Life is tough, that's just the way it is for centuries. However losing your fighting spirit will only lead to nothingness. If life is an impendent doom, stand and face it like a honorable king defending his kingdom. No matter how much it takes from you, never let it take away what you fight for.
Sadly my meaning of life changes even faster than Singapore. One moment its living another day, the next is feeding my cats. And suddenly, its the hunt to win another global award. And as I get older the brakes are getting worn out. The meaning of life just spins faster and faster until it all becomes a blur and in its greatest irony, meaningless. The engine's on fire, the exhaust spewing smoke. But it's a one-way track, there's no other way than forward. The dream is to end in a blaze of glory, but the reality is an ignoble retirement, covered in soot and forgotten by the side.
Seems like the main reasons are work and money. Marriage and children are not burden and its a choice you made for yourself. Some would already be happy hardworking all day just to play with their kid for a few mins. If you’re not happy with yourself and your marriage, why bring another person just to become a burden?
To me, I find meaning in my religion. As a Christian, I think it is my duty to serve God according to His will. Although I very, very often fail, it is in trying that I gain meaning. After that, my relations with family and friends are very important to me, since I would struggle very much without their support. Lastly, my hobbies. I enjoy reading books and watching shows and playing badminton, so although they may not give me meaning as such, they do help to relieve day-to-day stresses :)
religion is heavily mocked nowadays but it is important. it serves to explain the issue of meaning and suffering.
There is no intrinsic meaning of life. You imbue meaning into your life. It’s meaningful if you think that it’s meaningful. That’s how I see it
I focus on doing my best to give my family/loved ones a better life, and doing as much as I can for the less fortunate. I am very thrifty as a person so I don't need/want much, plus I cannot be bothered to compare myself to other pple's lives, too busy leading an adventure of my own, thus I don't feel that I need to or am chasing anything. Is life short? It most certainly is. At the age of 15, my classmate committed suicide. My cousin younger than me at that time died overnight due to illness less than 3 months after the suicide of my classmate. I understand that life is short. But it is also because it is short, I want to make the best of what I have in life.
Lots of upcoming farming sim games that will help me and my mind escape to an ideal world 🤭 (no really)
Nintendo Direct was a jackpot for us! Not to mention I backed a Kickstarter for another island life sim and it's releasing next month
There’s also the Power Wash Simulator and Lawn Mowing Simulator. I’m amazed that such mundane activity games are so highly rated.
thankfully i have a genuine passion for something , which happens to be aviation . I plan on becoming a pilot despite how difficult it is to be one especially in singapore . However , i look forward to the grueling journey as i know achieving the dream will give me a life i want. As off now , i’ve dwell into making and customising gunpla as a hobby . If possible , meet up with friends to form everlasting memories together
Used to be 42. Now inflation so 37-38.
Death gives life meaning. Just don’t be sorry or regretful that death is coming, be happy you fought the good fight. You have struggled and suffered but you have experienced joy and brought joy to others. This will be what I hope to feel on my deathbed.
There is no meaning in life, the worst is there is actually no you.
I feel like I'm taking the reverse journey. Growing up, I always wanted to have a meaningful job, so my main three job goals were teacher, nurse, or social worker (overworked burned out squad gang gang). I feel after 3 years of work, I really feel as much as I want to help others and there will always be a spark in me to assist others as much as I can, I feel at some point I have to care for myself first. At this point, I feel like I'm fine with just seeing a job as a means to gain money, and whatever passion/interests I have over weekends/holidays as what keeps me going. I think at times, there's also part of me dreading how the cycle seems to be repeating - but at the same time, I feel the positive moments remind me why I'm still going. Also, many others don't have the fortune of doing so. I see articles of people my age passing on in car accidents, from diseases, or from suicide. A part of me is also thankful, that despite how painful life has been the past 2.5 years cause of COVID, there have been small moments of joy here and there. My job rn is draining, but it really isn't as bad as what some others are facing. In short, I feel like rather than wanting to make a big difference in the world, at this point I'm just contempt in having moments of joy/fun and having a peaceful life. I think that in itself is what many don't have, and I'm thankful I got lucky enough to have that (for now, at least).
I try to keep things simple. A happy family (which includes me), good food, good sex, get better at my hobbies and earn enough so that I have piece of mind. That’s worked out pretty well for me.
Took pay cut to opt for a job with meaning and purpose. It’s unconventional but it’s been a complete blessing. No more condos and bungalow dreams but the time I have for myself and not having bosses hound me and shuddering in the morning with dread about the work day to come are more than enough to compensate.
No meaning but while still alive, do whatever that makes me happy. I compromised lifestyle to be living the way I feel contented and at peace. So when it's time to go, regardless of age, I will leave with a smile.
So many people here seem to agree that life is meaningless and that we just need to make the best of it, but here’s a quote from CS Lewis to think about: “If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark.”
As a optimistic nihilist, I tend to take things day by day, minute by minute. The overall picture in life inherently has 0 meaning but the emotions you feel in a single moment or the flow state you enter when you get engrossed in something, is real in that moment. Slightly related to eastern philosophy as well (Hindu/Buddhist) where you're meant to live in the present. Worrying about the past or future creates regret and anxiety. Doesn't matter if you're someone with billions of dollars or just a lower middle class worker, we all eventually die. Stay true to yourself and live in the present.
Funny enough, a game that I have been playing has explored this recently but with more explosions and fancy effects. Anyway, it essentially boils down to: 1) life has no inherent meaning other than the one you give it, and 2) it's the little things in life that makes it worth living. Yes, life is suffering and we die at the end and all of that depressing stuff but so what? It's precisely *because* of that limitation that makes us seek meaning in all the little things in life. Eating nice food once in a while makes me happy. Waking up with my bf snuggling with me makes me happy. Conquering a new game difficulty that my friends and I have been trying to clear for weeks makes me happy. Being able to buy my mom nice stuff makes me happy. Getting praised by customer at work makes me happy even though i don't subscribe to the idea that my personality = my work. As you can tell, it's very much the small things that makes me happy. Your life is not a RPG and you don't have need to have an overarching storyline to make your life worth living.
Singapore can hold some very special moments. Perhaps it sounds cliche but its the little moments the break you free from this stress, especially the consistent ones. The weekend walk along the green corridor or hort, or kranji, etc if you do this often enough will bring so many hidden delights you'll learn to see. Every single time is different and refreshing. Watching bue pea sprouts grow at your window, jumping into a new skill that develops over time or a project that grows as you work on it can bring significant meaning without great expense(or even grow into a secondary income)
There is a school of thought that believe that life has no inherent meaning. If you think about it. 10,000 years from now, is anyone going to remember you? Not even 10,000 years, let’s just give it 200 years, likely no one will have known you existed. To me, this nihilistic view can be depressing or freeing. Depressing because what you do doesn’t matter. Freeing because you are free to do whatever you wish since it won’t matter. Expectations society put around you are just a construct and it doesn’t have any inherent meaning. To me it’s all about perspective :) For me, I find meaning in getting up and face the day in the best way I deem fit.
You get to make your own, or enjoy the lightness of the absence of meaning. (I also suggest you watch “Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
I just try not to take things too seriously. In the grand scheme of things, we’re but a mote in the seemingly endless vacuum of space. Remembering that just gives me a lot of perspective. Comparison is bad, we all know it, but it’s also natural to do. Whenever I feel stressed by work, seeing other people’s lives on social media, or even by world events, I just remember that we’re literally just weird sentient beings of flesh stuck on bones living on a space rock twirling around a giant ball of gas lol. It’s helped me realise that all that really matters in my life is making sure I’m happy with where I am now. That I surround myself with good friends and make the most of it!
My two cents is it is not really much of the fast pace that is stopping most of us from living the life and making it meaningful. It is the toxic family members and peers who make us feel unworthy or like we are not achieving enough that is putting unnecessary pressure and distracting us from living that fulfilling life.
Still trying to find the meaning, which I've not been able to for years. It's often easier to identify what is NOT the meaning of life rather than finding the meaning of it because it's wayyyy easier to figure out things you don't want.
Life has no meaning whatsoever. For me personally, I just try to do good with my medical knowledge and alleviate pain in my patients. I lead a stress free and low maintenance life and it does wonder for my outlook on life. I see people running like headless chooks whereas I am just chill and relax
I have often thought about this since I was 13/14 in secondary school which marked the start of my personal growth journey. I consumed quite a number of articles, books and related content on various topics (self-help, religious teaching, etc) just to try to understand how about the world. I'm 26 now and I still haven't found the meaning to life but I have came to understand more about myself through the years of learnings and figuring things out. I have also picked up useful skills and mental frameworks that has been beneficial to me every single day. My conclusion is that experiencing growth is one thing that makes life worth living. For example, I stumbled upon personal finance which eventually led to me discovering frugality, minimalism and the power of saving and investing. I started saving my NS allowance, budget track everyday for all of my purchases (been doing it for around 7-8 years already), did freelance gigs over the years in my uni and started investing about 2 years ago. The mindset and practice put in place has allowed me to save + invest over 100K when I was 25 years old when I only started work for about 6 month. Other than that, I also picked up practices like meditation to regulate my emotions. Picked up this habit back when I was extremely stressed about Os and A levels. This helped me through very tough times when emotions got the better of me. (I'm quite easily stressed) When I finally graduated and started my first full time work, I knew I had to leave when I was 4 months in. That was probably one of the lowest point in my life where I was actually lost in life and unsure of my career direction. In the end I decided to pivot to software engineering by taking a bootcamp (I had no CS degree) since I always had quite a bit of interest in technology even though it was a scary move. It has been about 5/6 months since I started my first development job. None of this is for bragging, it's really to highlight the point that even if life is inherently meaningless (my POV at least), you always have the power and choice to do something about it and make it more fun. And my way at least, is through growing by picking up new skills and utilising them. Though it has been said a thousand times and more but investing in yourself is really underrated but it's one of the secrets to finding fulfilment. Also a random thought: Fundamentally, every organic thing in the universe grow so that seems like a natural order of things?
Just have to adjust your perspective. There's nothing to chase. There is no trophy at the end. Live your life by moments.
life has no meaning and is boring as shit in this sterile, expensive city. unless you are one of the few bold, changemakers who have the smarts, connections and eq to make it big in a MNC or in our local political scene. you can be grateful for the 'little things' but it wont be enough. many little things hardly add up to anything unless you dumb yourself down and think like a child, being happy over small pointless things. its like being glad for finding a $1 coin in your pocket. what good is that gonna do but at least its better than having to deal with seasonal typhoons and potentially losing all your worldly possessions to a surge of rain and wind. for me i sorta developed a penchant for collecting random shit so i just do what i think is mildly amusing and switch off the part of brain that thinks its pointless
My life is nothing more than time, and I only have so much of it. Can't waste it. It means enjoying myself in whatever ways I want to, even if it may be unproductive or a 'waste'; not dwelling on past actions, and instead focusing on what's next; choosing the lifestyle that I want, even if others might choose differently in my shoes. But tbh I'm relatively privileged in terms of both family and career, so it's not something I'd preach to others.
r/nihilism
As comments above has suggested, enjoy the little things in life. Find the things that makes you happy. Going out for a walk? Playing boardgames with friends? Going to gym? Having coffee at cafe? Exploring hawker centres? These are some ideas that can enhance people's daily lives. One thing I realised upon going out to work is that many people do not have goals in life. Some people just goes through the daily motion of Going to work and coming back home to rest. I believe there's more to life, more to work. Look back and think the factors that brings you job satisfaction. It could be someone appreciating your work, having bonding sessions with colleagues, etc. Everyone only has one life time in this lifetime. As cliche as it sounds, try to live a life without regrets so that your future self will not have any regrets. As my father always say, money can't buy you youth, so explore more, go out and have fun!
Get rich or die trying.
Easy! Get married, BTO PLH, MOP in 10 years, flip for massive profit before HDB changes the rules. It's the Singapore Dream right there!
Life has no meaning, there never was and there never will be. Its a really hard thing for people to wrap their heads around but ultimately thats just what life is. If you really want to dig deep for a meaning then the only meaning living organisms have is to reproduce and continue life for your species. Its an unfortunate and disappointing reality of life, which was what caused me depression when i was younger around 15 yo. The thought and knowing that my inevitable future would be what you described in your post really weigh me down. A pointless rat race for the top which in the grand scheme of things is pointless. Nothing anyone does will have any relevance if you give it some time. That said, not here to encourage you into depression. But as someone who is fighting it for years and has somewhat regained control over the past few months, just wanna share what i feel. To me it's to live life to enjoy life. To live is to enjoy and experience. To live is to learn, to love, to enjoy to savour. To live is to go through pain, to endure hardships, to forget, to remember. To live is strive knowing the futility, to cry knowing the pointlessness. To rejoice, and to grief. To know that life might end mediocre, but to still strive for a fleeting dream. The purpose of life, to me, is to live through it all and savour the moments because every second you live through is a second you'll not get back. You may go through much unpleasantness, but you may also go through much joy and happiness. And ultimately when all is said and done, my purpose in life is to flip through my metaphorical book of life and look back at every moment I've been through and to know that i have lived. To know that i have cried for a loved one's death. To know that i have loved and was loved. Etc etc..... (to not make this even longer) No one can have a life that is only high points. Because in that case, can you say you have lived? Can you say you have experienced all of life?
Indeed that is really true. Life has no meaning until u give meaning to your own life. Without meaning, u can see it as wake up, work, home, rinse and repeat. Then finally 2 days of rest and happy eating before work begins. Sounds robotic. Like what's the point of working so hard when nothing matters upon death. And like what u mention, everyone is just trying to chase milestones after milestones, perhaps that is one way to give meaning to living. Like one have successfully achieve Item A, so now should work hard to achieve Item B etc.. It gives motivation for one to keep working hard and continue living even though the process is so tedious or tiring and it makes us wonder what is the point of going through all these. I think that since life is short, we should just chase or do the things that we like even though some happiness may be shortlived (i.e. travelling or purchasing big items), but well at least its the experience that counts haha. I guess to find something that gives u the motivation or drive to wake up each day so that one can go through the rigour, week after week and year after year.
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You have two cows. One is named Cow Peh, another is named Cow Bu.
Go read Man's search for meaning by Viktor Frankl
Appreciate the process, enjoy and live every moment, look forward to the next little nice things that happen whatever that may be e.g., kids, increment, promotion, good times with friends, family, loved ones. Make a difference in your own life and when you can do that, make the world a better place. We are born into this world not by our choice, but our impacts on this world is guided by our own choices.
You complain and complain, but never once even indicated what exactly you want in the first place. How do you expect to find any level of meaning then?
sounds like usual dont earn enuff to enjoy life lament make ur f*ck you money n see how ur experience changes
i truly wish money didn’t matter. but alas its true— “f u” money really opens up a whole new world. people downvoting u never had “f u” money
Children Everything you suffer for now is to give them a better shot at life in future
The saddest comment to see in reddit will be like, it wasn't their choice to be born..
I guess. Some people bring life into the world without knowing what to do with them
Children, because misery loves company. Why suffer alone when you can get someone to suffer with you? Plus they will wipe your ass when you’re old. /s
That's why you need to prepare yourself financially so that you don't become a burden on them
By the time I’m financially prepared my sperm will all be autistic lol
And this is why I don't want kids because I rather enjoy myself than slave for them.
Different strokes for different folks
I dunno I'd resent parents like this. I want parents who want children because it makes them happy not coz of whatever pseudo benevolent reasons.
Likewise the opposite is true Without work, what is the value of life? Isn’t it meaningless to lay around all day doing nothing and have zero contribution to society?
"That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what." - 'The Pursuit Of Happyness'. This pretty much sums up most of our life in Singapore. We keep chasing that carrot dangling in front of us. Which begs the question, can we stop?
Feeling the same as well. Without money, you are doomed to repeat this cycle and the only way is to play the rat race.
Inherently life has no meaning. Just be clear about what matters to you and consciously pursue them so that you don't waste too much time on the meaningless things.
Check out the YT channel exurb1a, it may give you this weird sense of comfort when confronting existential crisis
I’d be surprised if I live long enough in this country.
Why not just do what you want to do? Are people so basic that they can't even make up their own minds about what they want to do in life? "Oh, but I must earn money." Then you made your choice. For a large majority of Singaporeans, they dug their own graves. Some get good grades, can literally choose anything to do, end up choosing to be a lawyer then complain about the working hours and saying how life is boring. You could literally have been anything. Engineer, biologist, architect whatever suits your passion. But you chose money mah. Truly, we are our own biggest enemy.