SquishyQuokka

Is life a race for eternal growth?

Was thinking about our lives. Ever since you are in school, you have something to look forward to. When you’re in 1st grade, you know next year it’s 2nd grade and so on till you finish your undergrad.

Suddenly, you could be everything or nothing at the same time.

Those who are good at this game of eternal growth end up grinding their lives away in the PCM -> Engg -> B-School -> Consulting hell loop.

Weirdly, the determinism in growth fades away suddenly and you see people finally pursuing diverse fields.

Then, the realisation kicks in. You’ve been conditioned to chase eternal growth. That is what brings meaning to you in every part of your life. Today has to be better than your yesterday, or else it feels like you’ve failed.

I wonder how sustainable that is but till then we will continue to throw our youth away.

My 2 cents: You have a brief moment in history. Don’t spend your 10 years of prime in doing things that don’t bring you any joy. Don’t make the same mistakes all of us make chasing joys because others are chasing them.

Find your own meaning to this eternal growth.

11mo ago

Find out if you are being paid fairly.Download Grapevine

ZippyPanda

Cred11mo

If you’ve liked tech since the beginning It’s the best time to be in tech You get paid to do things which you enjoy and also learning more gives you scope to earn more Not a lot of population gets this as a choice

SquishyQuokka

Gojek11mo

@HangTheDJ I completely agree.

QuirkyWaffle

Stealth11mo

Isn't the best time already over? Working with tech is awesome but these days management, company policies, layoffs etc. have made this career less desirable than it was before

ZoomyMuffin

Stealth11mo

I wanted to quit this race and just live since I was in 2nd grade. Life as a race sucks. But detach from the race aspect of it.
Spend minimal amount of effort so that we earn the bread on our plate. Rest of the time, Find something fun everyday and spend it, that's what my motto is.

I have also learnt that some people are essentially happy as a baseline, irrespective of their situation. Wrong example but it's the only prominent one I recall, Bill Gates said in his interviews that he was always a happy person. I don't know if it comes naturally or can be developed by practice, but that is something I am aiming towards.

ZoomyMuffin

Stealth11mo

BTW, Content and Happiness can be dissociated. You can be a happy person but still aim for growth and want things.

Gates was not the most content person, he was a tyrant and super hardworking at Microsoft. That is why I find his example relevant here. I don't want to be a contented sanyasi, I would rather prefer to be a very happy capitalist cog. I just don't know how yet

SquishyQuokka

Gojek11mo

@majboormajdoor Bingo! You have decided the right way for yourself and I am so happy for you.

ZestyDonut

Stealth11mo

That’s why I recommend everyone to read Men’s searches for meaning by Viktore Frankl.

SquishyQuokka

Gojek11mo

I’ll read it for sure now.

PeppyBanana

Stealth11mo

Man's search for meaning

SillyKoala

PWC11mo

I think you’re right in identifying that we’ve been conditioned to chase eternal growth. We have one life and if we don’t find happiness in this, what’s the point of living it? But now that we are part of that chase, how do we stop? When do we stop? Why do we stop?

SquishyQuokka

Gojek11mo

There’s no stopping. Being a part of progress means that it gives life meaning, knowing that you have furthered the cause of humanity ik your own little way.

SillyKoala

PWC11mo

That for sure will give life meaning but is that it? Do you live to further humanity? What about furthering yourself personally?

DancingWaffle

PhonePe11mo

I have been living in a constant state of existential crisis for the past few years now (Okay yes, thats a bit exaggerated but still close to the truth)

Earlier when I used to have this discussion with myself, the only conclusion i used to reach was “Life is meaningless and doesn’t have any purpose”. Post that it would be just me feeling dreadful and helpless, and somehow going to sleep.

But recently, my discussions with myself went one step further, after reaching the conclusion that Life has no meaning, I came to the realisation that since nobody’s life has any meaning whatsoever, it implies that my life can have whatever meaning/purpose it needs to have. (Is that conclusion “correct”? I dont know)

Since then, I have to tried to do things that “give me the feeling” of having some purpose in life. So far, the only valid thing I have been able to come up with is helping other people. I donate somewhere between 10-20% of my monthly income to a local orphanage, and that has helped me sleep peacefully most nights and deal with the constant existential crisis (does that make the donation selfish? Maybe…)

SquishyQuokka

Gojek11mo

Once you have achieved some, giving back gives a lot of joy.

BouncyJellybean

BYJU'S11mo

Like the raw honesty and ease with which you explained this eternal conundrum.

Discover more

Curated from across

Mental Well-being16d

What are we really chasing in life?

If this is the only ultimate truth...

(Picture was taken at Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi)

4.2K

Office Gossip18mo

[Thread] What is according to you makes life worth living?

If you ask me, the purpose of life has to be more than climbing a self-constructed ladder.

Like, it has to be more than a 3BHK in a metro, with two kids, a car and a prestigious job at a faceless corporation, 2 weeks of vacation and a ...

Top comment

Remember when you were a kid and had a school trip the next day? You sleep all excited, over preparing your...

Misc18mo

People in/were in your 20s, what would/did you do?

So, I have heard multiple people that 20s is about exploring. Explore different jobs, work style, people etc , you name it! I believe with that, you cannot think of earning as exploration into different roles results in being at the ...

Top comment

Drop the western view of fun - Clubbing,partying,getting high/laid anyone can do. You don’t need any hard skills for ...

Ask a question on Grapevine.

Get the app on Android or iOS.

Privacy Terms

Guidelines Help