If you have been looking for life’s meaning, you probably haven’t found it. And it is not because you are not looking hard enough but because by itself, life has no meaning.
If you take a purely materialistic/scientific view, life is just a series of biochemical reactions. And chemical reactions don’t have meaning.
But don’t despair – this, in fact, is great news.
Because life has no intrinsic meaning, you can give it any meaning you want.
For an entertainer, life’s meaning could be to create great shows. For an entrepreneur, it could be to solve some big, hairy problems. And for somebody else, it could be just taking care of their family.
Meaning of life need not be something exalted or world-changing. You don’t have to necessarily end world hunger or colonize Jupiter.
So stop looking for the meaning of life – it is not something you find, it is something you create.
Look into your own life and find things you do that feel like time well-spent. Find the things you would do even if there was no money, fame, or tangible benefit attached to them.
Those are the things that are meaningful to you.
If you can carve out a part of your life doing those things, congratulations! You just gave your life a meaning.
– Rajan