There is no goal in life.
If there is something you consider a goal, once you reach it, you might wonder what becomes of the remainder of your life. This contemplation reveals that what was considered a goal is merely one of many milestones within life.
So, is death the ultimate goal? While it represents the endpoint in the flow of time, it differs from the goal we strive towards in our lives. We do not live our lives aiming for death.
Thinking in this way, it becomes clear that life has no definitive goal.
This article explores the structure of a life without goals, considering how we can interpret this structure. What emerges is the perspective that all goals and values are positioned as midpoints in a life without a definitive goal. And if goals and values are merely midpoints, it implies that we have the freedom to decide and change our values.
Life as a Series of Midpoints
On the other hand, we live our daily lives pondering over various issues and making decisions on the best course of action. Put grandly, this involves making choices from the options life presents us with every day.
The usual image of decision-making involves choosing the best option based on certain criteria. This might seem as if we have a purpose or goal in mind when making these decisions. However, if life has no ultimate goal, the question arises: what are we aiming for when we make these decisions?
At such times, we might interpret that we are setting intermediate, non-goal objectives, aiming for the best choice to reach these midpoints.
Once a midpoint is reached, we search for the next one. Although there is no final goal, the pursuit of these midpoints characterizes our lives.
The pursuit of these midpoints, even in the absence of a final goal, is life itself.
The Loop of Midpoints
There are various types of midpoints. A typical example is survival. Without food, we would die, making acquiring food a midpoint. To obtain food, many modern humans work. Earning money through work is also a midpoint.
This shows the existence of a loop of midpoints. Achieving the midpoint of satisfying hunger enables us to work. Working to earn money reaches another midpoint, allowing us to acquire food. This loop of midpoints forms a significant part of our lives.
Unreachable Midpoints
Then, there are midpoints that are unreachable. These could be excessively high goals or purposes where the pursuit itself becomes the objective rather than something to be surpassed.
For instance, becoming the most famous person in the world, mastering an art, or accumulating as much wealth as possible. Assuming life has no goal, these too are kinds of midpoints, albeit eternal ones that we never truly reach during our lives.
The Pain of Boredom
Also, when we repeatedly do the same easy-to-achieve tasks, we become bored. True boredom is a pain comparable to hunger. To escape this pain, we instinctively seek more challenging or stimulating activities.
Falling into a repetitive loop of simple tasks can lead to familiarity and, consequently, the pain of boredom. To avoid this pain, we seek higher challenges or more stimulating activities.
The pain of boredom cannot be avoided even if we solve all life’s problems and own enough wealth to never face hardship again. In this sense, the pain of boredom also indicates the lack of a final destination in life from another perspective.
Growth, Self-Actualization, and Stimulation
The existence of boredom’s pain prompts us to seek growth or choose far and challenging midpoints. Or, we might aim for stimulating activities.
There’s a belief that the value of life lies in growth or climbing from basic needs to self-actualization. However, if aiming for midpoints and escaping boredom’s pain are human instincts, then growth and self-actualization are merely one form of this pursuit.
Seeking stimulation just to escape boredom without aiming for growth or self-actualization is also a valid way of living.
Growth, self-actualization, and stimulation all imply change. We seek change to avoid boredom, whether by spinning around in the loop of midpoints or aiming for eternally unreachable ones.
This view of life equally considers those continuously seeking personal growth, those who have achieved self-actualization, those working hard daily for sustenance, and those moderately working while consuming entertainment.
Inconsistency of Values
If life is merely about aiming for midpoints, then what we consider important and valuable is also not absolute but merely a midpoint.
If the achievement of a certain value were the goal, consistency in values would be important. However, if values are considered midpoints, then consistency in values becomes less significant. Midpoints are means, and means can be flexibly changed according to the situation.
This suggests that whether it’s emotions that fluctuate greatly, desires that increase, or ideologies and beliefs that we pursue, all values are merely midpoints in life, nothing more than means.
Flexibility and Proactivity in Value Foundations
If emotions, desires, ideologies, and beliefs cannot be adjusted, it means that the value foundation is fixed. On the other hand, if they can be adjusted according to the situation, it indicates that the value foundation has a passive flexibility. Furthermore, if the value foundation can be actively manipulated, it signifies having a proactive value foundation.
Although it may be difficult to distinguish superficially, the rigidity, flexibility, and proactivity of a value foundation vary among individuals.
As children, our actions were strongly influenced by emotions and desires. We had no choice but to accept these uncontrollable feelings and desires and act based on them. This represents a state where the value foundation consists solely of emotions and desires, indicating rigidity.
As we grow, education and socialization from adults and society teach us the ideologies of our society, and beliefs begin to form within us. This signifies that not only emotions and desires but also ideologies and beliefs are being integrated into our value foundation.
Here, depending on the person, the value foundation may be rigid, passively flexible, or proactive.
Just as we can actively move our limbs to perform intended actions, having a proactive value foundation means we can actively shift our values to steer our thoughts and intentions in the desired direction.
The Only Choice Is to Decide for Ourselves
This article first outlines the structural constraints of life.
Since there is no ultimate goal in life, we can only repeat the process of setting and pursuing midpoints, and we are burdened with the pain of boredom, driving us to seek change and stimulation instinctively.
It then organizes the concept of a value foundation used in deciding midpoints.
Essentially, we, as beings with will, can make our value foundation actively controllable. Being controllable means we can also choose to relinquish its proactivity for passivity or even rigidity.
We live within these value foundations and structural constraints.
Whether to keep our value foundation actively controllable, make it passive, or allow it to become rigid is something each individual must decide for themselves. However, as human development stages typically follow the reverse order, if one’s willpower has not grown to the state of being controllable, it inevitably becomes rigid or passive.
Moreover, what values to incorporate and prioritize within the value foundation is also up to the individual to decide. Here again, if one’s willpower has not grown enough to make choices, they may have no choice but to accept the values presented by others. If one has a proactive value foundation, they can freely choose which values to prioritize in different situations and contexts.
Individuals set their midpoints within this framework of value foundations and values. Whether to place these midpoints within reachable proximity or set them as distant goals that take a lifetime to achieve is also up to the individual to decide. Here too, if one’s willpower has not developed, they may end up accepting midpoints decided by those around them.
In Conclusion
This article has taken a comprehensive look at life. You might wonder, what should one do then?
If you are considering your own life, the perspective shifts to how you can improve it. It involves contemplating whether having an active, passive, or rigid value foundation is better, and which choice would make your life better. Similarly, deciding which values to prioritize and where to place your midpoints requires consideration of how to lead a better life for yourself.
This will vary depending on the situation and individual preferences or aesthetics.
If contemplating someone else’s life, the focus shifts to how their life can be improved. While I believe it is better for many people to have the willpower to think about their lives independently, individual differences must be accounted for.
For those who may not be able to reach the stage of forming an active value foundation or find it difficult to make their own decisions, it’s worth considering what values they should prioritize or what midpoints they should aim for.
The situation of having to make decisions oneself can feel liberating and freeing for some, but others may feel the weight of those decisions as pressure and suffering. Such individuals might find it easier to live by adopting values and midpoints suggested by others rather than determining their own.
Instead of exploiting these individuals for one’s own benefit, if the intent genuinely considers their well-being, life philosophies or self-help concepts can be very helpful.
However, imposing these philosophies on those who are capable of making their own decisions might not be meaningful. Such individuals have no choice but to find their own answers.
