A while ago, I posted a comment on another blog that was more flip than pithy. Hell, even I make mistakes. Actually, I make dozens of them, and freely admit it. Anyway, what I said was something to the effect of “you live to live,” but ultimately that seems pretty pointless. It’s like gaming to game or eating to eat.

The real answer to “Why do I bother to stay alive” struck me like a bolt out of the blue yesterday. Ultimately, you live for the future.

There’s always something that’s going to be coming along tomorow or in a week or two or a few months or maybe you even have some things you’re anticipating long-term. There’s always something to look forward, and you may not be thinking you’ll like it that much that it’ll be worth it, but that’s just because you’re not thinking clearly. When it happens, it’ll be awesome and you’ll enjoy it.

When you get right down to it, it’s all about opportunity cost. If you stop living now, you’re not going to have any future opportunities. The best thing ever could happen to you in fifteen minutes, and you’d miss out on it.

5 thoughts on “

  1. mame_snidely

    Yes, we do live for the future, however what I was actually asking about, was why live when you happen to know what you are living for is nigh on  impossible? A 2% chance, and chasin g after it forever doesn’t seem like much of a life.

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  2. hjo3

    > The best thing ever could happen to you in fifteen minutes, and you’d miss out on it.

    On the other hand, the *worst* thing ever could happen to you in fifteen minutes… I guess it’s a glass half-full/half-empty kinda thing.

    Re: mame snidely: Two percent is still something. But why live for a single achievement/reward anyway? It sounds a little shallow.

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  3. hjo3

    Hm, I’m not sure. When I try to imagine a goal that’s worth a human life, it’s hard to come up with anything that doesn’t sound frivolous in the context of a typical modern American’s existence. Relatively speaking, most of us have it pretty easy, right? It’s not like we have to struggle on a daily basis to keep our families alive, protect our personal freedom, or avoid terrible violence.

    But obviously I can’t speak for everyone. I’m just saying that, to me, living for one thing (and one thing only) seems very misguided. There are so many different things to enjoy, so many ways to contribute to society.

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  4. mame_snidely

    Well, we all live to fulfill our niche, or so it is as I see it. I am not filling my niche, it is held away from me. And without being able to accomplish things within that niche, I’m constanly engaged in simply keeping my head above water. Which is no good. Go read my blog for the details.

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