Society & Culture Why do you bother?

[nicky]

Very interesting observation.

 

[Caesar]

Everything I do is either because I enjoy doing it, or it ultimately serves an end result that brings enjoyment. If I'm lucky, both. That's it.

I believe most people would say the same. Perhaps a lot of people would be served to examine their personal cost/benefit analysis a bit more closely - whether the hassles of a job is REALLY worth the rewards, say. But the motivation itself isn't rocket science. Fundamentally we're all doing whatever we do for the same reason - pursuit of pleasure. Emotional, spiritual, physical, intellectual, whatever. Directly or indirectly.

Being nihilistic/depressed/suicidal/whatever is just a consequence of believing that there isn't enough pleasure to be extracted from the world in order to justify the effort involved in obtaining it. Most of us don't have that problem. We generally agree there's a lot of pleasure to be had from the world - we just struggle with working out how to extract the most possible with the limited time we have available.

 

[volcboy]

Why do you bother? Do you ever ask yourself this question? Do you ever consider the alternative?

Revolution. I'm game if you are

 

[King Elvis]

I like to get the daily news.

 

[WinmarToLockett]

Why do you bother?

I like to **** pretty girls, travel the world, party, make music, take lots of drugs, meet and connect with people, spend cash on stupid things... you know... all that sort of shit.

Do you ever ask yourself this question? Do you ever consider the alternative?

No.

But then again, I'm rich, I make a living through art, and I have a nice woman to take out the trash for me. Maybe that's what you need.

 

[BLPC08]

I like to **** pretty girls, travel the world, party, make music, take lots of drugs, meet and connect with people, spend cash on stupid things... you know... all that sort of shit.



No.

But then again, I'm rich, I make a living through art, and I have a nice woman to take out the trash for me. Maybe that's what you need.

 

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

God damn it... an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables – slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.

 

[Mooster7]

We used to be hunters/fishers/gatherers eeking out a hard, short life. Almost all of our energy was spent acquiring more energy. There was little escape from discomfort and disease. Religion completely aside, that's the genuine meaning of human existence on Earth. Procreating is secondary. Now that you know, I hope your confusion is settled forever. Working a job is the modern version of hunting and gathering. Instead of meat, fish & berries, we collect an abstract means by which we then acquire meat, fish & berries.

Not to work is the equivalent of being some bastard sitting outside the cave not contributing to the greater human herd. He would have starved back when life was "meaningful" and good riddance.

Get a job. No one currently living invented hating getting up and going to work. Hating work was invented thousands of years before you were born. Because people did get up and work is the reason we all exist (that and a fair amount of sex). On your days off, go hunting or fishing. All of your existential ennui and disconnection will melt away. Promise. After next weekend, I'm going to have a bloody arrow, a bloody gut hook, a bloody gut knife, a freezer full of deer and smile on my face. I never puzzle over these things.

Although I do hate my alarm clock too, the ****ing thing.

 

[J_Moore]

Aren't you a little old for this, fd?

 

[nicky]

Yes I'm very jealous too. I would love to make money from art.

Last week I kept waking up with the best vision for t-shirts - perhaps I should make them rather than rolling my eyes at people who have a better life than me..

 

[Poetic Justice]

God damn it... an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables – slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.

Stellar post, that.

 

[nicky]

Stellar post, that.

What movie is that speech from?

Is it the one with patrick batemen's brother (the guy from dawson's creek) where that girl kills herself to the tune of harry nilsson singing "without you"?

It's a top quote

 

[Dreambomber]

What movie is that speech from?

Is it the one with patrick batemen's brother (the guy from dawson's creek) where that girl kills herself to the tune of harry nilsson singing "without you"?

It's a top quote

I'm pretty sure it's from Fight Club. Great movie.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

I always ask myself. One day, i might just not get up.

**** THE WORLD

 

[nicky]

I'm pretty sure it's from Fight Club. Great movie.

oh yeah, of course

 

[fairdinkum]

Aren't you a little old for this, fd?

Too old for what exactly? How old do you think I am?



That scenario I put across in the OP is where I suspect I may end up in 5-10 years. I see people working, queuing, eating, watching tv, sleeping, then doing it all over again, five days per week. The only respite from the monotony being weekends and four weeks off per year, until a few decades roll past and retirement becomes an option.

So I ask these people, why do you do it? And have you ever thought about the alternative(s)? Or do you just go through the motions out of habit? Never really questioning why you do whatever it is you do?

I can see why SJ thought my OP was some kind of suicidal vent. But it was actually meant to be a way to question people as to why they do what they do, and whether or not they ever really think about why they do what they do.

Fortunately, some people in the thread have tried to answer these questions.

 

[Caesar]

I think part of the thing is, that when you're a kid/in your early 20s most of the things you're interested in are pretty easily obtained (or at least, you obtain them fairly directly). You don't have to spend a lot of time doing stuff you don't want to do in order to get the payoff.

As people get older and the things they want become more sophisticated, the payoff requires more work. You spend more time doing the monotonous things because it's the way you get what you want.

Doesn't necessarily mean you're less happy/motivated/whatever than if you continued along the other path though. Theoretically, the payoff is higher so it evens out.

I think most people could probably tweak their lives a bit to get more satisfaction out of it, but I don't think that's limited to people in the rat race.

 

[nicky]

So I ask these people, why do you do it? And have you ever thought about the alternative(s)? Or do you just go through the motions out of habit? Never really questioning why you do whatever it is you do?

I've never really rated my work well relative against anything good, pure and decent. Anyway it's gone from working for a morally bankrupt corporation to working for a morally bankrupt corporation with no clear long term strategy. Collegues prone to existential crisis have jumped ship and the rest keep going through the motions. I don't know how they do it, perhaps they have more important things to concern themselves with, like a 4th property and pivate school tuition as opposed to questions about 'why?'


Put it this way, I have no-one left to invite to my leaving lunch

 

[jefffff34]

I like to get the daily news.

Quality post this.

 

[Malifice]

 

[Piss Poor]

I made a thread about 6-7 months ago something similar to this

My opinion has changed a little, and I just believe that it wasn't me that has a problem, this society does. We all live in a rich get richer and poor get poorer society.

That's why it's become so hard and boring for some. Life has become a work, eat, sleep repeat over and over.

Money is the key to all of this, and as they say money is the root of all evil- yes because most of us are forced into obtaining it for our lives until were old and grey but also no because if your got it your laughing at everyone. But how many people could call themselves rich is what I want to know.

To me, owning your own house is what I consider being Rich

Financial stress is the future because houses are so hard to obtain these days, almost out of reach and that's concerning.

How far can people be pushed with the cost of living, I'm doing alright for myself ATM but for others you have to ask the question when is enough enough.

 

[nicky]

There is an infliction known as relative deprivation whereby you will deprived depending on the status of your peers... eg. someone owns one house but all their friends own a house + beach house.

eg 2. a multi millionaire has a load of friends who own billion dollar boats - the poor multi millionaire feels deprived and wants more money. We might see that as greedy but relative to his billionaire mates he is genuinely deprived. Much like people from 3rd world countries would consider someone living in a council flat as well off.

 

[Malifice]

[YOUTUBE]8r1CZTLk-Gk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[fairdinkum]

Lol. I posted that same Loius CK video on SRP about a month ago.

And tomorrow I am literally flying on a plane.

 

[Suspense]

Chop Wood, Carry Water.