So why not play it to your absolute best?
The meaning of life is not to be happy — it is to be content. There is no single, universal meaning that applies to everyone. The more I think about it, the more I believe the meaning of life is the striving to find it.
This is not a race. You are not competing against anyone. It is you versus you.
On desire
Should you kill your desires? It is not that easy — and honestly, I don’t think you should. Diving into your desires is the first step to understanding that hedonism is not the answer, and that it is very short-lived. You have to live through the desires to learn from them.
I think if you have any desires, you should fulfil them — because doing so will show you that fulfilment doesn’t bring lasting happiness. The pleasure fades. What you’re left with is the question: what now?
Hedonism has a big role to play in this journey. You go through it to find what truly makes you happy and content. It is a necessary passage, not a destination. Consider this: almost every spiritual or religious figure we revere — the prophets, the sages, the gods — came from privilege and abundance before they renounced it. That is not a coincidence. Through hedonism, you learn that lasting wisdom does not come from accumulation, but from sacrifice and letting go.
Now, I trust you are smart enough to recognise this for yourself — that hedonism is not going to bring you happiness, and yet you will keep chasing it like an addict, always one more hit away from feeling whole. Some people spend a lifetime there. The easier way out, perhaps the only real way out, is complete abstinence. Not moderation. Not cutting back. Abstinence — because the chase only ends when you stop running.
On goals and the pursuit
The goals I set didn’t give me the happiness I thought they would — because purpose and contentment are not found in an end goal, but in the pursuit itself. We fall for the same fallacy, over and over: “If only I had this, I’d be happy.” But we never stay happy — only for a short while. Why do we keep accepting that reaching one goal is the end, when it is clearly only a step?
Happiness is not a summit you stand on. It is a direction you walk in.
On ownership
Start thinking. Start asking questions. Skepticism is far better than naivety on the road to wisdom. We are scared to take full ownership of our lives because if we do — and we stumble — it is entirely on us. There is no one else to blame. That is terrifying. But it is also the only way to live with real dignity.
“To go wrong in one’s own way is better than going right in someone else’s.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. Don’t let anyone else write the rules of your game. You have one life. Take control of it. Own it. Be responsible for it.
Life is not a race — there is no finish line, no trophy, no one keeping score. It is a game you play with yourself. The only question worth asking is whether you are playing it on your own terms.
Enjoy the life. Find your meaning.