What do you want in life?

[Toad]

What do you want/expect from life?

What are your dreams/aspirations?

What is your philosophy for living?

How does your philosophy help you achieve you wants/dreams?

As I am asking you guys this...I am trying to answer it myself. It is hard...

 

[Cryss Winters]

What do you want/expect from life?

Happiness, and it will take a lot of work; but I'm getting there.

 

[Toad]

Happiness, and it will take a lot of work; but I'm getting there.

Happiness is too simple. Explain what happiness is to you. Tell us how you are getting there.

 

[Latro]

I want to do chemical research. I'm not entirely sure which research just yet, but then I haven't really had enough coursework to be able to know what kind of research there is to be done offhand. I know one interest is synthesis pathways for industrial chemicals that do not require petroleum; because the easily attainable raw materials will be changing (and thus this is a big deal for a huge number of industries) but I do not know if that is what I want to do research on. I think I may know after I have done physical chemistry; if not, the special projects program at my university should help with that.

I'd also like to make a couple more friends and keep those I have, and maybe slip a romantic interest in there as well. Somehow I imagine that will be far more difficult than establishing a career for me.

Happiness per se is overrated; if you have enough resources you can put yourself in constant ecstasy via sex, drugs, and other indulgence until you implode. That's not worth it, imo; achievements and relationships are what matter.

Obviously overall it's more complex than all of that, but that's a summary of what I'm doing about it/would like to do about it.

 

[Beat Mango]

I don't believe that a simply defined worded answer will do in answering a question like this. If you read all my posts (no that's not an invitation lol), saw everything I write, you'd start to get an idea of who I am, and from there you could easily deduce what I want in life. What I'm trying to say is that what I want is complex, constantly changing, I can't put it down to one word or value or philosophy or achievement or dream. But it flows directly from who I am at any given moment.

I could make a rough summation by saying that I want to go deeper into my most authentic self and find ways of expressing that. In the past I've been a bit of a wuss, not taking the courageous option, not allowing myself to be confident, so for now that's my challenge. I don't expect any job to enable me to do that so I need to find alternative ways of self-expression.

 

[Toad]

I respect only a handful of people on this forum. You are now one of them BM.

 

[Xel]

Want: Everything
Expect: Nothing
Dream: To hear the screams of my enemies and the lamentations of their women folk
Philosophy: Fight the power
Philosophy in action: My enemies are "the power"

 

[Ulysses]

Dream: To hear the screams of my enemies and the lamentations of their women folk

That is good.

 

[walfin]

I'd agree with Chris that happiness is ultimately what most, if not all humans want in life.

The reason why people don't always mindlessly indulge in drugs and sex etc. probably isn't merely a lack of resources; they're smart enough to know that doing that makes you less happy in the long run (and it does - over time your dopamine receptors develop tolerance).

That said, happiness is often dependent on relative progress. Which is why the economy is destined to repeat the boom bust cycles - people NEED the boom to get that dopamine rush, but ultimately, what goes up must come down.

Humans will always want something out of their reach because the dopamine rush only lasts for that long after they get what they want. The most we can hope for, I guess, is constant relative improvement (as we perceive it), with a few setbacks along the way so we won't find it "too easy".

Dream: To hear the screams of my enemies and the lamentations of their women folk

So you have no female enemies?

 

[Razare]

What do you want/expect from life?

10 more years and a comfy grave.

What are your dreams/aspirations?

Dreams ans aspirations are for children.

What is your philosophy for living?

I live to experience life, not that this is enjoyable or dreadful for that matter, I'm just here. A guest on the planet Earth spending some time before I move on.

How does your philosophy help you achieve you wants/dreams?

N/A

As I am asking you guys this...I am trying to answer it myself. It is hard...

I wont say that I'm not conflicted about what I've just said. There are two aspects of myself, the logical me (Ti) and the feeling me (Fi). The Fi wants to love and be loved, to find companionship and fulfillment in life, and through another person find purpose. I would call it, living for another that you love and who loves you. In this happy bliss it really wouldn't matter if this philosophy is illogical or unsound. My Fi could tell my Ti to shut-up in this situation.

I am not in this situation and my Fi is not dominant. Ti reigns supreme, so while part of me has dreams and ambitions, I just chuckle at those silly thoughts.

 

[Xel]

So you have no female enemies?

Why would I want female enemies?Also lesbians.

 

[Enne]

I want to do chemical research. I'm not entirely sure which research just yet, but then I haven't really had enough coursework to be able to know what kind of research there is to be done offhand. I know one interest is synthesis pathways for industrial chemicals that do not require petroleum; because the easily attainable raw materials will be changing (and thus this is a big deal for a huge number of industries) but I do not know if that is what I want to do research on. I think I may know after I have done physical chemistry; if not, the special projects program at my university should help with that.

Are you a chemical engineering student? LOL the sort of research you've just described is exactly what made me switch to mechanical engineering. What kinds of projects does your uni offer?

 

[Beat Mango]

I respect only a handful of people on this forum. You are now one of them BM.

 

[Fleur]

Everything I have ever wanted and waited for is serenity. But I am aware that I would rather grow wings and start flying around than ever achieve it. At the moment, the only kind of serenity I have reached is the one which is might be felt by soldiers which have finished a battle and know that there is another, harder one waiting ahead.

I have many future possibilities in my mind, and I guess my current task is to choose between them. I just hope there are no mistakes in my calculations, and I have enough time to make my choose.

But, whatever my dreams are, I want to live the life in my own way.

 

[Latro]

Are you a chemical engineering student? LOL the sort of research you've just described is exactly what made me switch to mechanical engineering. What kinds of projects does your uni offer?

Just chemistry; we don't have a chemical engineering program per se here. I'm only a sophomore at the moment; I'm taking organic chemistry I at the moment and kind of wondering why people think it's so hard.

Anyway, the special projects program is actually a class of sorts that chemistry students can choose to take in their senior year. It goes on for two semesters (assuming they choose to take both) and basically it consists of working with a professor on their research. (The student has to speak to the professor independently to work with them I think; there's pretty much a professor doing research in every major chemical discipline.) There is also a variant of the special projects program called Honors Research which is for students admitted to the department honors program; the research done in this program is more along the lines of what would be done in graduate research, as it is more independent and you choose your topic yourself.

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

What Banana Mango said. And I would like the drive to complete my book, and complete it well.

I respect only a handful of people on this forum. You are now one of them BM.

And The Mighty Hand of Red Toad hath striketh his enemies. And then He heldeth Banana Mango in the palm of His Hand and saideth, "You are my chosen one, Banana Mango. To you no ill will shall cometh." And so it was done and it was good. Amen.

 

[Toad]

What Banana Mango said. And I would like the drive to complete my book, and complete it well.




And The Mighty Hand of Red Toad hath striketh his enemies. And then He heldeth Banana Mango in the palm of His Hand and saideth, "You are my chosen one, Banana Mango. To you no ill will shall cometh." And so it was done and it was good. Amen.

Don't be jealous Brain...you're in my hand too

Now I guess it is my turn to answer my question.

What do I want in life?

Currently, what I want is to find out where I belong in this crazy world. I'm a an oddball. The black sheep in my family. So much was expected out of me. Yet nothing came out.

So yes, I want to find out more about myself. I want to find my true calling.

The way I am achieving this?

Currently, I am going through every single philosophy/self help program I can get my hands on.

As you all know, I have recently chosen nihilistic hedonism. More accurately, INDEPENDENT nihilistic hedonism (some of you may understand the independent part).

So I guess it all comes down to...finding myself.

Edit: Oh and thanks for all the answer guys. It will help me in my jorney.

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

Don't be jealous Brain...you're in my hand too

Praise be! I shall witness The Rapture!


As far as finding yourself, Red Toad: My experience has been that self-help and philosophy may be useful, but they only go so far. What has helped me more than anything is just picking something that interests me, doing it, and discovering whether it enriches my life or not. If it does and I seem to be naturally inclined toward it, it's a good thing to do.

 

[Ghost1986]

What do you want/expect from life? to have success and happiness as i define it.

What are your dreams/aspirations? nothing that's going to happen.

What is your philosophy for living? very long and contradictory. but in one word, EVOLUTION

How does your philosophy help you achieve you wants/dreams? i think it tends to hurt more than help.

 

[Cryss Winters]

Happiness is a forever changing feeling to strive for, it makes you wake up each day and try again.
I suppose it's different for each individual and it's important to find out happiness is for you.

 

[Toad]

Chris, you must remember not to strive for happiness, but contentment. Happiness is just a fleeting emotion. Contentment is a lasting achievement.

 

[Cryss Winters]

Chris, you must remember not to strive for happiness, but contentment. Happiness is just a fleeting emotion. Contentment is a lasting achievement.

I disagree, you should always strive for happiness, but be content with enough of it.

 

[Toad]

I can jack off now and be happy during that time. But contentment keeps me satisfied after the orgasm.

Just a little food for thought there

 

[Cryss Winters]

I can jack off now and be happy during that time. But contentment keeps me satisfied after the orgasm.

Just a little food for thought there

You made me chuckle, good job.

 

[severus]

I want to live and experience the world.

I want to be content, but not stagnant.

I want to be true to myself in my pursuits, while still growing as a person.

I want to be at peace with others, nature, and myself.