I have started to live rationally since last year, and that solved my mental confusion. Let’s introduce one of my changes: how I now feel about the meaning of life.
How to satisfy the wish for the meaning of life
Sometimes, we wish for the answer to the meaning of life. It encourages us, especially when fatigued.
We vaguely know that life has no meaning. For example, some without an inferiority complex say, ‘You can live well even without worrying about it.’
However, we sometimes cannot stop wanting it. Advising to stop thinking when we cannot do it is pointless. We want a more convincing reason to calm us.
That is why we want an example of how to solve the desire for the meaning of life.
One approach is to recognize the difference between not seeking the meaning of life and not feeling it. Today, I will explain it with my experience. This distinction may help you understand how to balance your life and fulfill your wants.
Balanced vs. unbalanced state
The idea that there is no need to seek the meaning of life differs from the feeling of not having one. Although those differences appear subtle, that distinction shows us how to balance our lives.
- No need to seek the meaning of life: it is a state of balanced living. Examples are a relaxing moment while looking forward to tomorrow’s enjoyment and an exciting moment when we can always return to a relaxed state. In this state, we feel the meaning of life, although we often can neither be aware of it nor verbalize it.
- Not feeling the meaning of life: it is a state of dissatisfaction with one aspect of want. Examples are an exhausting state with no chance to rest and a boring state without stimulation or excitement. In this state, we want to show another aspect of want: being more active or relaxing.
In other words, we all have experienced a state of being satisfied with the meaning of life. The words ‘I have never been fulfilled in my life’ are a misconception.
Imagining the fulfilled state
We often feel the meaning of life more than we expect. We are just unaware of it and have been unable to verbalize it. That makes us forget the sensation of satisfaction immediately while remembering a dissatisfactory one.
That shows us how to resolve the desire for the meaning of life: we can remember the fulfilled state and predict it.
The meaning of life is not something to pursue but something to balance. If we realize we have been able to obtain that satisfactory state many times before, we will understand it is not necessarily required to achieve our current goal. Our accomplishment has nothing to do with obtaining the meaning of life.
We have at least two contradictory wants, and one side’s dissatisfaction breeds suspicion in life. It is unreasonable to seek more achievements when we are exhausted. Similarly, it is also pointless to try to be calmer when we are full of energy after enough breaks.
The lightness of shifting one’s values
The meaning of life can be said to be the lightness of shifting one’s values. If we are empathic and logical, we have two judging criteria: empathy and rationality. Switching them flexibly according to the situation enables us to balance our wants well.
For example, when we are exhausted, we become more rational. That calms us down, and that makes us decide to rest immediately. When we are full of energy after a break, we look for interesting things that stimulate and benefit us.
In other words, mental confusion is an inability to switch between judging based on empathy and rationality. Although the solution to our desire is simple, a lack of awareness about switching the criteria leads to complex reasoning.
An example of complex thinking is, ‘If I accomplish it, I can rest.’
It is indirectly. Rationally speaking, we can rest directly. That balances our lives and immediately satisfies the wish for the meaning of life.
Conclusion
That is how to solve the desire for the meaning of life.
We all have experienced a state of being satisfied with it.
This perspective may help you understand how to balance your life and fulfill your wants.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
