What Is the Point of It All?

4 min read

Just now

A reflection on why we often struggle to understand the meaning or purpose behind what we do in life.

I think we all have asked ourselves the question: “What is the point of all this”? at some point in our lives. As someone who believes in God, I find life meaningful. I don’t think we were created without purpose. Yet despite that foundation, it isn’t always clear what the best way to spend day-to-day life is. Meaning feels clear in theory, but blurry in practice.

Part of this comes from a lifelong tension between the different versions of life I’ve been taught to live. There is the life I was expected to live where I grew up, the life I am expected to live in a career-oriented world, and the life I actually want for myself. Each one demands something different. For years, I tried to hold on to what I cared about, even when others told me it didn’t matter. At the same time, I tried to change minds and justify my choices. Eventually, I realized that this only took me further away from the real value of what I was pursuing and reduced it to some insecurity-based goal hiding behind the sparkle of achievement.

Over time, I’ve come to think that the point of life shifts depending on where a person stands. For those starting from scratch, the point is to build the foundation they need to flourish; for those who already have a foundation but still feel unsatisfied, it may be to examine the cracks left behind by those who came before them. And for those born into flourishing, the point might be to confront why they still feel lost. This means that all people cannot be measured by the same standard.

So far, I’ve had a hard time finding people who are genuinely fulfilled with who they are and where they are going. Even though our generation has gained more agency and shifted toward extreme self-development, I am not convinced we are doing any better emotionally than those before us. Sometimes it feels like the constant pursuit of improvement is just a modern echo of an old problem: a persistent lack of self-acceptance and acceptance of others. As if we believe that people are not born enough. We tell others, “You are enough just as you are,” yet internally criticize ourselves for every misstep and constantly chase change.

One reason I think our meaning isn’t clear to us has to do with trivial issues such as inequality. We talk about equality more now than ever, but I still feel there is a lack of genuine belief in the equality of genders, races, etc. If I only become “equal” to you because I have proven that I can achieve as much as you, learn as much as you, or contribute as much as you, then do you actually see me as equal? Or do you just see me as useful? And what does that imply for someone who looks like me but cannot do the same things I can? Does their worth change?

Equality is inherent, yet it is treated as conditional. In a society where people must expose their accomplishments to be treated with respect, it becomes nearly impossible for people to understand “the point.” Most are too busy trying to carve out a place for themselves in systems they feel they don’t belong even when they should belong.

I think that if we want to improve how people feel about life, we have to improve morally and ethically. We have to be more accepting of others and, perhaps more importantly, more accepting of ourselves. Often, the people who are harshest toward others are the ones who have never learned to be gentle with themselves. I also believe that our growth morally and intellectually has to have a positive influence on our growth technologically, economically, and in our productivity, if that is what we decide to care about. These things are not mutually exclusive; they shape and reinforce one another. The question isn’t whether we should abandon the areas we are growing in today, but whether we can simultaneously help people develop a deeper intelligence that looks beyond what is apparent, sees further into the future, and cares about the future for everyone, not just themselves.

I am still working on understanding what the point is because I wish to be able to answer this question to some capacity. The only thing I know for certain is that “the point” isn’t the same for all of us, even though the world keeps trying to make us the same, look the same, and live in the same way.