I guess most people have life goals- to raise a family, to see the Great Wall of China, to write a novel, to make as much money as possible, or any number of other things. At least personally, I don’t find any one of these things appealing enough to be my “life goal,” or to provide meaning to life. However, I can collect a bunch of them together on a list, and the union of all those goals carries more weight. I know I won’t be able to do all of them, but if I can do a lot of them, and enjoy myself in the process, that seems like it would make my life a “success.”

I am reminded of one of my English teachers in high school, Mr. Davis. He was young- he had just gotten his Master’s degree in English and this was his first job. He was very idealistic, and he seemed bored with his life. He probably thought that teaching English to high-schoolers was not a very special destiny.

After two years, he quit. He said that he was going to “find himself” by spending some time in the wilderness of the Southwest and Pacific Northwest. He probably hoped to have a spiritual experience. I was skeptical about the idea of quitting a stable job at a decent high school to “find oneself” in the forest, but I didn’t say this to him, not wanting to seem rude.

He returned after less than a year in the West. I do not think he found whatever fulfillment he sought. He finally ran out of money and was forced to come back and work. Unfortunately for him, his old position had been filled in his absence, so he could not resume his job as a teacher. Instead, he began tutoring individual, struggling kids in English, surely for less money. (He also sacrificed much of his ability to influence the lives of many kids, since he could interact with a far greater number of kids when he worked at the high school.) I think his quest to find himself worsened his situation.

To be honest, I have not heard of any non-fictional person taking major action to find “meaning in life” and succeeding. I tend to think that a lot of the value in life comes from social interaction: helping others, building a better society, raising a family, contributing to a cause. Introspection may be valuable to a point, but it quickly runs out of value and probably becomes counter-productive.

So, I guess I would advise you to do what I do myself. I try not to think about grand questions of meaning, purpose, and disillusionment. Instead, I focus on concrete goals, achievements, and pleasures. I expect that if I have success in these concrete things, I’ll be able to look back on my life in however many years and piece together some meaning or overall theme. I don’t seek to chart a course into the distant future and then make my present, small actions conform to (my best guess at) that future ideal.

Or, to say it more simply: enjoy yourself, be productive, take life a step at a time, and don’t worry about the overall design.

Oh, and eat a chocolate chip cookie. That always makes me happier.