Mgtow and existentialism

tipo33 · 2019-01-28T16:52:05+00:00

We're all just bags of meat on a rock, hurtling through space around a big burning ball of hydrogen.

GlvMstr · 2019-01-28T22:51:57+00:00

In my opinion, the "pursuit" of happiness ironically ends in misery. That is, when one spends time desperately attempting to find purpose or fulfillment in their lives, and acts upon it, it is far more likely to bring misery than joy.

I believe that many, if not most people, go through life constantly trying to fill a void. The ways you see this manifest:

- wasting money on random trinkets and toys such as expensive cars, fancy new gadgets, or video games, movies, expensive food and entertainment.

- constantly switching careers to find their "purpose" in life.

- challenging themselves just for the sake of being challenged (attempting to find a sense of satisfaction)

- searching for "the one" to "complete" them and make them whole.

- blowing inane amounts of money on vacations and posting it on Facebook.

- partaking in risky behaviors such as drinking too much, doing drugs, or gambling, drag racing, skydiving, in the name of finding the next big thrill or excitement in their lives.

I'm sure all of you know at least one person like the above. You often hear these people above tout "I am living, not existing". I disagree with this mindset. I believe that the key to happiness is to accept and embrace that void within. You must be able to accept "existing". The harder you struggle to fill this void, the more needless struggle you will subject yourself to, and you will indeed find yourself less happier in the end, had you not just accepted your emptiness.

I believe when one simply recognizes and accepts when they feel empty, and focuses instead to make choices to improve or preserve their well-being, the presence of the void dissipates. The void will also cloud your ability to see the things that truly give you joy. When the void clears, you will inevitably find the things that you truly value, be it your hobbies, your work, your financial status, or the people in your life. When the void fogs your mind, you do not see clearly. The key to happiness is understanding this.

I find that this has been the case for myself. Whenever I feel the emptiness creeping upon me, I recognize it for what it is, and I focus on things that improve my well-being. It's a good time to hit the gym, or to educate myself on saving and investing, so that I may leave the rat race behind sooner, or maybe just get some sleep. Perhaps going out for a walk to get some fresh air. When enough time passes, the feeling of emptiness dissipates, and I always feel good about the decisions that I make. I have enough introspective knowledge to understand that attempting to fill the void will not bring me joy. But time and patience does and will continue to do so.

I know what some of you are thinking. At 32 years old, I realize that life is short. If I live to be 90 years old, over one third of my life is already gone. This is often a reason why people proclaim "live, don't exist". However, that also means that life is also too short to spend it in needless suffering. When you attempt to fill the void, you suffer, and in your feeble attempts to fill that hole through anything outside of yourself, you ironically bring misery - in the form of damaging your health, or marrying the wrong person and facing divorce, or slaving away for your stagnant 9-5 job when you could have retired 30 years ago.

That is my two cents on existentialism.

cameanyway · 2019-01-28T16:07:14+00:00

While i dont think happiness is the goal that humans should aim for, i aggree with the freedom part.

mgtow-zen · 2019-01-28T16:06:22+00:00

I think human bodies do evolve with specific purpose, for example, teeth. But, I would agree with his philosophy.

The problem with this philosophy is that your intellectual mind has itself been programmed with societal norms and customs.

If you try to break free, you will find that every choice you make is the result of information you have previously gathered. You are not free at all, just programmed to believe you are.

So, in order to break free you have to explore the mind itself. You must use the larger portion of the mind (and I say "the" mind, because at this point, it's really no more your mind than anyone elses).

Breaking free involves escaping the part of the mind that thinks itself to be a collection of facts. You aren't that voice in your head pretending to be "you".

So, yea, he was on to something. ;)

CIAC50 · 2019-01-28T16:55:39+00:00

Some of the concepts are worth examination. Existence precedes essence, acting in bad faith , being in control of ones action creating a sense of dread. The pursuit of happiness is burdomsome, rather the pursuit of awareness of being for oneself.

Title	Mgtow and existentialism
Author	nonchalantfool
Upvotes	19
Comments	6
Date	January 28, 2019 2:49 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MGTOW
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MGTOW/comments/ako3i2/mgtow_and_existentialism/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MGTOW/mgtow-and-existentialism.419251 https://theredarchive.com/post/419251

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