Is Life Worth Living?

I keep wondering, since I do my best to work hard, be nice, and be responsible in life. My life really sucks right now, and I keep asking myself the same question over and over.

Always. But life is what you make it.

No doubt that we are living in some exciting and uncertain times. I believe that the history of the World as we know it is written from beginning to end in the Bible. In it, you can find examples of people who had great success and terrible failures in every area of life. There is no other book that shows a true representation of what happens to us when we make choices for good or evil. Life is definitely worth living if you have hope and know what is ahead for all of mankind by reading the Bible.

I agree with the snail. There are always ups & downs in life. The lows a person experiences can seem so much more extreme than the highs, because they are uncomfortable (maybe even painful). But, remember, there will always be more highs and more lows.

Sometimes an extreme low can be beneficial later in life. WHAT?! Seriously, stick with me here. Once you have experienced a truly horrible state, later in life, you will compare other events to it.....you can reflect back and think/say "man, this is aweful.....but not nearly as bad as when xxx". That make you stronger. This could be a defining moment in your life. Take it, beat it, and remember it.

I don't know you, so I do hope you are not reaching out with the very last bit of self-preservation to find somebody to tell you 'yes' life is worth living. If so, then, YES, life is worth living. It's worth living because no matter what you think, there are people on this planet that love you. Maybe they have not demonstrated it very well recently, but certainly it is true.

So, what is it that makes ponder that question? You have not given any details as to why you would feel like life isn't worth the effort.

PM sent, but basically I said what the above have mentioned.

I know the feeling...my life seems to be swirling around the toilet rim right now too. But I've been there before many times, and it never lasts...things always get better.

Life sucks, but you gotta ride it out. :shrug:

Life always has its ups and downs. Right now you are on a down. But don't give up, work at it, and you'll be on the up before you know it. It may feel like you are saddled with the biggest problems in the world but hope and tenacity can see you through it.

If you are truly feeling depressed you need to seek professional help. A chemical imbalance in your brain may make everything seem far worse than it actually is.

Just mirroring what others are saying. I'm sure you've had bad times before as well as good times too. No matter how bad you feel, it's important to remember that it's a temporary condition. Also, you are not helpless and can make plans/goals on how to make your life better. It may take awhile to improve your life and that is one of the challenges that makes it worth living. When you eventually succeed you'll be a better and stronger person for it, and then you'll realize life is what you make it.

Good advise from fellow CPFers. Saw you said you "work hard" think about this a least you have a job it could be way worse. Thought I throw this saying some old man once told me, "Tough times don't last tough men do". Keep you head up. I feel like this sometimes but often just think I'm lucky to have a good job, a roof over my head, an awesome wife and a 3 month old baby.

FlashKat said:

I keep wondering, since I do my best to work hard, be nice, and be responsible in life. My life really sucks right now, and I keep asking myself the same question over and over.

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You mentioned your life sucks right now, but why?

You can try to be the best person in the world, but if there's an underlying issue that might be a great place to start affecting your unhappiness.

Some awesome points here. I couldn't even top them if I tried. Sounds like you are already have some great habits/values as there are many people that don't even have those. Tough times can come in all forms but we all go through em. So my answer would be YES ......Life Is Worth Living. Maybe you can further elaborate if you so desire.

It's actually financial burden where I lost my job, and personal family issues that my family is screwed up in their priorities. I would get more in details, but it gets too personal, and my family could care less.

Yours is a question I occasionally ask myself from time to time. I'll be 100% honest and say my life has mostly sucked for as long as I could remember, and generally my best efforts to fix things have been in vain. Now that I'm approaching middle age, it's pretty much a given that I'm not likely to ever have even the relatively modest things I might have wanted out of my life. When I look back, I see that most of my failures weren't due to personal failures on my part, but failures on the part of others. In the end you can only control you. Life generally is never fair. In fact, sad to say it seems like the people who put in the most effort, do the right things, generally fail to be rewarded commensurate to their efforts. Look at how our society is. The media rewards notoriety and wealth above depth of character. People are considered monumental failures by many unless they're earning six figures. Being nice or intelligent or even fun is meaningless unless you also fit society's mold of success.

Given all this, it's little surprise nearly every sane, intelligent, decent person goes through long periods of doubting their self-worth, questioning if they will ever fit in, perhaps even thinking life is no longer worth living. I've done all of these at times in my life, even attempted suicide back in college. By a stroke of luck I was unsuccessful. Afterwards, I lacked the courage to try again. In my case, the thoughts of leaving the planet forever weren't a spur of the moment thing. I had thought it through only after thinking how every path I had previously tried to improve things failed. It was simply a matter of being out of options, facing perhaps another 70 or 80 years of misery, and deciding that death was a better alternative. I remember the day well, going to school as usual, but not carrying books or any ID. The idea was to spare my family the pain. I had planned to throw myself in front of one of the midday expresses which came through Princeton Junction at 125 mph, figuring little identifiable would be left. My family might think I disappeared. I recall not really having any emotions prior to when the train came through.

What actually happened that fateful day was I saw the headlights in the distance, but the train for some reason was only going about 60 mph instead of 125 when it reached the station. Not fast enough to do the job I thought, I'll have to try again in about an hour when the next one came through. Well, 5 minutes later I became physically ill, thinking if not for fate I might now be scattered across the tracks. That was it. Once emotion entered the picture, going through with it was quite impossible. I've since thought of suicide, but never actively planned it out like I did that day. Really, ever since it's been little more than a passing thought which leaves my mind as quickly as it enters.

What happened that day? To this day it remains a mystery. Why the sudden onset of emotion? Why the illness? I thought afterwards perhaps I have a purpose, but maybe not the one I thought. And perhaps in time my life would turn around if only I could stick it out. To that end I did and do exercise regularly. This serves two purposes. It keeps me healthy which is essential on order to enjoy life. It also acts as an excellent antidepressant.

What it ultimately comes down to is, yes, life may be painful, even for decades. It may show no sign of getting better. But if it does, then you have to make sure you're still around or all the suffering beforehand was for nothing. Don't think that I don't constantly ponder how different my life might be now if perhaps a few little things had gone my way, or perhaps some people had been a little kinder to me. In the end though I realize none of that was ever under my control. Remember you can only control you. If someone chooses to accept or reject you then that is their choice. It's not necessarily due to a failing on your part. And more importantly, you have to live your life for you, not for others. I think that was what I really gained. I finished out the semester that year, took the following year off to do things I had always wanted but never had the time for ( including building my workshop which I use to this day ), and went back to school the following year ( my senior year ). It all seemed so different. I was more relaxed, more focused, and less worried about what might go wrong than previous years.

I think in the end that year off really helped me to discover myself. Before, I had been trying to be what everyone else wanted me to be. Sure, I still did well in school, but it was no longer the focus of my life. I also realized that perhaps being a career person like everyone expected just wasn't in the cards. My experience taught me the value of a balanced life. In a fitting bit of irony I think the entire nation is now on the cusp of rediscovering that. Life is still hard for me sometimes. I've been trying to hit on what exactly has been causing me excessive fatigue the last few years. I've had carpal tunnel syndrome which limits the amount of work I can do. Love is only a distant memory of someone special I haven't seen in 28 years. Still, I try to find a purpose for each day, and hope the next day will be better. In the end that's all any of us can really do. Believe me, many people have been where you are right now. Most find the will to go on, even under desperate circumstances.

Best of luck to you, and don't give up hope, ever.

One of the only things that keeps me living is being able to give some help or happiness to others, and to try stand up when I see something wrong happening.

Whenever I get off stage I feel a sense of satisfaction and lightness that usually lasts anywhere from a few moments to a few days. One of my favorite things to do at work was to carry candy bars with me from time to time and toss them at people there that I felt really deserved a smile, and now that I'm not there anymore it feels pretty lonely not to see those faces anymore.

Some great posts here and I hope you can keep a good enough perspective to ride through the bad times and bring yourself up to meet whatever comes.

For some life is worth living, for others not.

Being a selfish ******* I'd certainly say mine is........

JaguarDave-in-Oz said:

For some life is worth living, for others not.

Being a selfish ******* I'd certainly say mine is........

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Matt 6:34 So, never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own badness.

Did Jesus mean that his audience could escape anxiety completely? That would be unrealistic. Jesus himself experienced deep emotional distress and anxiety on the night that he was arrested.—Luke 22:44.

He was simply stating a fundamental truth. Undue anxiety will never help you to solve whatever problems you face. It will not, for example, help you to live longer. It will not "add one cubit to your life span," said Jesus. (Matthew 6:27)

I find it helpful to remember that God has promised us he "will wipe out every tear from people's eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore."—Revelation 21:1-4.

saabluster said:

Matt 6:34 So, never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own badness.

Did Jesus mean that his audience could escape anxiety completely? That would be unrealistic. Jesus himself experienced deep emotional distress and anxiety on the night that he was arrested.—Luke 22:44.

He was simply stating a fundamental truth. Undue anxiety will never help you to solve whatever problems you face. It will not, for example, help you to live longer. It will not "add one cubit to your life span," said Jesus. (Matthew 6:27)

I find it helpful to remember that God has promised us he "will wipe out every tear from people's eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore."—Revelation 21:1-4.

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Nice 2,500th post!

FlashKat said:

I do my best to work hard, be nice, and be responsible

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I thought the same when I started work.
10 years in, and I realised that was my problem, people (can) take advantage of a nice guy. (if they are not good people)
You have to grow a thick skin sometimes, and not let it get on top of you.
Not the way I wanted it, but the way my life went.
Thankfully I moved out of that circle, found a new team, I am happy, and probably value it more, I stopped thinking about throwing myself of the side of the rig; now I want to jump of (at a lower level) and go for a swim :duh2: :thumbsup:

Chin up mate.

Life IS worth living, But you have to make it so.

Raoul_Duke said:

I thought the same when I started work.
10 years in, and I realised that was my problem, people (can) take advantage of a nice guy. (if they are not good people)
You have to grow a thick skin sometimes, and not let it get on top of you.
Not the way I wanted it, but the way my life went.
Thankfully I moved out of that circle, found a new team, I am happy, and probably value it more, I stopped thinking about throwing myself of the side of the rig; now I want to jump of (at a lower level) and go for a swim :duh2: :thumbsup:

Chin up mate.

Life IS worth living, But you have to make it so.

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have to make it so ... unless you cant