<p>Or try some logotherapy. </p>
<p>Read: Man’s Search for Meaning</p>
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<p>Not necessarily. Life has no * inherent * meaning. The only meaning is that which we project onto life. So a leap of faith into irrationality isn’t necessary; far from it. It just has to be accepted that life’s meaning is that which we create. Once an individual comes to terms with that truth, setting goals and finding motivation becomes much easier. Well, at least it did for me.</p>
<p>Albert Camus (1913-1960) a famous existentialist and author of “The Plague” and “The Stranger.” He received the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times.”</p>
<p>At the OP- Best way to motivate yourself- Promise yourself that everytime you work hard, you can go to a hooker and get a blow-jay</p>
<p>Well, what nonantianarchist said about Man’s Search for Meaning may be true, however I wouldn’t recommend reading that in conjunction with existential literature. The author, Victor Frankl, is not an existentialist. Frankl believes that the meaning of life is to search and find meaning in life, a task he believes is possible. Existentialists believe that such pursuits are ultimately futile and that we should accept the absurdity and angst of a human condition devoid of meaning. Read a lot of both, or one or the other. However, reading just man’s search for meaning and a book or two on existentialism will leave you confused since they are not the same thing. </p>
<p>I’d recommend you read Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Existentialism is a Humanism” which is a short essay that can be read in a couple hours to give you an introduction to the material. Other than that, I would recommend that you buy an introduction to the body of literature and look for something you find personally meaningful.</p>
<p>Although note that reading will not serve a “self help book” sort of function. The most important line in “Existentialism is a Humanism” is “we must remind man that there is no legislator other than himself and that he must, in his abandoned state, make his own choices, and also because we show that it is not by turning inward, but by constantly seeking a goal outside of himself in the form of liberation, or of some special achievement, that man will realize himself as truly human”. Reading Sartre will give you philosophical backing for that belief that what others tell you to do whether via the guise of religion, authority, or “common sense” is not the way you should live your life - for it denies the freedom of choice inherent to the human condition. Though that aforementioned quote says that “turning inward” ought to be avoided, I do think that thinking about what you find personally valuable should also occur and may be essential to finding what you personally find valuable.</p>
<p>I’ll read Sartre’s books. Thanks for your suggestion.</p>
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<p>This guy has it right.</p>
<p>Everyone saying that existentialism espouses absurdity and nihilism, that life has no meaning at all, are incorrect. Absurdism and nihilism are different from existentialism. Existentialism does hold that there is no intrinsic meaning to anything, but goes further to claim that life has meaning through our actions. The question posed by existentialism is, “Isn’t the very fact that you are alive substantial enough to give meaning to your existence?” Sartre’s centerpiece is that we are not born with meaning, but we create it with our values and actions.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if, in the end, everything collapses and has no ultimate meaning. What matters is that you lived. What matters is the here and the now.</p>
<p>Exactly. I was going to say just that, but you saved me some time :)</p>