Basing one’s worth and meaning of life, has always been a prevalent notion. There exist individuals who assertively argue for an occupation giving meaning to vicissitudes of life, and on the other hand, those who refute this assertion. From where I stand, albeit that work plays a crucial role in shaping a meaningful and distinguished life, it does not necessitate a rather meaningless life, if it is not present in a human’s curse of life. For me, the satisfaction resulted by having a good family and a thorough response to our existence’s reason could demonstrate that work is not, nor can not be the only determining factor in giving or taking away meaning from one’s life. Furthermore, the relevant success of a career loses importance if one’s state of physical and mental health is at jeopardy.
To elaborate in detail, family is the cornerstone of our many characteristics and outlook on life. I tend to think that if one’s blessed with the possession of a healthy, happy family, they are way more likely to feel more buoyed with their life. A vividly clear instance of this for me, is the drastically higher levels of happiness, and a more personal acceptance of his life that my uncle possesses in comparison to my father, however he’s had a worse job in terms of social prestige, and he’s spent way fewer hours working.
In addition to the concept of family, a well-justified, resounding response to the crisis that is a lack or absence of a clear-cut reason for our existence could be significantly more determining than your occupation. The pursuit of an answer, or maybe a firm set of beliefs that can justify our lives, is a daunting task that could deteriorate our sense of meaningfulness our lives. As a token of example, my religious friend who takes delight in the idea that he is fulfilling god’s commandments has always been outstandingly more satisfied and feels that his life is more meaningful than me, who is struggling with finding a reason for my life and existence.
What’s more is that, an individual can not feel particularly happy or find their life meaningful if their health is a concern. Even if their successful career is an integral and distinctive part of their sense of meaning in their worldview, a life-threatening disease for example, could easily spoil their sense of meaning toward their lives.
To sum everything up, a sustainable and noble career can go a long way in determining one’s sense of how meaningful they perceive their life to be. That is to say, nevertheless, it is not the sole, nor even most major factor that determines whether one’s life is with or without a sense of meaning. Having a supportive and happy family, alongside finding a satisfying response, and philosophical framework to support one’s struggles to make sense of this world and find meaning and solace in their life, are in my opinion even more essential than the former.