No Purpose

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Hi yall,
I am sad because ever since college graduation I have felt a lack of purpose in my life. I have been trying to get a job all that time. I am told getting a job will help me find purpose. I just dont want to work for McWages at McJobs and not be able to make enough money to live. I got into the FIRE Movement and still am in the FIRE movement which stands for financial independence retire early. At first I thought being semi-retired would be so nice because no work and no school. But then it got boring and just same ole same ole.

I have no reason to get up out of bed.I am just sad because I am afraid the rest of my life will be like this.I managed to save about 200,000 dollars in retirement savings to this point and I live off my social security and live below the poverty line as a individual and live with my parents.I just feel no purpose for anything in this life in my day to day routine.I desperately want to get my small business career and preaching and church planting career off the ground.However I am afraid of risking my retirement.I have became nihilistic ever since I read Nietzsche in college. I cant afford to go out or do anything fun.Its just horrible.I make less than 10,000 dollars per year in disability benefits.

Having $200,000 in retirement savings is something to be proud of. I'm 54 now and have about £15,000 saved. (In the UK they cut off disabilty benefit if you have over £16,000 in savings.)

Thanks Rossall I appreciate it....actually its 175,000 or so but I just rounded up lol.

Maybe there is a not-for-profit you can work or volunteer for?
Instead of money maybe there is something else you could work for?

There are folks who volunteer at local hospitals. There are all sorts of jobs at a hospital, from IT to just being there when someone passes away.

Well I have done enough volunteering in my life. I just desperately want to make a living wage.

I know someone who started at the bottom doing data entry as she was out of the workforce raising two kids.
According to a public tax filing she was making $140,000 a year as a manager!

The company she works for discovered she had writing skills and promoted her.
It has a lot of folks who aren't traditional white male hetrosexuals in top positions because they don't pay enough to hire them.

My net worth is now about 25x the most I ever made in one year so I have plenty of money in my retirement.

I am happy for your friend or acquaintance. I am also glad you have a lot of money in your retirement. I think I am going to try to get a job working in the finance and insurance department of a car dealership and hopefully eventually become a finance manager. I heard they can make 200,000 to 400,000 dollars plus once you are a senior finance manager and you are established. I am also thinking about getting a job at Costco because they make a living wage.

One needs to create purpose for themselves.

Most people are unlikely to find much satisfaction in being conscripted towards other people's goals and purposes.

How would you suggest creating purpose besides getting a job?So you dont think getting a job would help me find purpose by being busy all the time?

I think a job can (in theory) create meaning for people, but that they rarely do in practice. If one finds a job they genuinely enjoy that can create purpose and meaning, but it can also lead to burning out their interest in whatever field they initially enjoyed working in.

I'd guess that preaching is something that might also create meaning and purpose in your life.
Involvement with your firearms related hobbies likely would too.

I think you'd need to examine what you do and what gives you a sense of fulfillment.

But no, I don't think busywork for the sake of being busy creates meaning or purpose for people.

Oh okay. I see. I think it would be good if I found a job in finance because finance is one of my passions. You are right that preaching has the potential for purpose. I hunt so that gives me purpose during the fall. I do it for family bonding.

Not much I do gives me a sense of fulfilment or purpose because I just stay home all day every day except on Sundays when I go to church. I dont have the disposable income to do much away from the house so I mostly just do the internet and tv all the time. I sleep a lot sometimes because I dont need to be anywhere most days. I just hope I can get a good career someday that pays a living wage but I am concerned about AI making that even harder. I would like to start another business but that requires start-up capital that I cant spare right now.

Living below the poverty line really is not fun except for all the free time but then that gets old real quick.At least I will likely get out of poverty at some point after my parents go but then it would be sad losing my parents. Thats still hopefully a long time away from now.

I will most likely get my inheritance after most of my life has gone by and then I am afraid it would be too late for me. I guess a big part of is the religious background I was raised in because we are basically told in the church of Christ that you are supposed to get meaning from your work. I worked retail at a McJob and I just did not have time to think about all my problems so at least it helped that way. Also some money is better than no money.

It is really hard to find meaning in your work life.
A lot of folks try to turn a hobby into their job and they quickly get burned out.
Or they can't handle the customer service aspect of running a business.