What does it mean to live without a goal? Aimless life. What could be worse?! "War and Peace". Arguments from the book

We often hear the phrase: “years spent aimlessly.” The person who says it understands that he missed the time when he could have achieved something, somehow changed his life. Life without a goal is an existence that has no meaning.

It seems to me that aimlessness indicates psychological problems or depression. Striving helps a person to develop, move forward, receive new experience. Passivity depresses a person and deprives him of emotions. Although I believe that it is possible to live without a goal and be indifferent to everything, this is contrary to the nature of man himself and lowers him to a lower level.

Russian writers had a negative attitude towards life without a goal. F.M. Dostoevsky said that “life suffocates without a goal.” It makes no sense. The authors of classical works showed what can happen to a person who has no aspirations or intentions.

From the novel of the same name by I.A. Goncharova lives aimlessly. Despite this, he is a good and kind person. But he dies morally when he cannot reveal the best traits of his character. Even a high feeling could not arouse in him a thirst for life. Senselessness is what destroyed this hero. It cannot be said that Oblomov did not dream; he warmed dreams of a family in his heart, but could not make them come true because of his destructive laziness.

The life of a person who has a specific goal or dream is completely different. He improves himself, develops the best in himself. But what is better: having a false target or not having one at all? Of these two extremes, I would choose the second. False goals harm others and bring many problems. This happened in Chekhov's story "Gooseberry".

Nikolai Ivanovich Chimsha-Himalayan wants to take possession of a plot of land in order to grow the berry of the same name there. This desire morally disfigures the hero, makes him dependent on material wealth and petty. It is better not to have any specific goal than to become a person who is not respected in society and who brings a lot of problems to society.

The authors of works in their works sought to show the means by which certain goals were achieved. Sometimes they were justified, and sometimes they were not. When writers described a purposeless existence, they insisted on the worthlessness of such a life, showed possible outcomes of events and asked readers not to repeat the mistakes of their heroes.

Lack of goals in life- this is a hidden reluctance to live! Dejection, which in religious views is considered one of the worst sins. A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder, drifting aimlessly and constantly at risk of hitting the reefs. A person who has a goal and knows how to set goals correctly, is like a ship under the control of an experienced captain who, using a map and compass, determines his destination and leads the ship directly to the port of his choice.

Aimless life kills

A person who lives without a purpose literally dies, report researchers from the Japanese Medical University.

For seven years, they monitored a group of 43 thousand men and women aged 40 to 79 years. In periodic surveys, approximately 59% stated that they had a specific purpose in life and led a fulfilling life. 5% reported that they had no goals in life.

During the observation period, 3 thousand observed people died due to illness or suicide. The proportion of deaths among those who did not have a clear goal in life and avoided strenuous activities was approximately 1.5 times higher than among those who were “purposeful.” Among those who died from diseases of the cerebral vessels, there were twice as many of them.

If a person cannot create a path in his head from clear steps from his present to his desired future, he is doomed. He will die. He will disappear as a person. If not physically, then mentally. Alcohol, drugs, computer games. A purposeless life kills both physically and spiritually.

Reasons for lack of purpose in life

Setting goals is a topic for a separate article, but at least in order to understand the vector of movement, I advise you to perform a simple exercise.

How to stop aimless existence and find out in which direction you should move:

Take a moment to step away from everything. Be in solitude. Allow yourself to dream. Imagine as if it happened that all its important components are consistently disappearing from your life. One by one all the parts of life. I don't know what it is exactly. It could be work, family, leisure... Imagine it in as much detail and detail as possible. How you consistently, one after another, lose important aspects of life. It may not be easy, but go for it!

And now, when the last important part of life has passed away, imagine that a magic wand fell into your hands!!! And with the wave of a magic wand, YOU CAN BRING IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF YOUR LIFE BACK!! But only one by one. One by one. What will you return first?.. What second?.. What third?.. What next??.. The sequence of return is important. What is returned first is most important to you this moment. And so on. And you can understand that the most important aspects of life are the area in which your goals lie.

« When we look beyond those desires that can be immediately satisfied, we find that an open society suffers from what might be called a lack of purpose. By this I do not mean that the goal cannot be found, but only that every person is obliged to seek and find it in himself and for himself." George Soros

The problem of finding the meaning of life, the path of life. The problem of understanding (loss, gain) of the purpose of life. The problem of a false goal in life. (What is the meaning of human life?)

Abstracts

The meaning of human life lies in self-realization.

A high goal, service to ideals allows a person to reveal the powers inherent in him.

Serving the cause of life is the main goal of man.

The meaning of human life is in the knowledge of truth, faith, happiness...

Man learns the world for self-knowledge, for the knowledge of eternal truths.

Quotes

Need to live! At the last line! On the last line... (R. Rozhdestvensky).

“To live honestly, you have to struggle, get confused, struggle, make mistakes, start and quit, and start again, and quit again, and always struggle and lose. And calmness is spiritual meanness” (L. Tolstoy).

- “The meaning of life is not to satisfy your desires, but to have them” (M. Zoshchenko).

- “You must love life more than the meaning of life” (F.M. Dostoevsky).

- “Life, why were you given to me?” (A. Pushkin).

- “Without passions and contradictions there is no life” (V.G. Belinsky).

- “Life is boring without a moral goal” (F.M. Dostoevsky).

Literary arguments

In the novel L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" reveals the theme of the search for the meaning of life. In order to understand its interpretation, it is necessary to analyze the search paths of Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky. Let's remember the happy moments in the life of Prince Andrei: Austerlitz, Prince Andrei's meeting with Pierre in Bogucharovo, the first meeting with Natasha... The goal of this path is to find the meaning of life, to understand oneself, one's true calling and place on earth. Prince Andrei and Pierre Bezukhov are happy when they come to the idea that their lives should not be for them alone, that they must live in such a way that all people do not live independently of their lives, so that their lives are reflected on everyone and so that they all live together .

And A. Goncharov. "Oblomov." A good, kind, talented person, Ilya Oblomov, was unable to overcome himself and did not reveal his best traits. Absence high goal in life leads to moral death. Even love could not save Oblomov.

M. Gorky in the play “At the Lower Depths” showed the drama “ former people”, who have lost the strength to fight for their own sake. They hope for something good, understand that they need to live better, but do nothing to change their fate. It is no coincidence that the play begins in a rooming house and ends there.

“A person needs not three arshins of land, not an estate, but the whole Earth. All of nature, where in the open space he could demonstrate all the properties of a free spirit,” wrote A.P. Chekhov. Life without a goal is a meaningless existence. But the goals are different, such as, for example, in the story “Gooseberry”. Its hero, Nikolai Ivanovich Chimsha-Himalayan, dreams of purchasing his own estate and planting gooseberries there. This goal consumes him entirely. In the end, he reaches her, but at the same time almost loses his human appearance (“he’s put on weight, he’s flabby... - just behold, he’ll grunt into the blanket”). False target, fixation on the material, narrow, limited disfigures a person. He needs constant movement, development, excitement, improvement for life...

I. Bunin in the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” showed the fate of a man who served false values. Wealth was his god, and this god he worshiped. But when the American millionaire died, it turned out that true happiness passed the man by: he died without ever knowing what life was.

Many heroes of Russian literature are looking for an answer to the question about the meaning of human life, about the role of man in history, about their place in life, they constantly doubt and reflect. Similar thoughts worry both Pushkin’s Onegin and the main character of the novel M.Yu. Lermontov “Hero of Our Time” Pechorin: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born?..” The tragedy of their fate is clearly understood “between the depth of nature and the pitifulness of actions” (V.G. Belinsky).

Evgeny Bazarov (I.S. Turgenev. “Fathers and Sons”) goes further than his literary predecessors: he defends his beliefs. Raskolnikov even commits a crime to prove the correctness of his theory.

There is something similar in the hero of M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”. Grigory Melekhov, in search of truth, is capable of internal changes. He is not satisfied with “simple answers” ​​to the complex questions of time. All these heroes, of course, are different, but they are close in their restlessness, desire to understand life and determine their place in it.

A. Platonov’s story “The Pit” touches on the problem of finding the meaning of life. The writer created a grotesque that testifies to the mass psychosis of universal obedience that has taken over the country! Main character Voshchev is an exponent of the author's position. Among the communist leaders and the dead masses, he doubted the human correctness of what was happening around him. Voshchev did not find the truth. Looking at the dying Nastya, he thinks: “Why now do we need the meaning of life and the truth of universal origin, if there is no little faithful person in whom the truth would be joy and movement?” Platonov wants to find out what exactly motivated the people who continued to dig the hole with such diligence!

A.P. Chekhov. The story “Ionych” (Dmitry Ionych Startsev)

M. Gorky. Stories “The Old Woman Izergil” (The Legend of Danko).

I. Bunin “Mr. from San Francisco.”

Possible introduction/conclusion

At a certain point in life, a person certainly thinks about who he is and why he came into this world. And everyone answers these questions differently. For some, life is a carefree movement with the flow, but there are also those who, making mistakes, doubting, suffering, rise to the heights of truth in search of the meaning of life.

Life is a movement along an endless road. Some travel along it “on official business”, asking questions: why did I live, for what purpose was I born? ("Hero of our time"). Others are frightened by this road, running to their wide sofa, because “life touches you everywhere, it gets you” (“Oblomov”). But there are also those who, making mistakes, doubting, suffering, rise to the heights of truth, finding their spiritual self. One of them is Pierre Bezukhov, the hero of the epic novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace".

The problem of freedom of moral choice. The problem of choosing a life path. The problem of moral self-improvement. The problem of internal freedom (non-freedom). The problem of individual freedom and human responsibility to society.

Abstracts

It depends on each person what the world will be like: light or dark, good or evil.

Everything in the world is connected by invisible threads, and a careless act or an unexpected word can result in the most unpredictable consequences.

Remember your High human responsibility!

A person cannot be deprived of his freedom.

You can't force someone to be happy.

Freedom is a conscious necessity.

We are responsible for other people's lives.

Save while you can, and shine while you live!

A person comes into this world not to say what it is like, but to make it better.

Quotes

Everyone chooses a Woman, a religion, a path for themselves. To serve the devil or the prophet

Everyone chooses for themselves. (Yu. Levitansky)

Above this dark crowd of the Unawakened people, Will you ever rise, O Freedom, Will your golden ray shine?.. (F.I. Tyutchev)

- “There are efforts necessary condition moral improvement" (L.N. Tolstoy).

- “You can’t even fall freely, because we are not falling in emptiness” (V.S. Vysotsky).

- “Freedom is that everyone can increase their share of love, and therefore good” (L.N. Tolstoy).

- “Freedom is not in not restraining oneself, but in being in control of oneself” (F. M. Dostoevsky).

- “Freedom of choice does not guarantee freedom of acquisition” (J. Wolfram).

- “Freedom is when no one and nothing prevents you from living honestly” (S. Yankovsky).

- “To live honestly, you have to rush, get confused, fight, make mistakes...” (L.N. Tolstoy).

Remember the hero of the popular book Robinson Crusoe. Thrown into the uninhabited as a result, he is completely alone for many years. True, without needing anything, because in a tropical climate it was possible to do without warm clothing, and we also managed to get a lot of useful, necessary things from the ship. In addition, Robinson obtained food without much difficulty, since there were goats on the island and tropical fruits and grapes grew in abundance. So, compared to his drowned comrades, he could feel like the darling of fate. Nevertheless, Robinson experienced a burning, painful melancholy. After all, he was alone. All his thoughts, all his desires were directed towards one thing: to return to people. What was Robinson missing? No one “stands over your soul”, no one points out what or restricts your freedom. But he lacked the most important thing - communication. After all, the entire history of human civilization testifies that only together, helping each other, people achieved success and overcame difficulties. It is no coincidence that the most terrible punishment among Stone Age people was considered expulsion from the clan or tribe. Such a person was simply doomed. Sharing of responsibilities and mutual assistance are the two main foundations on which the well-being of any human society is based: from the family to the state. Not a single person, even with colossal physical strength and the sharpest, deepest mind will not be able to do as much as a group of people. Simply because he has no one to rely on, no one to consult with, no one to outline a work plan, no one to ask for help. There is no one to give instructions and no one to control, finally, if he is a clear leader by nature. The feeling of loneliness will sooner or later lead to depression, and it can take the most severe forms. The same Robinson, in order not to go crazy from despair and melancholy, was forced to take a number of measures: he regularly kept a diary, made notches on his primitive “calendar” - a pillar dug into the ground, talked out loud with a dog, cats and a parrot. There are situations when when even the most proud and independent person simply needs help. For example, in case of a serious illness. What if there is no one nearby, and no one to even turn to? This could end very sadly. Finally, no self-respecting person can live without purpose. He needs to set some goals for himself and achieve them. But - such is the peculiarity of the human psyche - what is the use of achieving a goal if no one sees or appreciates it? What will all the efforts be for? So it turns out that a person cannot do without society.

Essay “Purpose in Human Life”

We all strive for something in our Life. We want to become someone, have something, go somewhere. The goal in life is a beacon, without which it is easy to get lost. life path. Therefore, it is very important to correctly determine in which direction to move. In my opinion, a purpose in life can be something you want, something that allows you to develop and also benefits other people.

A goal usually means an end result. For example, we study to obtain the necessary knowledge and certification. However, in the process

We spend many unforgettable minutes and hours learning, experience positive emotions, and pass tests. The learning process itself is important and interesting; we develop our abilities and learn to communicate. And those who simply “serve their number”, go to school only because it is impossible not to go, avoid taking part in school life, they lose a lot. It turns out that the path to the goal is as important as the goal itself!

It is also often said that a goal differs from a dream in that it requires active action from us. But I think dreams help us a lot in determining what we would like to achieve in life. Goals are born

from dreams. In your dreams you can be free, not think about restrictions and the impossibility of getting what you want. And when you feel that this is what is important for you in life, it’s time to turn your dream into a goal - figure out how to achieve it, and act!

Goals can be big and small, noble and selfish, but they guide us through life. They say that a person stops developing when he has nothing to strive for. Each new goal is a way to explore something unknown, learn new skills, develop your abilities and talents. However, it is important that our goals do not harm us - do not take up all our time and do not spoil our relationships with loved ones, and do not harm anyone.

As for me, my next big goal in life will be to get a good profession. I think this is a very important and responsible step, because a favorite job makes a person’s life truly interesting, and an unsuitable one turns into a heavy burden. I want mine Future profession was associated with communication with people. Most likely, I will go to study to become a psychologist, I think I have the ability to understand and help people. Of course, I have many more less global goals - to buy things that I like, to travel abroad, to drive a car... Some of them are still at the dreaming stage, but I believe that dreams give us inspiration to achieve our life goals!

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