3 ms·

As far as I know, the first person to write about the importance of purpose is Viktor Frankl in "Man's Search for Meaning." I personally find this to be a good

• slfnflctd 8y ago
  > pursuing happiness is a sure-fire way to not be happy Depends if you really understand what you want and why. For someone who has experienced some of the worst life has to offer and whose world view is solidified, happiness might mean little more than a handful of creature comforts and a job with a decent (or nonexistent) boss. Finding deeper/truer purpose is really a luxury to many people at the bottom. Sure, it's important to be able to feel like you're part of something worthwhile that's bigger than yourself, but there are a lot of ways to experience that feeling which don't require a whole lot beyond 'pursuing happiness'. [I know there's plenty more subtlety to these arguments, but I think in a lot of cases like this one, philosophical musings benefit greatly from a healthy dose of pragmatism.]