The idea of purpose in life, or failure in life must be critically addressed. Raising the suspicion, we could argue that whatever the individual conceives itself as, is scant more than the voiced expression of ideological practices and codes absorbing and forming the individual.

So, in the context of the capitalist system, our system, for example, the sense of despair, or wanting to withdraw, stepout, or not going with the game of jobbing sloth, and so on, might be little more than the self-assumed concern of the system itself.

This, then, this failure by choice, would not be the frown of critical distancing but the grin of collusion with state and market. That in the context of a crisis of self, it is the social-commodified-self which is being exploited as a failure, rather than a more significant personal crisis, as is commonly and too often erroneously thought.

Rather than the state or system imposing some kind of liquidation program, individuals nowadays self-assume the externally imposed message and become themselves the self-assumed social waste, unfit for scant more than being individual units of passive consumption, copulation and eventless extinction.

A warning ought to be written to all: Be warned those people who "step to the music which [their] heart hears" (Thoreau), for unless your heart so happens - oh, what a coincidence - to beat to the rhythm of state and market, you will suffer.

And what of this identification with purpose or failure? What can be said of this? Can we honestly say that it was of our own choosing? That we chose our 'purposes' and 'failures', just as I could say, yes, I chose the colour of my eyes, my physiological and ontological existence? Who knows?

Purpose and failure judges others, it classes them into types. Either way, there is a degree of craving, recognition, immortality, and above all, a seeking of meaning. Even the world for the fruitful purposeless is smothered with trite formulas on what is considered a good, beneficial, purposeful, healthy, brilliant and aesthetic way of living, just as it is for those with a purpose.

Purpose and failure are cruel, comical and tiresome. They are defence mechanisms, mechanism of repression, perhaps - from what? - from going mad?

Life isn't even meaningless.

Succeed being success in what?

• You can strive to not succeed at living...
  
• I can try not to succeed in understanding your question...
  
• If you succeed at failing, have you failed or succeeded?
  

So yea, its a bit vague.

If you're talking about ambition (career, education, financial success, etc.) which are society's petty standards for "success", then I'd say that's a mixed bag. The physical structure of survival itself are tied to these - so while being a rebel has its virtues, you'll likely pay a price of personal suffering for having attained the goal of failure.

What kind of failure/lack of success are you talking about?

Thanks

But then if you actually do live a life that tries not so succeed, don't you actually succeed in doing so? And wouldn't that mean that the attempt is doomed to failure? A philosophical pun.

Peace of mind is success.

The world conspires to destroy this therefore trying not to succeed is the same as Leaving The World (LTW) to live in peace.

This is the perfect time to introduce a very meaningful quote from Joseph Campbell. The guy used to have a show on PBS a really long time ago, but his quotes pop up a lot in teachers lounges and so on. I think what he has to say resonate with what you are conveying here;




Perhaps Joseph Campbell would say that if you live your life "shitty,", that means you have not found that one thing that spurs your life to activity and meaning. And though you may have success in a relative sense, a reluctant success is not a success which leads to your true happiness. I think you could spin this in any which way you want to. Maybe you are being pushed down a different road that you do not want to take or what you want to do is, for the time being, out of your grasp. Or, perhaps if you are willing to live a shitty life, knowing that it is shitty, you are being self-destructive. Those lives usually never end well.

jgweed, Haha, that's good. I didn't think of that originally.

Khethil, I was talking about ambition, yes. Why do you think people have ambition? Is the need to succeed and progress deep within us all?

Ergo, that's what i was trying to get at. Peace of mind, contentment I guess. But is anyone ever content? Don't we all constantly want more. An insatiable hunger for progress and success.

VideCorSpoon, I guess there's nothing wrong with the pursuit of happiness.

You guys are right in that you can't try to fail or else that would count as succeeding. I meant what Ergo said in trying to Leave The World. What do you think about that?