You will die one day, so why not strive to be remembered?

Question

My definition of life is that if you are not in a history book, you are a waste. This is why I strive to be someone someday. Do you do this?

Answer 1

The greatest satisfaction comes from personal achievement, not the admiration of others.

Outward achievement eventually fades away. The respect of yourself is everlasting. What's cool about this, is that when you respect yourself, you end up receiving the respect of others. Whether this respect is expressed within a textbook or in the heart of another, is irrelevant. It's satisfaction nonetheless.

Answer 2

Anyone who strives to be remembered will waste the whole life away. This is because the situation implies that you have please someone else, you will mutate all your life in fake personalities in your attempt to be remembered. Life is a very complex trip, there are a lot of things to learn and appreciate, so a waist would be to spend it trying to be in a book whose judges do not even have a clear perspective of what is a good contribution to life. Find your essence, if you do so, you will never have the need to be remembered and yet you will spread happiness and wisdom to whomever crosses on your way.

Answer 3

To what purpose? On the scale of earthly time, individual lives are but mere blinks of an eye. We're born, we live, we die and then you're not heard from ever again. There might be a tombstone or family tree made with your name on it, but eventually the tombstone weathers from age and who knows what media your family tree will be used. All the memories and accomplishments will be totally forgotten, unless you're a Hitler or Alexander the Great type person.

In a thousand years, your bones will be dust and no other trace of your existence will be seen, unless, of course you become fossilized for some reason, but even then, after thousands of years more, that will be disintegrated into dust. We influence the lives of our children and others, but they too will eventually die. So what's the point of living?

In astronomical terms, the Earth will eventually succumb to the supernova of our Sun, it's an astonomically certainty the earth will be burned to a crisp.

So does death render our lives meaningless. If we were immortal, that would be the ultimate in boredom, repetition, day after day, of doing the same thing for thousands of years (hundreds may be OK, but nothing beyond that)....but i digress, back to the meaning of our little lives.

It all boils down to how creative we can be in the short period of time we have on this earth....Our activities need to be worthwhile for their own sake, not because they fulfill some supernatural transcendental purpose....the bottom line:

Live to reduce pain and increase pleasure, all else is lost to oblivion.

Answer 4

Your ego desires fame. Fame doesn't mean you've contributed or changed the world in a positive way. Hitler is in history books as a murderous megalomaniac, Paris Hilton has not changed the world positively and they're both very well known.
If I can leave this world better than how I found it by positively affecting something or someone then I'm good with that.

People may not remember what you said or did, but they will definitely remember how you made them feel...that's paraphrased from a quote I read, but I do not remember who said it.

Answer 5

I think that I do, however I do not wish to achieve a place in the history books, I am somebody to my husband and kids, I am the best mother and wife, friend and daughter that I can be and I think that I am definitely somebody to the people who really care about me. You can be somebody to everyone when you are in the history books but may not ever be anybody to someone personally. We all do what we can and touch lives everyday.

Answer 6

mate, I'm having enough trouble being remembered now, while I'm alive! Doesn't matter how hard I try to be noticed/memorable/special I'm just kept in the dark and ignored by all those I love. Don't see how I can be in a history book when all I'm trying to do is live a normal healthy life. Seems you have to be a bit of a nutter to do something worthy of being in a history book.

Answer 7

Sometimes , I think that to be famous in a lasting way for something real, like being an constanly reprinted author, is akin to immortality.
But as for me, I look at it this way- all of us will die someday, and the only ones who count to me in remembering me are my loved ones. I want them to feel that their world was at least a tiny bit better because I was in it. That is all I want or could reasonably ask for.

Answer 8

Because one day all those history books will be dust. Then what? Did your life have meaning if your name lasted 100 years? 300 years?

Who cares? All humans will be dead one day. There is no point to worrying about history books.

Answer 9

Well I am someone to myself and the people with whom I share my life. Being remembered in a history book sounds kind of dismal if that's all you are remembered for.

Answer 10

I try to live my life as best I can. It matters not at all if I will be remembered because this will be something of no interest to me when I am dead so why should it concern me when I am alive? I will never know whether I have succeeded.