Post-Purpose and BoJack Horseman
Updated: May 13
"My purpose has vanished once it has been achieved. Just like a video game that has been finished, it can still be enjoyed without starting a new game, be it a complete or partial reset of its development. A post-purpose life is to be both appreciated and learned by as many people as possible." -- A recent response of mine to an answer request on Quora.
As many of you may already know, my case thus far has been unique, with all of its prides and difficulties. While many people my age have just started their lives, I am in a weird state of retirement. While many seek for insights, I countlessly provide them. While many seek love, marriage, and family-establishing, I became a monk who only rarely wonders about romantic love as a reasonable, let alone desired, possibility.
I am one of the few examples of lives that are in a state of Post-Purpose, AKA, lives whose purpose/s has been achieved completely. Now that I am a published writer who lives alone, I have achieved everything I truly wanted. All I and some others are left to deal with is a Post-Purpose life without fully succumbing to the frustration that tells us, that we wish to do something else that shall, once again, put us in the common loop many of the world is in; the belief that "if I will do/have A and/or B, I will reach my permanent satisfaction", even though, in reality, it is more of a choice we make, rather than what we achieve, either by genuine desire or by pressure.
Indeed, a post-purpose life is one that we choose to have, usually after achieving everything we've ever wanted. We also decide that no other ambition is required to satisfy the ever-hungry stomach that is the mind. Once the mind is full, more purpose-seeking would only empty it, leaving yet another inner void to satisfy. This can lead to the modern, often short-term materialistic loop of frustration, whose results being addictions, depression, mental illnesses, and unfortunately, suicide. The Post-Purpose method, once optimally optimized, can not only satiate your mind, but prevent you from likely experiencing these results. This is the negative side of purpose-seeking. It can become a haunting obsession, especially when said purpose/s is/are unrealistic or too irrational to work and last.
Should we embrace, as a collective, the fact that the "American Dream", financial materialism, and perfectionism are futile and even counter-productive in the long term, and enjoy a post-success life, we can increase our chances of long-term satisfaction from life. We can still enjoy the video game of life without moving on and shutting off the computer. We just don't learn this insight from anyone, usually.
And finally, an example of a fictional character I consider my antithesis is BoJack Horseman, a man/horse who refused the Post-Purpose concept and became a tragic, depressed alcoholic who failed reviving the satisfying glory of his successful 90s sitcom.
"BoJack is a textbook example of the delusion and inefficiency of the American dream. Being successful, rich, or famous will not guarantee you the happiness you were looking for. Why? Because eventually the joy from these achievements will fade like the collective memory of a typical 90s sitcom." -- A comment of mine on BoJack Horseman's credits song.
