What is the most important thing in life?

Life has many things to offer, and sometimes it is confusing what to choose. So, what is the most important thing in life for you? Is it dreams? personal freedom free of commitment? satisfying and well paid job? family? love? .. etc. Personally, I am not sure what is the most important thing in life for me, and that's why I cannot do anything in my life, and I mean literally anything. I am frozen in time. I see people follow paths drawn for them (school, college, job, marriage, children, ...), but I am not convinced of this path. I mean, I don't want to so something just because others do it or because others expect me to do it. I want to actively want doing them, but I don't feel that way, at least now.

contentment, and living for yourself.

if their's 1 thing I can't stand, it's people telling me what to do with my life, what not to do, etc.

so I don't have family (I don't have many friends), hell, I don't even have a job

but I do have esentials- I have heat, I have food, I have the ability to make decisions for myself, and I have my music

it's not perfect, by a long shot- it would be nice to have a whole lot more

but just getting by is a really good start

i AGREE ABOUT HOW WE ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE..GO TO COLLEGE ,GET A JOB A CAREER,THE LATEST CAR ,LATEST PHONE ,FLAT SCREEN TVS,WIFI,,,IT SEEMS PEOPLE JUST ASSUME WE ALL HAVE 9-5 JOBS AND THE LATEST OF EVERYTHING...WHEN WE TELL THEM WE DONT HAVE A CAR ,,,OR THE LATEST PHONE ETC...THEY TREAT US LIKE WERE NOT PART OF SOCIETY....
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE FOR ME IS TO HELP OTHERS ..THO I DONT HAVE MUCH TO OFFER ..I CAN TRY MY BEST....IF EVERYONE CAN HELP JUST ONE PERSON THIS WOULD BE A BETTER WORLD...I KNOW SOMETIMES WHEN I FALL INTO A DARK DEPRESSION LIKE I DID IN 2013 I CANT THINK STRAIGHT AND THERFORE UNABLE TO HELP SOMEONE THATS WHEN I NEED TO SEEK THE HELP OF OTHERS
RIGHT NOW IM DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO HELP A PC FRIEND IN SURREY ENGLAND WHO IS ABOUT TO BE HOMELESS MAY 1ST.....
IF I HAD ALL THOSE THINGS I MENTIONED BEFORE WHAT GOOD WHAT THEY BE WHEN A FRIEND IS ABOUT TO BE HOMELESS....THATS WHAY HELPING OTHERS IS MY REASON FOR LIVING WHATS IMPORTANT TO ME....THANKS FOR LETTING ME SHARE ALL THIS

I've forgotten. Probably nothing. Maybe something.

Love is all

In what sense? Do you mean it's a neurological conjob? Then yes, I agree.

Each of us is unique. We are responsible for our well-being. We must choose what is important.

It seems paradoxical, but you have to do stuff to know what stuff you want to do. Looking at what others are doing is not the same as doing it, seeing what it feels like to do and if it is something you would like for yourself: The map is not the territory.

You are living life, even doing "nothing", time passes and you with it. There's no one/nothing out there to tell you what you might like and which things to choose, you figure that out yourself, for yourself, that is the only thing in life there is.

It's like Julia Roberts in The Runaway Bride, having to learn what kind of eggs she liked

Right. I asked "what is the most important thing in life for you?". I just wanted to see what others value more than anything else based on their experience.

yes love is important.

and I believe in the saying, you have to love yourself before you love other things (even people)

Couldn't agree with this less. That platitude has always irked me. In fact, there are plenty of narcissists that love few, if anyone, except for themselves. Does it stem from inferiority? Sure. But for all intents and purposes, it's a love. An inordinate love for oneself (more usually born as a defense mechanism for inferiority or trauma etc.) if you subscribe to that definition of narcissism.

I'm splitting hairs you could say. I will say that statement can be true in as much as love is merely mutual self-interest or selfishness (whether conscious or not) parading as altruism. For instance, you often give to stave off guilt - again, selfishly motivated (even if the action does net the end result of help for another) due to societal pressures, conditioning by upbringing, etc. I'm assuming your idea of love is an all-encompassing form of benevolence, giving, etc. Pure, motive-less giving may exist, but it would rarely make any sense...for most. This isn't to say people don't resort to this, for whatever reason.

Such a big question, you know I'm not sure (wonder what that says about me).

I have a collection of things which I value in my life but I don't think I can rank them in priority order.

I know money and possessions are not important to me but then I've never struggled financially so I have 'enough'.

I think my answer to you Mr.Stranger is possibly 'peace of mind', which is close to contentment.

love here too and it does exist!!

The most important is love, to yourself and others.

If the post was directed this way, I didn't say it didn't exist; if I have in past posts over the years somewhere or in other threads in the past, that was probably because I meant it doesn't exist in the way most people think. One definition of love is 'an intense feeling of deep affection.' Affection is indeed selfishly motivated even though it can accomplish something selfless at the time.

But I think it's important to establish equilibrium among others (as much as one can achieve equal footing)for a sustainable future. It will be difficult though because of the aforementioned selfish streak in so many that goes against better judgment (usually). Utter selflessness would be great, but it's a hard sell and skirts the line of submission.

Yes,easy . . . . . . . . .LOVE!

Contentment, so, by virtue of that,..the illusion of control. Any tangible control, however rare, is a happy accident.

There are many important things in life like career, love, dreams, relationships but when priorities list differ for every every individual.

Studies have repeatedly suggested that the greatest predictors of happiness/wellbeing, content are health and relationships. Biologically it makes sense because apart from basic needs for nourishment and shelter, to live what is a good, productive(biologically) life is health and a being part of social groups, partnerships with other humans, that help you all thrive together and further the species.

Personally, for me, it certainly feels that way. I don't want children or marriage but the things that always mattered to me the most, from adolescence until today, at the age of soon to be 30, are connections, love, intimacy of all kinds, shared experiences ...and health. The lack of all those ,except for health, has made me terribly unfulfilled and unhappy despite living the middle class life.

Job titles, accomplishments, amassing fortunes, that all means nothing to me in terms of actual emotional satisfaction and joy and at the end of my life, even if I were to earn billions, fly into space, invent things and see the entire world, if I didn't get to have intimate, deep bonds and love and experiences with partners and friends, my life would have been wasted and unhappy. It has nothing to do with being grateful, it's just that things like work, money, careers, are what people are pretty much forced to get into because the structure of society requures you to earn money in order to be able to satisfy the most basic needs. So, think about it, how many of us would dream of putting all our time and effort into working and advancing in a work field if we didn't have to? It's a tool not a need in itself. At the core it's all about basic needs and social/emotional needs.

So, for me, it's love and connection. Then it would be seeing the world.

If we're talking in terms of essentials for living then ofc u have food, water, shelter and, thus, we all need funds for that.

I couldn't agree more with this.

To me, what matters above all else is doing what one is passionate about regardless of what other people think about it.

As long as you aren't hurting anybody else in the process a person has every right to live life doing whatever they want and nobody has the right to judge them for it.

Happiness. As long as you aren't harming anyone, seek happiness and do what makes you happy.

love in all of it's complexity and wonder....

Caring for others.

Love is the most important thing to me.

For me, the most important thing in life is to have choices. (And my animals, of course)