Sometimes life feels like that ancient story of Sisyphus — the man condemned to push a massive stone up a mountain, only for it to roll back down every time he neared the top.
A perfect picture of hopelessness.
And honestly, there were moments when I felt exactly the same.
Wake up.
Work.
Study.
Try.
Fail.
Repeat.
Every day felt like an endless loop, a cycle that never changed, no matter how much effort I put in. And the scariest part wasn’t the effort — it was the feeling that none of it meant anything.
But here’s the question that changed everything:
What if the purpose was never the mountain?
What if the purpose was who I become while pushing the stone?
People misunderstand the Sisyphus myth. They think it’s meant to be depressing — a symbol of meaningless suffering. But to me, the real tragedy isn’t that Sisyphus must push the rock forever.
The real tragedy is imagining him pushing it without understanding why.
Youth psychology describes this well:
When life feels repetitive, teenagers lose motivation, identity, and purpose. They aren’t lazy — they’re lost. They don’t lack energy — they lack a reason.
Pushing a stone with no meaning crushes the soul.
Pushing a stone with understanding strengthens it.
And here’s what Buddhism, Stoicism, and faith all agree on:
Life isn’t about escaping the stone.
Life is about transforming the one who pushes it.
Suffering repeats until you learn from it.
Challenges circle back until you grow through them.
The mountain doesn’t move until something inside you does.
My stone taught me patience.
My mountain taught me humility.
My repetitions taught me resilience.
My failures forced me inward to find something deeper than the cycle.
And suddenly, the loop didn’t feel like punishment.
It felt like training.
Sisyphus becomes powerful not when the gods free him,
but when he stops expecting the mountain to change
and instead chooses to change himself.
So what is the real purpose of life?
Maybe it’s not reaching the top.
Maybe it’s not escaping the loop.
Maybe it’s not achieving the perfect life that never falls apart.
Maybe the purpose is this:
To meet the stone every morning with a wiser mind,
a calmer heart,
and a stronger spirit
than the day before.
Because one day, without realizing it,
you’ll push the stone and discover
it doesn’t feel heavy anymore.
Not because the stone changed—
but because you did.