History Main / DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife

* Lelouch Lamperouge in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' was shown to have elements of this in the first episode, before he got his MagicalEye. He [[StopOrIShootMyself even threatened suicide early on]] when the prospect of becoming an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent again was almost forced upon him by the person who gave him the initial opportunity to change his fate. When [[spoiler:his memories were rewritten by the Emperor]] at the beginning of R2, he was shown to have reverted to this feeling of crushing boredom, tired of high school but convinced the adult world wouldn't afford him any opportunities to live up to his potential, since important jobs were generally reserved for nobility. In both cases, he resorted to high-stakes gambling in order to make things interesting. Luckily, encounters with C.C. changed all that.

* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'': {{Parodied|Trope}}}} in one strip in which a man pulls a bizarre object, complete with springs and brooms, from between the couch cushions. (Alternatively, he could be placing it there.) The comic's caption reads: "Edgar finds his purpose." In the collected edition, [[WordOfGod Larson said this was based on someone he knew whose girlfriend's father accused him of not knowing what his purpose was]].

** Jon Snow initially joins the Night's Watch to escape the shadow of only being viewed as "the Stark Bastard."
** Tyrion Lannister spent his whole life trying to earn respect and a purpose. In the second season, when Varys deflects his question of "What do you want?" by asking him the same thing, he admits to Varys that he enjoys being acting Hand of the King because it's an opportunity to do something good with his life. He is visibly moved in the Season 6 finale when Daenerys makes him her official Hand.

* This is Yagami Light's state of being as ''Manga/DeathNote'' opens. He despises the state of the world, finds no challenge or meaning in anything, has no hobbies, views his highest ambitions as a matter of the course of time, and yet ''always does everything perfectly'', like laughing at jokes that aren't funny told by people he may even loathe because good, clean-cut students socialize, and studying for exams he could pass in his sleep. He shows symptoms of a clinically depressed possible psychopath, with reputation-defense and control issues to beat the band. And his egomaniacal tendencies begin to dominate his personality after he finds his purpose in conquering the world by fear and murder once he got his hands on an ArtifactOfDoom that removed the consequences from hurting people.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': At the beginning, Zuko's purpose is quite clear: capture the Avatar and regain his honor. As he begins to question his goals, however, this trope comes more and more into play, culminating in the first half of season 3.

** "Call of the Cutie" reveals that ponies gain their cutie marks after discovering their purpose. This tends to occur around a certain age, leading to Apple Bloom desperately trying to discover her purpose because she doesn't want to be the last young pony in her class left 'blank-flanked'. The episode ends with Apple Bloom and two classmates forming a PowerTrio called the Cutie Mark Crusaders, specifically devoted to carrying out this trope. They spend various episodes trying to get their marks and while they might not have gotten the desired results yet, at least they're having a lot of fun trying. [[spoiler:The Cutie Mark Crusaders ''finally'' get their marks after five seasons of trying in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark". Their purpose is to help others find or understand their purpose. Of course, that means they're also at a loss at what to do ''afterward'', so initially they (or at least Apple Bloom) still do this in the episode "On Your Marks".]]
** This trope is also used to a lesser extent in "Winter Wrap-up", with Twilight spending most of the episode [[IWantSong singing]] and attempting to find a way to help in the titular event that specifically forbids her using magic. [[spoiler:She eventually finds her niche using her excellent organizational skills to direct other ponies into various tasks, helping them achieve their goal in record time.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': When all of Luz's classmates manage to bond with a Palisman after declaring what they want to become in the future, Luz hits a roadblock when she simply announces she wants to be a Witch, something that's too vague for any Palisman to bond to. She ends up freezing in place when asked if she could still be a Witch back in the Human Realm, but decides to wait until she's certain what she wants to make of herself before carving her own Palisman. [[spoiler:After getting an extremely heartfelt pep talk from her mother Camila, Luz finally realized what it was she always wanted her whole life, specifically to be understood]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Homer Simpson has [[NewJobEpisode tried every job possible]], often because he feels like he wants to try. A recurring gag on the show is Homer protesting to Marge that this new job is his lifelong dream, only for Marge to bring up another "lifelong dream" Homer had which he'd already accomplished or failed miserably at. Inevitably, he either gets fired for his incompetence or abandons it [[FriendOrIdolDecision for the sake of his family]].

** Pearl rebelled against Homeworld both out of devotion to Rose Quartz and to break from her ServantRace status. However, her primary role in the series proper has been to continue the clean-up from the Gem civil war and take care of Steven, both tasks inextricably tied to Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gem's mission. Despite being a free Gem for 5000 years, she hasn't established an identity outside of that in all that time, and for the most part, doesn't seem to know how to. When [[spoiler:Peridot]] asks her "What are you for?" in "Back to the Barn", she is left incapable of coming up with an answer. Season 5 has made this more complicated with the reveal of [[spoiler:Pink Diamond being Rose Quartz and thus, Pearl being the Pearl of Pink Diamond. It further explains that without her Diamond, Pearl is at a loss on what to do in the long term.]] She is slowly getting better though.
** In ''[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture Future]]'', Steven himself has no idea what to do with himself now that everyone else around him has managed to find contentment in their lives, as his life previously [[ChronicHeroSyndrome had been spent helping them through their problems]]. [[spoiler:The show ultimately ends with him leaving the Crystal Gems on a journey to go find a new purpose in life.]]
** [[spoiler:Jasper]] also seems to be suffering this in ''Future'': [[spoiler:As a quartz, her whole purpose in life was to fight and conquer - and unlike the rest of gem society, she adamantly refuses to adjust to the new status quo after the Gem Empire gives up on conquest. She's shown spending her days in a cave outside Beach City, and training for fights that will now never happen. She ''embraces'' the idea of having Steven as her new Diamond after her accidentally shatters and heals her, and seems genuinely crestfallen when he denies her that.]]

* In ''Manhwa/CielTheLastAutumnStory'', due to sort of having an empty abyss in her soul, Yvienne Magnolia is at a loss for why she should care whether she lives or dies. ChronicHeroSyndrome-experiencer Lariatte Kingdiamond ultimately helps provide some dreams for her.

* In ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'', Nomi-Nomi used to work at the ''Heliopause'' canteen, believing that it was their life purpose since they could just spend their free time pursuing their hobbies, but they didn't enjoy it. They also feel lost on what to do upon landing on Vertumna because they aren't good at anything but drawing or writing. Like Marz, they're bored with just trying to ''survive'' on the alien planet and believe that there should be entertainment so that everyone with creative dreams can make their life worth living.

* Canderous Ordo of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' was once a respected Mandalorian soldier. His people's defeat led to him being desperate enough to take a job cracking heads for a petty crime boss. When he finds the PlayerCharacter, he teams up with them to find better prospects. At the end of the game, he admits that he needs more in his life than fighting for fighting's sake. And he ''certainly'' finds it by the second game [[spoiler:by becoming Mandalore the Preserver, and rebuilding his people]].

* ''Series/FellowTravelers'': Tim goes through several causes during his life searching for purpose. Initially, he is a right-wing Catholic who supports anti-communism and is an aide for US Senator UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy at the height of his infamous campaign. Tim grows disillusioned because [=McCarthyism=] grows to include purging closeted LGBT+ employees from federal agencies (like him) and he sees how excessive [=McCarthy's=] tactics really are. Then, after serving in the US Army, he follows left-wing priest Father Lawrence, joins a Catholic seminary, and later becomes a protestor against UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, which gets him imprisoned for destroying draft cards. After 1.5 years in jail, Tim is released and he's inspired by Frankie, so in the '70s, he works as a clinical social worker at a non-profit agency in San Francisco that helps the gay and lesbian community. By 1986, Tim has become an activist for gay rights and AIDS sufferers like himself as he battles against the disease.

* ''Series/FellowTravelers'': Tim Laughlin goes through several causes during his life searching for purpose. Initially, he is a right-wing Catholic who supports anti-communism and is an aide for US Senator UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy at the height of his infamous campaign. Tim grows disillusioned because [=McCarthyism=] grows to include purging closeted LGBT+ employees from federal agencies (like him) and he sees how excessive [=McCarthy's=] tactics really are. Then, after serving in the US Army, he follows left-wing priest Father Lawrence, joins a Catholic seminary, and later becomes a protestor against UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, which gets him imprisoned for destroying draft cards. After 1.5 years in jail, Tim is released and he's inspired by Frankie, so in the '70s, he works as a clinical social worker at a non-profit agency in San Francisco that helps the gay and lesbian community. By 1986, Tim has become an activist for gay rights and AIDS sufferers like himself as he battles against the disease.

* ''Series/FellowTravelers'': Tim goes through several causes during his life searching for purpose. Initially, he is a right-wing Catholic who supports anti-communism and is an aide for US Senator Joseph [=McCarthy=] at the height of his infamous campaign. Tim grows disillusioned because [=McCarthyism=] grows to include purging closeted LGBT+ employees from federal agencies (like him) and he sees how excessive [=McCarthy's=] tactics really are. Then, after serving in the US Army, he follows left-wing priest Father Lawrence, joins a Catholic seminary, and later becomes a protestor against the Vietnam War, which gets him imprisoned for destroying draft cards. By the '80s, Tim has become an activist for gay rights and AIDS sufferers like himself as he battles against the disease

* In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' Chloe Cerise wants to find out what she wants to do in the future because she's tired of everyone making her get a job with Pokémon because of her dad's job. Unfortunately the second chapter reveals that she has ''no'' hobbies at all, not helping that she refuses to leave her comfort zone and is paralyzed with the fear of just ''deciding'' what to do that her own mother can't figure out how to help. It's later revealed that Chloe has hobbies -- writing horror stories, a fondness for demons, and being exceptionally skilled at softball -- but she has had to keep them hidden due to mockery from her classmates.

* ''Film/TheBansheesOfInisherin'': Colm feels like he doesn't have much time left and wants to compose songs so that he'll have something that'll be remembered long after he's gone, and cuts ties with Pádraic because he doesn't want to spend his time making small talk with a man he considers to be dull.

* ''Series/FellowTravelers'': Tim Laughlin goes through several causes during his life searching for purpose. Initially, he is a right-wing Catholic who supports anti-communism and is an aide for US Senator UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy at the height of his infamous campaign. Tim grows disillusioned because [=McCarthyism=] grows to include purging closeted LGBT+ employees from federal agencies (like him) and he sees how excessive [=McCarthy's=] tactics really are. Then, after serving in the US Army, he follows left-wing priest Father Lawrence, joins a Catholic seminary, and later becomes a protestor against UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, which gets him imprisoned for destroying draft cards. By the '80s, Tim has become an activist for gay rights and AIDS sufferers like himself as he battles against the disease.

* Uruguayan rock band ''Music/ElCuartetoDeNos'' satirizes the trend in their song "[[http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/e/el_cuarteto_de_nos/ya_no_se_que_hacer_conmigo.html Ya no sé qué hacer conmigo]]" ("I don't know what to do with myself anymore"). The song carries the trope to the logical extreme: when one tries too many (often contradictory) things, one tends to end as a StepfordSmiler of the mask-only type.

* ''Series/FellowTravelers'': Tim goes through several causes during his life searching for purpose. Initially he is a right-wing Catholic who supports anti-communism and is an aide for US Senator Joseph McCarthy at the height of his infamous campaign. Tim grows disillusioned because McCarthyism grows to include purging closeted LGBT+ employees from federal agencies (like him) and he sees how excessive McCarthy's tactics really are. Then, after being in the US Army, he follows left-wing priest Father Lawrence, with him becoming a protestor against the Vietnam War later, which gets him imprisoned for destroyed draft cards. By the 80s, Tim has become an activist for gay rights and AIDS sufferers like him as he battles against the disease.

** The main theme of Mewtwo's story. After concluding that his early life was not at all to his liking, he decides to make his own purpose -- first as [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie a genocidal supervillain]] bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]], then, when that turned out to be a bad idea, [[Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns he settled as guardian of the clones he created]]. The last we see of him, along with various cameos in the opening credits of other seasons and movies suggest [[WalkingTheEarth he's taking up traveling the world]].

* Uruguayan rock band El Cuarteto de Nos satirizes the trend in their song "[[http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/e/el_cuarteto_de_nos/ya_no_se_que_hacer_conmigo.html Ya no sé qué hacer conmigo]]" ("I don't know what to do with myself anymore"). The song carries the trope to the logical extreme: when one tries too many (often contradictory) things, one tends to end as a StepfordSmiler of the mask-only type.

* This trope is why ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s [[TheHero Shiro Emiya]] and [[SinisterMinister Kirei Kotomine]] aren't so different. Neither of them has any sense of self-worth and can only find purpose in other people. The difference is that [[spoiler:Shirou's is helping people, while Kotomine's (as noted above) is causing people suffering. Even then, Kotomine still isn't happy, because while the suffering of others is the only thing that makes him happy, that in and of itself [[BeingEvilSucks makes him unhappy]] because he ''[[ReluctantPsycho knows]]'' [[ReluctantPsycho it's wrong]]]].