Albert Camus was a French-Algerian writer, and Nobel Prize laureate who lived through war and
loss, and he saw how life doesn’t always offer clear answers. Instead of turning away from that
uncertainty, he chose to face it. He wanted to understand what it really means to be alive in a
world that doesn’t hand us a ready-made purpose. We’re often told to “find your purpose” or “find
yourself,” as if who we are is already out there waiting — for the right moment, the right people,
the right place. But Camus questioned that. He didn’t believe there was a perfect version of us
hidden somewhere, waiting to be discovered. And there’s a real sense of relief in that.
If there’s no single identity we’re supposed to uncover, then we’re not late. We’re not falling
behind. We’re not missing out on some secret everyone else already understands. We’re not
lost - we’re simply becoming, shaping who we are through the choices we make and the life we live.
We learn by living. We change. We try things. We let go of what doesn’t feel
true anymore and slowly build a life that feels more honest. When we stop believing
there’s one “correct” self we must find, we no longer wait for a dramatic moment of
clarity. We start paying attention to what’s right in front of us - the next small step,
the next experience, the next chance to grow. Camus is known for books like The Stranger,
The Myth of Sisyphus, and The Plague and in this video, we’re going to explore why searching for a
“true self” is a lie - how that belief can keep us stuck, and why embracing life’s uncertainty
can actually help us move forward, all from the philosophy of Albert Camus.
Understand the Absurd Camus says "The absurd
is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.”
Before talking about “finding yourself,” we need to understand a central idea in Albert
Camus’ philosophy - the Absurd. Camus looked at the world - at war, suffering, chance,
and death - and noticed that people are desperate to find purpose. We want life to make sense. We
want our struggles to lead somewhere, our choices to matter, and our stories to have a reason. But
Camus said that the universe doesn’t give us that reason. It doesn’t explain why we’re here
or where we’re going. It just exists. That clash - between our need for
meaning and the world’s silence - is what Camus called “the Absurd.”
It might sound harsh, but Camus didn’t see it as depressing. He saw it as honest - and
as the starting point for real freedom. To show this, he wrote a novel called
The Stranger. The main character, Meursault, is a man who doesn’t pretend that life means more than
it does. When his mother dies, he doesn’t cry. When someone asks if he loves them,
he says he doesn’t think so. He doesn’t fake emotions to fit in or comfort others.
To the people around him, Meursault seems strange - even cold. They think something must be wrong
with him. But Camus presents him as honest and realistic. Unlike most people, Meursault doesn’t
try to invent meaning where there isn’t any. But this story takes a dramatic turn when
Meursault shoots a man on the beach. Now, this wasn’t planned, it wasn’t out of revenge,
or even anger. Earlier, he had a confrontation with the man’s brother, and later, while walking
in the sun, he encountered the man again. The heat, the glare of the sun, and the tension of
the moment overwhelmed him. He pulls the trigger almost instinctively - it’s an impulsive act, not
a moral choice. Camus uses this event to show that it’s not just the act itself that matters, it’s
how society interprets it. Meursault is judged not only for the crime, but for his attitude
toward life - his honesty, his indifference, and his refusal to pretend his life has meaning.
At his trial, the focus shifts from the crime to Meursault’s character. The court and the
public can’t accept his indifference. They expect him to show guilt, remorse, or faith.
They want him to say his life has meaning. But he doesn’t. Even when pretending could
save his life, he refuses to lie. At first, Meursault only thinks life
has no higher meaning. It’s not until his trial and death sentence that he
truly feels the weight of the Absurd. With death approaching, he has nothing left to hide behind.
There is no hope, no divine plan, no cosmic justice waiting to save him. The universe
isn’t cruel or kind — it simply doesn’t care. In accepting this, he opens himself to what Camus
calls “the gentle indifference of the world.” To be sure, this isn’t despair. It is a direct,
lived understanding. He experiences life as it is, without needing it to make sense or have a
higher purpose. The warmth of the sun, the sound of the sea, the smell of the earth - he notices
them simply as they are, without looking for deeper meaning. He doesn’t try to explain or
justify life. He simply lives it fully, aware and present. In that awareness, he finally feels free.
That’s what Camus wanted to show: The Absurd, as Camus describes it, is the gap between our desire
for meaning and the world’s refusal to provide it. At no point does life promise fairness, purpose,
or hidden answers. It simply exists. Recognizing this isn’t something to fear - it’s something to
face. When you stop expecting life to make sense, you stop being controlled by rules,
expectations, or the idea that everything should have a reason. You stop waiting
for perfect answers or signs, and you start seeing life clearly - unpredictable, but real.
Camus didn’t want us to avoid the Absurd. He wanted us to live with it - to see life
clearly and still choose to live fully. You don’t need a grand purpose to make life
worth living. You just need to notice what’s around you, pay attention, and be present.
2. Stop Waiting to “Find Yourself” In the words of Camus,
“Life is the sum of all your choices.” We often talk about life as if our true
self is hiding somewhere, waiting to be uncovered, like a secret treasure.
We say, “I just need to find myself,” like there’s some perfect version of us out there,
patiently waiting for the right moment to appear. But what if that version doesn’t actually exist?
Camus challenges this comforting idea. Since the universe is indifferent and offers no built-in
meaning, there is no hidden “true self” waiting to be discovered. There’s no cosmic blueprint.
No secret self buried in the universe. No map with an X marking your spot. The meaning
of your life isn’t written in the stars - it’s written in the small choices you make every day.
And I get it, that can feel a little scary. If there’s no path laid out for us,
then who are we supposed to become? But that’s exactly what freedom is.
You get to decide. You get to decide who you are. Who you want to become. Your identity isn’t
something to be found - it’s something you build. Step by step. Choice by choice. Action by action.
Think about the people who say they “found themselves.” Did they stumble
upon some hidden self? No. They lived. They tried. They failed. They learned. They kept
moving forward. They became who they are by doing, not by waiting. Standing still
and hoping for clarity won’t get you anywhere. Life shapes those who act, not those who wait.
So instead of asking, “Who am I?” - ask, “Who do I want to become?” . You build yourself by
living. By trying. By failing. By choosing. The path isn’t given - you create that path.
So stop sitting around, waiting for clarity or some kind of ‘revelation’. Pick one small
thing today that reflects the kind of person you want to be. It could be calling someone,
jotting down your thoughts, or taking a quiet walk. Each step builds your identity.
3. Rebel against the absurd To quote Camus, “The struggle
itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
Camus believed that when the world gives you no clear meaning, the most human response
is rebellion - a steady, stubborn decision to live anyway. If the universe refuses to
tell us why we’re here, rebellion says: “I’ll decide for myself.” That act of choosing - of
making something matter despite life’s uncertainty — is where real strength begins.
Camus illustrated this through the Greek myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to
push a boulder up a mountain, only for it to roll back down each time he reached the top. To most
people, that sounds like the ultimate punishment - endless, meaningless effort. But Camus saw it
differently. He imagined Sisyphus smiling. Because even though his task never ends, he still chooses
to push. He takes ownership of his struggle. He finds meaning in the act of pushing itself.
And that’s the core of this whole idea of rebelling - to live fully, to act, to create,
even when life refuses to give you guarantees. And this rebellion isn’t just about refusing
despair. It’s also about refusing to wait around for a life you might never find. We’re told that
somewhere out there is a perfect version of who we are - and that if we look hard enough,
travel far enough, or wait long enough, we’ll eventually “find” that version. But there is no
finished version of you waiting. You only become yourself through living - through the choices you
make, the work you do, and the people you love. You don’t need the world to hand you a label or
a path. You don’t need permission to matter. Every decision you make shapes your identity.
Every small act - writing something, helping someone, starting something new — it all
becomes your quiet way of saying, “I’m here, and I’m choosing to live.”
Many people spend years trying to “figure themselves out” before they move forward.
But clarity doesn’t come before action — it comes because of action. You build
confidence by doing things that scare you. You find direction by taking steps,
not by waiting for certainty. You don’t find yourself — you create yourself, again and again.
Camus once wrote, “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there
lay an invincible summer.” That strength, that “invincible summer,” doesn’t come
from waiting for life to make sense. It comes from showing up for it regardless.
So maybe that’s the truth behind this whole idea of “finding yourself.” There is no finished
version of you waiting to be discovered. There’s only the person you become through
the act of living. Like Sisyphus, you may push the same stone up the same hill again and again,
but the act itself - the movement, the persistence - that’s what makes you who you are.
You don’t defeat the Absurd by solving life’s mysteries.
You Just keep living - that’s the rebellion. 4. Rebel with Passion
According to Camus, “To live is to keep shaking hands with the world.”
Camus didn’t just tell us to rebel against the Absurd - he urged us to rebel with passion.
Because without passion, rebellion becomes survival… but with it, rebellion becomes life.
Once you stop searching for your “true self,” you realize that what you were looking for wasn’t a
hidden identity - it was a feeling. A sense of being alive. That spark when you’re so absorbed
in what you’re doing that you forget time, ego, and fear. And we often mistake that feeling for
“finding ourselves,” but what we’re really experiencing is the energy of engagement - of
being fully present and invested in life. Camus didn’t believe in a cosmic meaning
to chase after, but he did believe in the beauty of intensity - in throwing yourself
into what moves you, even knowing it won’t last forever. To him, passion wasn’t about
achieving something eternal. It was about burning brightly in the brief time we have.
He wrote about actors as a great example of this. An actor, he said, lives many lives - each one
temporary, each one ending when the curtain falls. Yet, for that short time on stage, it’s complete.
That’s what passion does. It doesn’t promise permanence - it gives you fullness in the moment.
So if rebellion is saying, “I will live anyway,” then passion is how you live that promise out
loud. It’s the color you paint on the canvas of an absurd world. It’s how you answer meaninglessness
with intensity, curiosity, and creation. Loads of people say they’re trying to “find
themselves,” but what they’re really missing is passion. They wait to feel sure before they act,
but certainty doesn’t come first. You only figure things out by getting involved. Passion
appears when you take part in life, not when you sit and think about it.
Try one small thing that interests you, even just a little. Something creative or physical. Write,
paint, cook, dance, play music - anything that makes you feel awake for a moment.
But don’t do it to discover some hidden self, do it to remember that you’re already here,
already capable of shaping your own life. Put your energy into what makes you feel
alive. Not because it gives you a final meaning, but because it brings life into the present
moment. Passion doesn’t solve the Absurd - it gives us reasons to keep going anyway.
5. Define Your Values, Not Labels
Camus once said “Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.”
When people try to “find themselves,” they often end up looking for the wrong
thing. They look for a label - something they can point to and say, “This is me.”
But labels are often just reflections of what the world expects from us:
the career we choose the roles we play
the personality category we fit into the image we present online
Because labels come from outside of us, they’re always shifting. A job can end. A role can change.
A relationship can fall apart. And if your entire sense of self was built on a label, when that
label disappears, it can feel like you disappeared with it. That’s when people say, “I lost myself.”
But did you? Did you really lose yourself - or did you just lose a label you’d attached to yourself?
Camus believed there isn’t one fixed version of you hiding somewhere. You’re not supposed to
search the world until you find a final identity. Instead, you build who you are through your
choices - and those choices are better guided by your values than by what others expect from you.
Values are things like honesty, kindness, courage, creativity, or growth.
They come from within you - not from approval or achievement.
Imagine someone who loses a job they’ve had for years. If their entire
identity was tied to that one title, they might feel like they have nowhere to go.
But if they were guided by values like growth or creativity, those values help them decide what
comes next. They don’t have to start from zero - they simply take a new direction.
That’s why values matter more than labels. Values don’t lock you into one version of
yourself - they help you move forward, even when life changes. They stop you from chasing
roles just to feel complete. And they shift you away from asking, “Who am I supposed to be?”
That question assumes there’s only one correct answer - and we know now that isn’t true.
A better question is: “What do I want my actions to reflect?”
That’s a question you can actually live by. It gives you direction right now.
So to try this for yourself, write down three to five values that feel important to the person
you want to become - like courage, patience, curiosity, kindness, or integrity. Then look
at one decision you need to make today and choose the option that reflects those values.
When you do that consistently, you stop waiting for a moment that tells you who you are,
and instead you start shaping your identity through your actions. Not by finding a hidden
self, but by choosing who you want to be and living in line with that choice.
Your identity becomes less about a label in the future - and more about how you choose to live
right here, right now. 6. Experiment Boldly
In our final quote from Camus for this video, he says 'Men must live
and create. Live to the point of tears.' Once you’ve figured out what you value, the next
step is to put those values into practice. It’s easy to think you need the perfect plan before
you start anything - the right timing, the right skills, the right level of confidence. But that
mindset only keeps you stuck. Life isn’t something you solve in your head first. You learn by doing.
Camus believed that experience is what shapes us. You can’t grow by thinking about who you
want to be - you grow by trying things, seeing what works, and adjusting along the way. You
learn more about yourself from one attempt than from hours of imagining the outcome.
Growth comes from testing yourself in real situations - even when you don’t feel ready.
So try something new. Start a project. Learn a skill. Say yes to an opportunity,
even if it feels unfamiliar. If it works, great - you’ve learned something about what fits you. If
it doesn’t, you’ve learned something just as valuable. Either way, you’re moving forward.
So instead of asking, “What if it goes wrong?” Try asking, “What might I learn?”
Here’s something practical: Choose one small action you
can take today. Maybe it’s sending a message you’ve been putting off, organizing your day,
trying a short workout, or spending ten minutes on something that matters to you. That one action
might feel tiny — but it’s a real step forward. Then tomorrow, take one more step.
And the day after that, another. Over time, those small steps start to
add up. You begin to see progress. You feel more like yourself - not because you found a hidden
identity somewhere, but because you’re building one through consistent action.
So stop waiting for that breakthrough moment to tell you who you are. Stop waiting to “find
yourself”, and begin discovering who you’re already becoming - one action,
one attempt, one lesson at a time. If you like what we do on this page,
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