I do it to be appreciated. Sometimes I do it because I can see how it could be better. Usually I do it because I like the reward. I also try to avoid bad consequences.

I do it because it feels good, I like doing it unprotected as it adds spice to the marriage, but then when I want to go out and I only have 5 bucks it makes me sad. So then I add protection by asking the wife to earmark money for the savings account.....

No the ultimate goal is to be RICH! Right now I am 2 days RICH, my definition of rich is how long I can maintain my current level of living without work.. currently I could wait about a weekend before I get back to working

As far as kids Stryker you might not like it currently but I'm sure when you teach your kid to take out the trash it will all be worth it! Then you move onto more complex tasks like mowing and yardwork.. then you will find yourself happy and relax on the couch every weekend like a real man should be! Well at least that my excuse for the up and coming children of minein

At the moment, to earn money to buy stuff.

Revenge.

I go to work each day because the only other activity that would make me feel this way is dipping my balls in acid. But acid leaves severe physical scarring. Work only leaves severe mental scarring, and, well, we have to look pretty don't we?

Also, acid doesn't pay very well. Not that I'm paid well.

Maybe, I've been a little too hasty in my decision.

EDIT: In case I entirely misinterpreted your post, let me direct you to this article instead.

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Because, for whatever reason, I was born into this life, and as such, should there be a purpose to it, it would be a disservice/waste to not DO THINGS. Since this life is finite anyway, there's plenty of time for NOT DOING THINGS here after it ends.

But I'd rather not risk it by NOT DOING THINGS now, because consequences to that will either be neutral (ceasing to exist entirely) or negative (being thrust into similar challenges, only harder next time - actually this pattern is evident during the course of even just one lifetime, as unsolved issues come back stronger until you solve them). Doing things, on the other hand, can lead to either neutral (ceasing to exist entirely) or positive consequences (if by creating stuff and evolving my being I can help others and if it actually counts on some higher level of existence).

That's what I feel... intuitively. It's better "to be", because you will eventually graduate into "not to be" anyway - whether completely or just for this realm, your job here will be done. Better stick with it until endgame, since the answers are not clearly known.

Will you hit the level cap or step through the Dark Portal ?

Oh and :

Creating sh*t.

He's your anti-uh, I don't know, dipsh*t? You're anti-dipsh*t? What is this guy?

I need money. Otherwise I would be eating sh*t and enjoying myself all day.

I second this idea.

Because my wife makes me.

Quite forcefully on some days.

Thats easy, sex!

Really, isn't the whole point of life to reproduce?

Why do I go to work each day?
To pay the bills so I can take care of my kids. When it all comes down to it, I mean. I know some people get some sort of intrinsic joy out of the job itself, but to me it's just something that requires me to be away from my kids. I can't escape the fact that every hour here is paid for with an hour away from them. I'm not saying I'd be doing any less work if I didn't have the job; I can and do this stuff at home for free. But I have to have money to care for the kids, ergo I have to have the job. Some days that's easier to balance out than others.

What do I strive for in life?
Is anyone else having flashbacks to the character generation in Kingdom Hearts II?

Seriously, at this point I'm striving to get my kids grown and well-started in life. I have some vague notions of what I'll do after that happens, but just getting there pretty much eclipses all that.

The answers to all the rest of the questions go back to this one, too. Maybe that's pathetic. I know it sounds like I don't have anything for "me" in there, but I don't see it that way. They're too important to me.

This time when they're so young is so very short. I know you've heard this a hundred times before, but that's because of how true it is. Consider this time training for when they graduate to far bigger fun than teething.

Or since everyone else is getting all philosopical - the glass isn't half full. It isn't half empty, either. It's dirty and whoever used it didn't put it in the dishwasher where it belongs.

I do my job because it makes me money. I do the projects for my job because I like the feeling of accomplishment when I finish them, and they always have a definite end-point. Incidentally that's probably also why I like games, or at least part of the reason.

As for why I go on, don't just give up and waste away or whatnot, it's because this world's still moderately interesting, as are the people in it. I'm interested to see how this whole "humanity" story turns out, at least until I'm kicked out of the theater.

My dream in life is to have a crappy dilapidated house that I constantly have to fix up with a small front and back yard near my school in a fun place with good friends and some little bastards running around too. Seriously, how is that not awesome?

How I get there is what I find particularly rewarding, balance of what I'm good at vs. what is challenging.

I'm also not locked into any of this as I find the unpredictability factor to be particularly engrossing (even when not blatantly so).

To add beauty to the world. Raise a kid, write poetry, volunteer in Nigeria, live your life with appreciation of wonder. Bring beauty to the world.