I wanna live an NPC life

the general consensus around being an npc is that you’re giving up your autonomy—essentially becoming a side character in someone else's story or watching life pass you by while doomscrolling on your phone.
but here’s my take: the npc lifestyle is actually a very viable way to live.
as an npc, you aren't actually watching other people’s lives. even in a game, if you're an npc, you are doing your own thing regardless of how anyone else behaves in the world. you are entirely unfazed by everything happening around you. it might sound a bit extreme, but at some level, it’s the ultimate "i don't give a fuck" state of mind.
take an npc blacksmith in skyrim, for example. do they care whether or not you slay dragons? no. do they care if you come in and steal all their shit because you pickpocketed them? no way. what do they do? they just keep living their life as a blacksmith—and they’re good at it to whatever level they’re supposed to be, whether they're a master craftsman or the shitty apprentice in the starting town. they do their thing regardless of what you do in the world.
maybe the secret to living—or maybe this is just a retelling of stoicism and endless levels of historical philosophy—is that the goal is to just do your own thing.
be an npc. drive a boring car—who gives a fuck? have a boring job. do nothing after work. why do you have to do something after work? do something because you feel like doing it, not because you feel like you have to.
when you stop caring about being the main character, you finally get to just live your life.

Facts Only

* The concept of an NPC lifestyle is presented.
* Being an NPC implies not watching other people's lives.
* NPC behavior suggests doing one's own thing regardless of others' actions.
* An example involves an NPC blacksmith in Skyrim who continues their work irrespective of player actions regarding dragons or theft.
* The author links this state to the goal of doing one's own thing.
* Suggested behaviors include driving a boring car and having a boring job.

Executive Summary

The text proposes that adopting an "NPC lifestyle" is a viable way to live by relinquishing the pursuit of being the main character. The core argument is that as an NPC, one operates independently and is unconcerned with external events, which is framed as achieving a state of indifference, akin to "I don't give a fuck." An example is given of an NPC blacksmith in Skyrim who continues their craft regardless of player actions concerning dragons or theft. The author suggests the secret to living lies in focusing solely on doing one's own thing, such as choosing boring routines like driving a mundane car or having a simple job, rather than feeling compelled to act out of external pressures.

Full Take

The narrative pivots on reframing autonomy away from external striving toward internal self-sufficiency, drawing parallels with philosophical concepts like Stoicism regarding acceptance of what cannot be controlled. The assertion that being an NPC is a form of ultimate "I don't give a fuck" suggests a critique of the cultural imperative to seek validation through being the central focus or protagonist. The strength of the argument lies in the analogy provided by the blacksmith—an entity existing successfully within a system without needing to engage with the narrative drivers of that system. This taps into patterns where complexity and external engagement are often framed as necessary for fulfillment, suggesting an underlying tension between achieved stability (the NPC state) and desired agency (the main character state). The implication is that freedom is found not in exerting control over the world's events but in minimizing personal investment in those events, challenging the societal construction that equates significance with active participation.