Everyone’s Using ‘Existential’ Wrong: Here’s What It Really Means

What Existentialism Really Means and Why It Matters for Creatives in a World That Feels Uncertain

Lately I have been hearing the word existential show up in all kinds of conversations. You hear it in the news. You see it on social media. People use it to describe everything from climate change to artificial intelligence to the feeling you get when you realize the weekend is over and Monday is coming for you fast.

We are surrounded by phrases like “existential threat to democracy” or “existential risk to humanity” or “existential dread from scrolling the news too long.” And yes, these are big issues. But something about the way this word keeps popping up made me pause.

I realized people are using existential to mean “terrifying” or “urgent” or “end of the world.” But that is not really what existentialism is about. It is not just a dramatic way to say something is important. It is actually a whole philosophy about how we live and why we do what we do.

That got me thinking about how this word fits into some of the deeper themes I keep circling back to in my Substack. I have always been drawn to questions about meaning and identity and how we show up creatively in a world that does not offer many guarantees. This felt like a good time to bring that conversation down to earth and explore what existentialism really means, where it comes from, what it is not, and how it might actually help us navigate the times we are living in.

Where Existentialism Comes From

Existentialism is a modern philosophy, but its roots go way back. You could trace it to the early writings of Soren Kierkegaard in the 1800s. He was a Danish thinker who believed that truth was something deeply personal, not something you could just learn from a book or adopt from society. He was especially interested in how people live out their beliefs in real life.

Later came Friedrich Nietzsche, who famously declared that “God is dead.” That line is often misunderstood, but what he meant was that the old systems of meaning: religion, tradition and authority were losing their power. People were left to figure out meaning on their own, which was both liberating and terrifying.

Fast forward to the twentieth century, and we get thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus. They were writing during and after the world wars, when people were asking deep questions about responsibility, freedom, and the absurdity of life. These thinkers helped shape existentialism into what we know it as today, a philosophy that deals with the raw experience of being alive in a world that does not offer clear answers.

Essentialism Versus Existentialism

To really understand existentialism, it helps to compare it to something called essentialism.

Essentialism is the idea that everything, including people, has a fixed essence. In this view, you are born with a purpose, a nature, a reason for being. A knife is made to cut. A teacher teaches. A musician makes music. You are what you are because of your essence.

Existentialism flips that completely. It says that existence comes before essence. You are born into the world with no preset meaning or purpose. You just exist. Then, through your choices and your actions, you begin to create your own identity and define what your life is about.

This idea is both freeing and a little scary. There is no grand design waiting for you to discover it. But there is also no limit to what you can choose to become.

That is why existentialism puts such a heavy emphasis on responsibility. If meaning is not handed to you, then it is up to you to create it.

What Existentialism Is Not

A lot of people use the word existential when they are really talking about a crisis. Something feels out of control, so they call it an existential moment. But existentialism is not about fear or panic. It is not just about surviving.

It is about how you respond when you realize that meaning is not guaranteed.

You can give up. You can distract yourself. You can follow the crowd.

Or you can face the reality of your freedom and ask, What now? What really matters to me? What kind of life do I want to live?

Those are existential questions. They are not always comfortable, but they are honest.

The Existential Life of the Creative

This is where I think existentialism becomes more than just philosophy. It becomes real.

Every artist, every founder, every musician or writer knows the feeling of staring at a blank page. There is no script. No step-by-step guide. No one telling you what to do next.

That moment is deeply existential. You have to choose. You have to take a risk. You have to make something out of nothing.

And that is why I think this philosophy speaks so clearly to creative people. We are not just making art or products or content. We are making meaning. We are shaping identity. We are creating value in a world that does not hand it to us.

That takes courage. That takes clarity. And it often comes with a lot of doubt and discomfort.

But it also brings freedom. Because once you realize that meaning is not something you have to find. It is something you get to build. Everything opens up.

Why I Wrote This

I wrote this because I was tired of seeing the word existential used without any real context. But I also wrote it because I needed the reminder myself.

Like a lot of people, I have been sitting with big questions lately. What is worth my energy? What kind of work actually feels meaningful? What am I building toward?

And in a strange way, reading up on existentialism helped bring me back to the present. It reminded me that meaning is not something I need to chase. It is something I choose, one day at a time. In conversations. In creative work. In how I treat the people around me.

Existentialism does not offer easy answers. But it does give you a framework for asking better questions.

And right now, that feels like more than enough.

• Have you ever had an existential moment that changed how you see your purpose or identity?

• How do you stay grounded in meaning when everything around you feels uncertain?

Drop a comment or hit reply. I would love to hear what this stirs up for you.

And as always, remember, EVERY day is a celebration. Even the confusing ones. Especially the confusing ones.

Astro Joe Garcia

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire

The Suburbs by Arcade Fire is basically an existential philosophy course wrapped in an indie rock album. The title track, in particular, mirrors the central tension of this post. The disillusionment that comes when the structures we grew up with stop making sense. It captures that eerie in-between space where the promises of childhood (safety, purpose, identity) start to unravel, and you’re left asking, what now? The line “I want a daughter while I’m still young, I want to hold her hand and show her some beauty before all this damage is done” hits like a quiet plea for meaning in a world that feels increasingly chaotic and detached. Just like existentialism, the song does not offer clear answers. It just sits in the feeling, honest and unfiltered. It is not about finding the perfect path, but about recognizing the emptiness and choosing to move through it anyway.