Should the afterlife be a goal in life?

The second essay of mine and the topic is still scary, so bear with me.

The afterlife. Something that says that there is a reality that is called 'life after death'. A belief in most people that makes them strive in life to achieve an entrance to one realm of two that people believe in. This 'Heaven' is what most monotheistic religions call their 'reward' for doing good things in life, and 'Hell' is the realm of heat and punishment for those who have impacted others negatively in life. Out of that system, another belief, which is reincarnation, is widespread between Indian and Asian religions. Reincarnation is the belief that your soul after death will be rebirthed in a different body or form.

I am an agnostic and personally, I am open-minded to any opinions and different views out there. I can understand the perspectives of religious people, but I also understand the perspectives of atheists. But today, I'm writing with the view of people who aren't sure what to believe.

Most of us have fixed our thoughts and goals in life to do good deeds or complete missions from this divine entity to get the ticket to the more comfortable realm we ever thought of, but what if this "afterlife" doesn't exist?

I've heard imams(Islamic), rabbis(Jewish), priests(Christian) and other similar types of people say that they 'prepare' you for the moment when you will be judged for the afterlife. But what if the afterlife never existed?

For something that we cannot see, hear, touch or sense at all, we put too much hope and belief in it. Some people say "Believe and have faith in it and you'll know it exists", but I've been believing and having faith in it for 12 years of my life and I couldn't find any clue/proof that the afterlife, or God, in that case, exists. But for some people, like me, having 'faith' in something isn't enough. Most people probably refer to the afterlife as a goal in life. But inside, we all wonder what if there is no afterlife? What is a soul anyway? This then leads to the question of 'What is life's meaning?' or something similar to it(this topic has already has been written in another essay of mine).

I despise people who judge others by their beliefs, even if it generally doesn't negatively affect their lives. One rule in life that affect every person, no matter what they believe, is "Treat others like how you want to be treated". These people need to open their mind up a bit and learn about others' beliefs. You might not agree with them, but you won't judge them because 'my belief is right' and instead, you judge them because 'there are some flaws in this and comparing it to my beliefs, it is less factual' or something similar. We don't need any fanatics in this world.

So if we can't prove the afterlife is real, and we don't know how to disprove it, should we put much of our hope into it? Should we dedicate our lives to reach that predicament?

Honestly, I think it depends on how it affects your life and behaviour to it. If you believe in it, strive to get there, and help others too, you are a nice person and I'm not going to stop you, I'll support those who help others no matter what they think or believe about life. But if you're that kind of person where you technically try to force people to believe what you think is right, then please, don't bother reading. Because what I learned about you people is that it is nigh-impossible to change your mind unless you change it by yourself. So please, be a better person after this.

Well, I'm no good at conclusions, but I'm open to any other opinions from you guys through WdC email or reviews, so if you also got pent up feelings about this or any other topics I talk about, then you are welcome to contact me. Oh, and this will probably be a tradition to my essays, those whose opinions have memorable words in them, I will quote in here. Peace!

Memorable Quotes:

"Honestly, I question myself a few times 'If there is no afterlife, why do we exist?' Then, dying is such a waste, ...right? It doesn't make any sense to me, however, at the same time, I'm eager to know.
What if one day I will die, and it's lights out, oblivion, and then..nothingness. That thought somehow quite unsettled me. We can't prove that the afterlife is real, the 'unknown' is far from our reach, far from our knowledge. No one will ever know.
Then what is life's meaning? Simply life is life. Life is good and bad. Life is a choice. Life is a challenge. Life is an opportunity. Life is complex."
~ An anonymous friend of mine

I know what you mean with wondering if the afterlife exists and how to live your life based on that knowledge. What I have decided to roll with, is that most religions at their core is a guideline for how to live a good life, and if we choose to follow a guideline and the afterlife exists, then no loss. But if the afterlife doesn't exist, we still spent our life doing good.
~ Lint in a Dryer : https://www.writing.com/main/portfolio/view/evaptime (sorry I don't know how to hyperlink or refer to people here... someone help?)

I don't just believe it because it's in the Bible. Bible is His word, but is just full of mere everyday letters, as you know. But the expression put down by the letters are the words of God. They must be understood by your brain, go into your mind and be revealed to your soul by the Spirit of God before you know what you really have read. Many... even many church leaders stop on the level of brain and mind. They teach people what the Bible calls Letters, but don't even understand what they are proclaiming, nor do those they teach know any better. They use human understanding to interpret the mind of God, instead of asking, submitting to and waiting on God entirely to do so. That's where the many Christian denominations emerged from. So, if you are willing, God is waiting. He longs to reveal His mind to you through His Word and His Holy Spirit.
~ Israel Snowplume : https://www.writing.com/main/portfolio/view/israelmichael