This is a question who everyone has asked themselves personally in many different forms, from the beginning of time to now. I think this question reflects on the story by Lennie and George working so hard to get where they want to be. If they thought that there was absolutely no purpose for what theyre doing, why would they do it? Another thing that makes me think that Lennie and George feel that there is a purpose to life is that the story not hinting that they are religious it seems as though they are doing it for themselves and the life they have now and not theyre after life.
When it comes to real life I think it really depends on how your life is. One thing that I thought purposed a very good question to evaluate on was, Does human life have a purpose?. If you experience a little sorrow you may feel more of a purpose to live than someone who has had a terrible life and see absolutely no reason for being here on earth. In a lot of ways it also depends on your religious belief too.
If you feel that the life you live on earth depends on what will happen in your after life then the life you live now is really important, but if you werent religious and had nothing to look forward to than living might not seem as important or even necessary. If you feel there is no purpose to your being many people may bring up the option of suicide. It seems weird that a thing like religion could cause such a conflict