Why is nihilism so tempting?

I think it'd be useful to explore the appeal of nihilism to the mind. Nihilism is the idea that one's actions and life are, on the grand scale, meaningless. It suggests that our individual emotions and actions are meaningless because we are but a speck in the midst of an expansive universe. But this is true, so what does it mean to be a nihilist?

To me, it seems that the thoughts of a nihilist, such as thoughts pertaining to one's future or reflections upon one's actions, are centered around and influenced to a large degree by the notion that our lives are insignificant. Why go to college, if in a hundred years after you die the world will hardly be any different? Why, in fact, do anything responsibility?

But as Dr. Peterson points out in 12 Rules for Life, anything is meaningless if a large enough domain is chosen. To paraphrase an idea I heard from Dr. Peterson's lecture titled "The Meaning and Reality of Individual Sovereignty" (boy, I really am fangirling over Dr. Peterson, aren't I?), discomfort or pain feels very real and can hardly be "argued away". Especially excruciating pain that cripples the body and mind. Is that meaningless too? Well, its presence certainly doesn't feel meaningless. 

So why is nihilist thinking dangerous? As far as I can tell, the answer is: because nihilist thinking is used as an excuse to shirk one's duty and to prioritize pursuit of empty pleasure over responsibility.

First, let's discuss a couple of implications of nihilism. Two things stand out to me about the thoughts of someone who is a nihilist. Number one is that upholding responsibility and choosing to do the right thing are unimportant, and insignificant.

If my wrong decisions don't affect my surroundings or the people around me, it certainly won't affect me, right? No, not right. Conscience shuts down that argument fairly quickly. A guilty conscience, if ignored, can drag one's mind down to an uncomfortable place. It cannot be killed or suppressed.

Or else why would Pinnochio, after running away from his father and refusing to even acknowledge (let alone address) his wrongdoing, become so angry at the cricket, his anthropomorphized conscience, that he would sequester the voice that tells nothing but truth? And why would he be bothered by a talking cricket in the first place?

The second observation is that nihilist thinkers tend to form goals that are misaligned with the goals and tasks that enable a stable life. Nihilists either lose or reject all motivation to act, sometimes truncating their lives, actually or effectively, or become motivated by baser pleasure and more morally corrupt desires ("morally corrupt" because they go against all that their mind values, which don't change with one's habits).

The consequences of such thinking include poor life planning, the generation of ambiguity and uncertainty of one's values, and, what seems most significant to me, a deeply dissatisfied mind.