What drives you?

[Shu]

There's a lot of crap in the world today. Most folks are either jaded, or learned the way of sarcasm right out of the womb. Not a lot is taken serious, and when it is, sometimes it even is looked down on.

When looking back on my own life, I say to myself.. "Damn. So many missed opportunities." Mainly due to the fact I had no motivation in my life. I was hoping to get lucky with a girl, and who would put up with my crap and get a job where all I was doing was breaking even. Sad right? Even going through repeated failed relationships, I didn't quite give up. I got a bit awkward around people, other than being a funny guy, but that was mainly because I was a pansy and didn't deal with my problems at the time and let the simmer.

These days, I'm quite a bit different. I try to create an unattainable goal, and then see what happens when I provoke myself either through masochism (not in the literal sense), or just pure experience. No matter what I put myself through I try to learn from it.. and push myself further the next time. I used to get addicted to adrenaline, but that's a quicky.. I found a little value in life and I stuck with it, and promote it the very same way today.

So what motivates you? It could be your family, friends.. you.. let me here it.

 

[Ethics]

I'm weird, most of my motivation comes from different things. Sure, I have a goal in life that I want (moving overseas to be with Kira) which motivates me forward, but I think I'm not the only one who has more complex reasons than that for doing what I do.

It's hard for me to really narrow down what drives me.

Take school for example:

I enjoy the stimulation of learning, it makes me feel good and I want to continue that trend in order to feel good.

I enjoy the challenge of complex issues or concepts that I don't understand and push myself far beyond the required to not just become familiar with an idea, but really because I enjoy taking something and molding it into something personal. Take programming for example, I have NO idea what I'm doing most of the time, but I try hard to make things happen. All things considered, I usually do just that. Granted, most of things I "create" are ugly as hell or even pointless, but it's something I accomplished after I set my mind to it. Little successes and big successes.

I have a lot of times that, like you, I look back and see a million missed chances. I know where that got me and I'm not happy with it, so I want to do everything in my power to NOT have that happen again. I push myself daily to make sure I move forward just a little bit on all my goals that are important to me. Even if there is nothing I can do, sometimes it helps to just check.

 

[Richard B Riddick]

I guess if there's anything that motivates me its somewhat fruity and cliche things like making the world a better place & similar things most people give up on by the time they're 12. My inner hippy is strong..

I have literally hundreds of different plans and ideas I've jotted down where I've tried to come up with better ways of doing things, creating jobs and fixing areas of politics and how the government operates and things like that.

I guess if I have a dream, that is it.

But, its something I've completely given up on.

In cases where I've tried to carry out some of my plans, it seems as if there are hundreds of people who throw themselves into my path who try to prevent me from doing something that could have the potential to make things better for them.

It seems as if people are very negative and closed minded. Like, if I tried to do something that had a positive result, they would just accuse me of having a messiah complex and dismiss everything I said or claim that the only reason I was bothering with it is because I was intentionally trying to make people look bad. These are things I've really heard before, btw.

I'm not sure if those are the types of attitudes and mentalities reserved for the very small minority of people who actually make a legitimate attempt to exact some type of positive change in the world, but those are the types of things I've heard and been subject to every time I've tried to do something.

I'm not trying to bait or troll or even bring up the past, but I guess that's why I got upset when I intended to make that workout thread and felt like some people were already being closed minded and negative towards it, even though they hadn't heard what I wanted to say. I wasn't necessarily upset or mad at them, it just brought back flashbacks of bad memories and there have been times when I have tried to do some things that would have a lasting and positive impact and put a lot of time and effort into it only to have it be screwed by people with that type of closed minded and negative mentality.

Maybe someone else would make the thread and try to prove people wrong.

But, in my case I would just give up and not think it was worth it trying to battle people inch by inch until they had no choice but to admit maybe just maybe I had a decent point.

Maybe, that makes me a l0ser, I don't know.

In a way, I guess I identify with Julian Assange where maybe he did try to exact some type of positive change in the world & the media demonized him and everyone was willing to go along with it beacuse they didn't like it for whatever reason. And so the majority of people in america would like to see Assange be lynched & spend the rest of his life in prison even though he may have been one of the few who tried to raise the standard of politics and awareness in the world.

Except, I've decided that there's no point in me subjecting myself to a ton of negativity and criticism in an effort to do something positive to help people who really don't want help.

There's that meme that says: some men want to see the world burn.

I guess that's moreso the type of person I am now... for better or worse.

That's pretty much me in a nutshell, I guess..

And, I need to find something new to motivate me and give me purpose in lyfe..

 

[Dionysos]

What drives me… Hard to say for myself. Let’s investigate!

With studying I study because it is very interesting, and if I do not then I will fail. Studying, for me, tends to be the easy bit. Sometimes the motivation can go, but it is always picked up again when I know that I have deadlines to meet, or I’ll be made a fool of in the seminar.

With other things it is more complicated. It’s troubling times and nothing is secure, and I wasn’t ever brought up to fight and shout and spit at people, and kick ass and rip their heads off and drink from their necks. Loud vulgarity can pay more than quiet timidity. Maliciousness can grant people more reward than liking people can. At least it seems that way, though I find all of that stuff very, very silly. This Life business has proven itself to be a tad difficult. You need the charisma of Tony Stark but the bloodthirstiness of Rambo to survive in style. As always I exaggerate.

I guess what drives me is trying to fight my own nature. No, this is not alcoholism, drug abuse, or the urge to be naughty. It is that of being naturally shy and reserved. Being like that is all very nice when you are 14. In your early twenties it just gets embarrassing, and even shameful. More shameful than being a drunk (people laugh and chum each other over that and see it as a sign of humanity). Yet, I don’t want to completely lose my qualities that as a student throughout my life people had always complimented me on. But it is illegal to be yourself if it doesn’t work, even if other people wanted you to remain that way. I’d like to reach a comfortable functional shyness which gives off positive signals rather than the signals of something pathetic. Whether those signals are actually given off or not I cannot tell, for my face is attached to my own skull and I can never get to remove it to see, and I sure as hell cannot read the faces of others. Perhaps I just imagine such, and perhaps even that then reflects. It doesn't matter. It's an internal thing. As ever, I can probably overthink that sort of thing, though I have less time to think and so changes are happening now.

Lots and lots of missed chances have happened in my life too, sure, as with anyone. I'll live and develop from them. Most of these have been personal and ‘life’ things. Some people regret not studying and spending too long chatting in the classroom. Silly as it sounds, for me my regret is the opposite. I didn’t pursue a social life. I had a few friends at different places I’ve been, but it was static. I didn’t meet other people through them but acted as a silent lackey of theirs when out in public. They spoke, and to other people, and I listened. Sometimes dumbfounded with all of this human talk. Then again I guess it never was my fate to fit in with a large crowd of friends and to have girlfriends and such at a young age. I don't think I'd really want a lot of friends like that. It would completely overwhelm me. As for the girlfriend thing, it is beyond my control, and I doubt realistically that right now is the ideal time anyway. I don't think of that much, other than dreams. I'm currently not driven for that.

To master the social skills of the human race will simply take me a little bit longer than it has done with a lot of other people.

I can’t say I’m socially driven though. I don’t say ‘Right. I’m going to say such and such today’. I could do this in a comfortable location, but as soon as I leave the room the door is filed up with a sort of psychic brick wall. My body passes through but my soul is trapped on the other side. Instantly I’m a rabbit again. That doesn’t make sense to me either but you make do. There are some people who I can talk a lot to, and I do guiding and talking to the public too which is good experience and practice. It’s not always ‘social’ talking as such, but it is something. I’ll just have to deal with being wooden, statuesque, and robotic, but know that my soul that is trapped in the happy place is very colourful and does have a personality, and one day the happy place will burst through that wall and fill the world outside of it. Significant progress is being made. For a tortoise, of course.

In short (and after having thoughts during the activity of writing this post / stream of consciousness), I guess I’m driven now by the need to prove that I can be, should be, and need to be a human being of some description. It’s silly that one should even have to think like that, but in all fairness I’ve lived a rather silly life.

 

[Saints&Storms]

I have to say people telling me I can't do said things or that its not possible or I'm not good enough to do something is pretty much my drive to do anything actually, that's not always the case but I'm that kinda person, I think. But in nearly every case I think my drive to do something is my will (weak as it is) to refuse to let things go to waste or stay in the horrible shape or situation they are in any longer than they have been.

In my own experience; I go on with school and studying because I refuse to live he way my family has been living any longer; or to have anyone I love in such a shitty place anymore; and the more I dwell on it the more it makes me want to get to that place.

But that's just me; if I propose something great for myself then it means nothing really because I'm full of shit most the time when it comes to that stuff Actually reminds me of a Tool song...Sober I think it was/endbabble

 

[Lirael]

I think I'm driven by my positive outlook on life and my want to do good. I see life as an adventure, but not in the traditional sense. I don't want to be reckless. Rather, I thrive off learning something new and I believe even the simplest activities can be fulfilling, exciting and refreshing.

Enjoyment is often about company and what you can learn from others; I tend to absorb the positive more than the negative. It's certainly difficult to find like-minded people who can see such beauty in the world and such excitement, but I retain hope that I'll find people to share things with each time I see enthusiasm and passion in others.

My want to do good and improve the lives of others also drives me. Some people lack enthusiasm because they feel unhappy or uncertain or lack a purpose. A great number don't discover a passion and therefore have little to strive for all feel excited about. I want to create opportunities for others, to open their eyes, to discuss a wide variety of issues in the hopes that one will spark an interest that leads further. That's one reason I want to be an English teacher. Going hand in hand with this is the want to create opportunities for those who are disadvantaged so that they may achieve their vision.

I also like to invest in the interests of my friends so that they feel encouraged. Seeing others pursue a hobby they love does bring me happiness; I am genuinely interested in their successes and their development.

If ever I had a lot of money, I'd provide teachers for those in the third world I think... And water. Ideas, knowledge and experiences, which can be found in the words of those who share theirs, are the fruit of life for me. I'd have these teachers share their knowledge of history, philosophy, science, Literature, geography.... All of these things ARE fascinating. Even though I didn't always appreciate them during school, in hindsight, I'm incredibly glad and grateful for each lesson. I'd also hope to include to drama, dance and music, which are ways of expression and incredibly important. They connect us to one another.

 

[Tyler Breeze]

What drives me is when people say I can't do a certain task. Like when my Mom says I can't do something good or something like that. I'll go and do it and do it damn good. I think we're to the point where she knows that if she doubts me enough, I'll fire back with a job well done. It's just how it goes now.

So yeah. That's what drives me. People doubting me and saying I'll fail. I use that as motivation to do better than I normally would.