Anyone Have Troubles Staying Motivated?

[geek_usa]

I dunno. Sometimes I feel like life is just a long string of doing things you don't want to do. Go to school to get a job that you don't really love or anything but don't necessarily hate and make enough money to support yourself so you can live long enough to amass as much stuff that you want as you can. I don't think the majority of people are really that free because we're stuck in monotonous lives of working for the man and having some time-consuming diversions on the side to keep us from going crazy.

It's really hard for me to stay motivated because I just wonder what the point is. I have a couple of hobbies that I practice but often I cannot bring myself to engage in them because I feel that nothing will ever come of them. On my bad days I feel like all I've ever done up to now has been pointless.

I kind of dread the prospect of growing up because to me that just means doing more stuff I don't want to do. I have to make a lot of decisions like what I want to do with my life that I just don't want to make. It kind of scares me that time is moving past me so quickly because I feel that I haven't accomplished anything I can be proud of and I will never feel fulfilled. It wouldn't be so bad if I got to be re-incarnated as a butterfly or got to float up on some fluffy cloud skillfully playing the harp for an eternity after I die, but seeing as this is the only life that I can be sure I have, I am terrified that it is going to waste.

Anyone feel similar? Anyone have any remedies for this?

[Jenna520]

I believe a lot of people have felt that life is just full of a long list of things to do to survive, but my brother, (who passed away 4 months ago at the age of 36), once told me something that I had pushed to the back of my mind until I read this very post. I was on one of my "what's the point, what's it gonna prove, what purpose does it serve and why even try" modes, when he told me "Sis, do today what you would do if there was no tomorrow, because tomorrow's not guaranteed, nor should today be taken for granted."

My brother never understood my depression, or his wife's depression, or depression in general. He had never dealt with it personally, so he couldn't understand the majority of the time why I couldn't just snap out of my funky moods. I felt that when he told me this, for once, he knew I couldn't help having depression, but in a lot of ways I was going to have to help myself. It's hard to do, but there are some things in life we do have to do, the other areas of our life are up to us to make. There's a time to be serious, and a time to search out the things you like to do and set the goals for the things you want to do.

What about a family? Would you like to have a family some day?

Make a list of goals that you want to accomplish and start working towards those goals today. It's up to us to find the things that fulfill us in this life. First we have to do a bit of soul searching, figure out who we really are, to know what it is we want from this life.

Good luck.

[Endlessnight]

Hi Geek. Your post struck a chord with me because I seem to spend much of each day worrying over past mistakes and future uncertainty too. I go through the what's the point of anything daily. I guess what I want is an assurance that my life hasn't been one long waste and that there is hope that my future won't be as bleak as I worry about. Of course i'm never going to get that guarantee. The past is over and done with, what I need to work on is my now. What Jenna's brother said is true. I know people say this all the time so it kind of sounds trite - I (I don't know if you feel any of this applies to you or not?) need to stop and smell the roses each day, take the days as they come and see where they lead us. Of course i'm not saying that you shouldn't make plans, you should, but at the same time if all we do is worry about yesterday and tomorrow we put ourselves in a vicious circle and miss the happiness the todays might bring.

Take care.

Jenna, I am very sorry about the loss of your brother.

[Jenna520]

Very true all of the above. Just don't let time pass you by to leave you sitting wondering where it's gone. Take advantage of each day. The little miracles and things that make it worth it are never planned, they're more like pleasant surprises hidden along your journey of life. Set out to seek those. You will never find them if you don't try. Isn't that motivation?

And thank you endlessnight, for the condolences on the loss of my brother.