I've noticed that most people are always so busy going to work, and school trying to make a living. I was wondering what drives you; what keeps you from giving up? Why are you doing it? What does it mean to you? I myself work a part-time job and am going to college at the same time. I suppose I want a good job that pays good money. But I can't answer myself when I ask WHY. Why do I want a good job? Will it really mean anything in the end? No matter what you do, everyone ends up in the same place in the end. In the end it doesn't even matter. Anyone else think this way? Feel free to share your thoughts.

It's a question that keeps plaguing me; what keeps me going to school. I've got a lot of answers for that question, but the main one would be that I know that with a proper education, I stand more chance of being able to do something I enjoy rather than flipping burgers for a living.

Its simple, I enjoy life

i always find that there is something new or interesting to attract and hold my attention. that's what keeps me going.

My future, dreams, & goals. And what the result be after I have made them come true. :3 That's the only thing right now.

The fact that you can always make it better if you want and that it always could be worse.

Fulfilling short term goals and desires.

If i knew i would tell you but honestly i don't know what keeps me going. If i found out i would probably be surprised. It must be a sub-councious thing.

The only thing that keeps me going in life is the simple fact that I know that, no matter how tough life gets sometimes, the sun still creeps over that horizon every morning whether I want it to or not. Bills have to be paid and bellies have to be filled whether I want to tend to them or not. The entire world around me goes on whether I want it to or not.

In the really real world, no one except your circle of friends and family cares about your troubles. The electric company doesn't care if you're having a bad patch and can't pay your bill because you're too depressed to work. The grocery store doesn't care that your boyfriend left you with nothing. The landlord doesn't care that you lost your job and can't pay rent.

Granted, you can choose to bow out all together if that's your choice, but I choose to see what's around the next corner. I choose to wait for that light at the end of the tunnel. I choose to anticipate that next great time with friends. I choose to suck it up. To dust myself off. To pull myself up by the bootstraps and get on with it.

I've come to find through my own personal experiences that nothing lasts forever....except death.

P.S. I'm going through a little rough patch right now so forgive my rambling. This is just as much a pep talk to myself as well as a response to the OP. Thank you.

I personally feel that there is something new every day to learn, so to you guys in school, remember how important education is...I have alot to keep me going...Every morning when I wake up it's a new day, whether it turns out good or bad...I went through many a bad day in my life, but it helped me grow..Now when I see other people having it rough, my heart goes out to them...You have to have faith and believe in yourself, and don't let anyone stop you from following your dream...It may seem tough now, but it's rewarding in the long run...

Well to have nice things, ya gotta work for 'em and thats what keeps me going. Besides, I enjoy working...I enjoy waking up in the morning and knowing my life has a purpose.

I have two little people who count on me (and one of them will probably do so for his whole life - he's autistic). They need to eat, be clothed, and loved. They are the reason for everything.

what keeps me going...?


hmm my wonderful gf , my love of celtic and scotland, well football in general and my friends


not to mention i am going on a kick ass round the world trip in may and i cannot wait

I like these 2 answers. I agree with both.
Sometimes my life sucks and is boring., But what COULD/MIGHT happen tomorrow? I want to know. I mean what if it's Awesome and I miss it? I hate that thought.

Not to mention I am scared to die. I have some pretty deep issues on the dying subject. I don't know what I believe.

My kids.

Simple as that.

Simply put, my faith and my loved ones!

I strive to keep "POSITIVE" .....I am constantly "TESTED" and I have almost threw in the towel a few times..

But I always seem to "OVERCOME" and work through it.....I feel I'm lucky what I've acheived so far. and hope all my"HOPES AND DREAMS" will come true (no time limit) I halfway there.....

actually for me I think it may be my grandmother who is now 91. I always promised her I wouldn't let her ever go into a home.



I was dx with a 1x2 cm fusiform ( meaning whole I think) aneurysm of the basilar artery in June 96. 5 days later I had surgery to block the right vertebral. 2 months later against advice of taking a year off I went back to school. I graduated but don't remember a thing. ( I had too, this school was closing and I wanted to finish what I started. I think they pity passed me because physically I couldn't do the hands on which was half the whole grade. I was really weak and lots of pain so I was always drugged up )

for all you medicals out there - they told me most docs never run across these in practice .
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lots of recovery and still the aneurysm was there and same size. ( they couldn't remove it as it lay on my brain stem and fed the back half of the brain) .

so in march 98 they occluded the L side. in march 98 because I kept putting it off. my innocense of what it was like was gone and I really didn't want to do it.

then I had a stroke. double vision , swallowing and tongue problems. ( still around but lots better now)

recover. recover . lucky to be alive blah blah blah . then in 2001 they found I had pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure. oy !

then in June 2005 , after a younger sibling ( a superior in shape fireman) was dx with diabetes ( as is my mom and her father who passed) I was too just 2 weeks after him. lol.

as a doctor friend of mine stated - honestly you shouldn't be here. she thinks that both me and my Gran are stubborn and both don't want to go because of the other and that once one of us goes the other will follow soon after.

and honestly it makes a weird sort of sense . especially when I feel so spent.

so in the keeping me going department as much as I hate to admit it . I think it's my Gran. Her and I really have only each other .

ps - plus I always wonder what's going to happen next !!! you might get to experience the greatest thing ever !


my gran

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i like clean house, good meal, nice clothes

It's a lifestyle obsession, get over it and life in general will be more meaningful.

Just like tons and tons of others who often wonder that same thing, I do too. I think the answer to those questions is different for everyone who bothers to think about it. For me, what keeps me going is me, my own stubborness my inability to give up sometimes the security that I will have. Oh sure I get tidbits of inspiration and guidence from others in my life. All in all though it's me the way I process what those people have said or done to guide or inspire me. If I want something I have to work towards it, most times nothing is handed to anyone. There is that certain satisfaction though when all the hard work pays off, you get that paycheck on pay day, you get good marks on your tests I mean doesn't that make it feel a little worth it. My dad is always working if he's not at work he's working in the yard, on the house. I say gee dad don't you ever not work not do anything, he says roughly that hauling dirt isn't pleasant but I move a little everyday and in the end I have the yard looking the way I want.

I guess in the end of everything we are all in the same place, and maybe then it won't matter but as long as you are happy untill you reach the end that's what counts. That's why I am doing anything at all.

My son, family & friends.

Hi Lt...Love the picture of your gran...Sounds like you have been through the mill, here's to much healthier days...

My wife & kids keep me going.
In the past i had lots of mundane, dead-end jobs that i hated with a venegance. Then i cracked up.

I suffer with manic depression, but my Doc has been good & i"m pretty much sorted out now.
I"m now self-employed, doing the kinda work that i enjoy.
I think knowing the Hell of depression, & the utter feeling of despair, has made me appreciate the
small, un-complicated things in life.
I now love my life.
Thats what keeps me going.

Damn girl... You took the words right out of my mouth!!

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Lt. Ripley- All I can say is I love you and I will pray for you and Gran's continued health. I am so blessed to have met you Lt. You are a miracle and brilliant with an inspirational positive attitude. ♥

I am VERY familiar with aneurysm's and strokes. My father passed 7 & a half month's ago from an aneurysm. My mother has had a major stroke and several TIA's and I'm basically her primary care provider (I live across the street from her). Wow girly... you are meant to be here for sure!

Much love♥ Jody

cake.

I guess I keep myself going, and my wife, my daughter, my family, my love of life, the outdoors, fishing, photography, friends, there is so much.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom. strokes are scary. was your dad aware he had one ( an aneurysm) ? ( most aren't ) Are you alright ? that's alot to take on in a short time. very stressful.

my attitute somedays can really stink too. but I try to remember there are worse things. try too .

I went back to college because I felt that it is what God wants me to do. I feel like the path I am on, is the one He has chosen for me. I don't need more motivation than that.

WHat keeps me going is:

Eternal Vigilant Displacement of the Apostrophe T.

haha exactly what I was going to say!
I personally can't understand why people give up.

Life's a big joke, don't take it seriously. Just be sure to enjoy it.

painting,writing,learning something new, teaching myself a new skill, listening to music, visiting my sister, nephew and niece, pondering the possible.

oh and i watch dr. who too

Thanks for the kind words about my mom. She's a mess (and an alcoholic) so that's a really weird part of my life right now. END...lol... don't wanna discuss that.

My dad knew for years he had 3 aneurysm's: one other different brain one on the right side and it was the hotdog-shaped one (can't remember the medical term), one in or around his stomach and one in his upper thigh (like where it meets the groin?) Gawd, it was an aurtic_____-soming one. Cant think of it.

He wasn't one to speak much about it so sorry I don't know all the medical terms. The one he ultimately died from came on out of no where (and believe me he was at doctor's all the time). Yea, I'm pretty sure I had a premonition about it. Whatever. The one that killed him was at the base of the back of his neck. Long story but they thought they MAY be able to operate and put a "coil" on it? Big messy story; he had a major stroke before they could operate so he died on Feb. 11, 2007. (((((Love you Dad ♥)))))))

Me? yea I'm fine (lying). I'm tough as nails (lying). Nothing could ever shake or bother me (lying) BUT I do have some very, very, very close friends (3 of them actually; whom I've known for almost my entire life - the shortest known for 11 years the other two 20+ years), I'm actually leaving here (my city) in about 2 weeks for about 2 weeks.

I'm leaving to go visit my 2 bestest friends in the world...

... so we can laugh, cry, burp, drink, cry, get angry, cry, get drunk as hell, laugh, cry, laugh until I pee, and then laugh more, and then cry, go shopping, oh yea and flirt with ever waiter in every restaurant we go to (kind of a tradition), laugh, get drunk again, talk-talk-talk-cry, go out dancing, drink, run from strange men, laugh and then burp and then cry some more ... You know, normal stuff


I think you get the picture. My Dad's birthday is October 8th. So, I gotta get outta here; I'm gonna be a mess... just like on Father's Day... ((I had NO IDEA it was going to effect me so much! -- Guess it's that whole emotional part of me)) It will ALMOST be 8 month's of his passing when I'm with the girl's; so I'll be in the safest place ever!

Luv ya kiddo, xo, Jody ♥

Profoundly simple...yet simply profound!

Whenever I get discouraged about something, which is quite often, I always think of my son. He's the most important person in my life right now and I couldn't live without him. He truely is the reason I get up in the morning. I want to do my best to make sure he is happy and healthy. Love you, Gregory!!

a good bowl of ban flakes in the morning keeps me going

My love of life.

Moe, this question haunts me every day. And the answer is - because I hold onto the fact that although I cannot see him, god is with me always, and I will meet him in the end.

What keeps you going?

Curiosity. There's to much to see and do in one lifetime to not want to keep going.

Sun rises and sun sets, long may they continue.

Pandora, I'm not the OP who you were referring to, but your reponse really speaks to me and I had to let you know how much it cheered me up to read your explanation for what keeps you going. It's such a relief to know that I am not the only one out there who feels that way and chooses to "suck it up" as you said. And THAT in itself is comfort enough. Thank you for that.

ban flakes......... Fruedian slip

For me? Mmm...
1- God. Yeah yeah yeah, it sounds cliché, but knowing that I'm here because He wants to, to fulfill a reason, is reason enough to keep going, even though there are 3412515141 times when I just wanna his a "pause" button and just relax and do nothing. Whatever, I'm just rambling on (I do that all the time)
2- Family and friends: Cliché, but true. The question of knowing what will happen next with my family or friends is powerful enough, even if it mean getting pwned, again, at Super Smash Bros
3- My social projects: I don't wanna go into much detail here because it's past midnight and I'm tired and I've got a test tomorrow (if you wanna know so badly, PM! ), but it's a big part of the "reason" why I'm here.
4- A "project": same as before.

Those are the serious ones. Now the silly ones:
1- My career: I hate Civil Engineering, and I wanna finish it so I can laugh at it knowing that the b****** couldn't beat me.
2- Guitar: I love it, I just can't help it. And the day I finally nail the Free Bird solo will be a glorious one indeed (nowhere in sight though- I still struggle with War Pigs ).
3- Girls:

Nuff' said! *drools*

My boredom. When I'm bored enough with one thing, I'll move on to another.

My kids keep me going. Don't care how corney and naff it sounds, they're my everything.

I'm glad that my response helped cheer you up and possibly gave you a little extra "oompf" to throw the covers off and face a new day. I'm generally a positive, upbeat person but I've seen some really black days in my past. It's the sole reason that I KNOW those times don't last forever. It's also the sole reason I would never change a thing about my experiences. Your trials and tribulations are what make you who you are. The difficulties in "making it through" are what shape your character.

I actually had the opportunity to thank someone who treated me horribly, degraded me, destroyed my confidence and sent me into a year long suicidal depression. I was a little mouse at that time in my life and I allowed it to happen. It was over ten years later that I ran into him and had the opportunity to chat with him briefly. He took the opportunity to apologize for his treatment of me. I took the opportunity to thank him for making me the person I am today.

Sounds corny, but I'm a firm believer in "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

Hmmm, it differs for everyone, but having a wonderful life with my love is what keeps me going. We depend on each other so much, life simply wouldn't move without him.

What keeps me going is two main things:

First thing that keeps me going is my wish to provide for my children. I work very hard and have a stressful job, but I do it because it pays bloody well and I've become good at it. Mainly I do it because it allows me to have that extra bit of income so we can do exciting things and have nice holidays and be spoiled rotten at Christmas. I am very selfish with my personal time though and never let work encroach on my time with my boys.

Second thing that keeps me going is that I was really ill several years back and could have died and I realise back then that life was what you made it so I learned to take the good with the bad, the rough with the smooth and always to dust myself off and keep smiling and keep on going.

I think my love of just being keeps me going.