Do you lack the drive to progress in life?

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My thought for today is that we control our fate. Nothing can stop us from doing what we want for ourselves. Why not make it happen?

My thought for today is that we control our fate. Nothing can stop us from doing what we want for ourselves. Why not make it happen?

I have the same problem. I'll think of fantastic ideas of things to do then lack the energy or drive to follow through. I told my psychiatrist about it this week, and he said that was a symptom of depression, and not to be hard on myself about it.

To the OP, my apologies, I didn't read your first post carefully enough to realize you sometimes experienced this as a negative. I feel like I read somewhere once that this particular problem was a feature of the way that people's brains who have ADHD or are on the spectrum work. Something about the frontal lobes, maybe? I'm not exactly sure.

But I guess my point is it's not a moral failing. People might try to tell you that, you might try to tell yourself that sometimes. I used to. But living like that can be a big downer.

Could it be that maybe you could learn to be happy and productive in your ambitious times when you have them, and then also be okay when all you want to do is be a couch potato? Because you know, your life, like every life (AS and NT) is going to have times of both. Maybe ours are just weirdly distributed?

Evey day at every job

That's not just at a job, that's my whole life.

It's almost like my good merits mean nothing to the rest of the world.

No, I have much drive in working towards the inevitability that is death

I'm an underachiever and proud of it.

I find that I want to progress in life but lack the motivation to do so. I don't really have any ideas about what I want to do with my life, or how I can achieve it.

Sometimes, like you tbam, I start something only to soon get depressed and lose all interest in doing it. I then start to do other things such as watch mindless tv shows, sleep, and not really care about making something of myself. By the time I come out of the depression I realize that I've made a big mistake and that i'm limiting myself. But that only feeds the depression more, leading to more feelings of worthlessness and a larger lack in drive to accomplish.

It's something thats been happening to me on and off for the past two years and I don't know how to get out of the cycle.

I've often been criticized for my lack of ambition or competitive spirit. I can be quite ambitious about things. It's just that it's seldom what other people want me to be ambitious about. My personal victories tend to take place in arenas that are invisible to the world around me.

When i read the OPs post, i almost got scared. Cause it sounded exactly like me. I could have written that post myself (except for the fact that im not really into graphic design )

I have this cycle going on constantly, with ups and downs. Its pretty tiring

Yes. I can relate to that feeling. All the time. It’s something that digs at me constantly.

I really think what it all comes down to is the fact that I have trouble seeing my life as a competition. Life as a competition seems to be the majority philosophy of people and it irritates me. I just can’t relate at all to that notion. All the competitiveness and general lack of curiosity or emotion I see in society makes me feel very sick inside.

I find happiness in my curiosity towards the world around me and the expression of my personal interests rather than in accomplishing "life goals". I just can’t understand how people can enjoy the thought of planning their whole life decades in advance. Life is short enough as it is without having to be constantly thinking into the future.

Last edited by marshall on 20 May 2008, 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

tbam, it's odd that you brought this post up for, lately I've not been in the mode that things seem to go progressing smoothly shall we say.. Not trying to sound negative, no,no,no.Actually, I've managed to do a great many things but, sometimes find it hard to see myself making it to my destination if this makes sense.. I keep pressing onwards with the sincere intention of setting out on what I started with.

Not much else to add..

There are times I think I should be doing better than I am, but for the most part, I like my job, and my coworkers. They accept my quirkiness and even respect me for my abilities. I often think if I was so smart I'd have alot more money than I do now.

I also get to work with numbers, which to me is pretty cool, and I don't have much public interaction, again cool. There are alot of things I wanted to do in life, but never got the chance to and at 40, probably never will. I've also managed to find friends who don't find my differences to be so bad, and I even have a wife now, something I thought couldn't possibly happen to me.

The fact I've put some distance between me and my family has helped me too. Without them looking over my shoulder all the time, I've actually tried a few things I never would have tried and done well. Still, some things elude me.

Sometimes the Journey song "Troubled Child" makes me think of myself:

"Someday, someway, all very soon, you'll end long nights, chasin' the moon.
War with yourself, makes you feel better, caught behind the lines, troubled child.
Faith finds a cure, it makes you feel better, you know you can shine, troubled child."

That is my philosophy, but it's rare to find people that have a similar mindset. I always get the impression that people try to restrict my possibilities.

I definitely don't lack drive. Anxiety is what holds me back. I think, if anything, I'm overly ambitious.