What drives you?
October 3, 2011 2:13 PM   Subscribe

Life can be harsh. Aside from friends and/or family, what keeps you going day after day after day?
posted by cwarmy to Grab Bag (14 answers total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: This is chatfilter. -- restless_nomad

 
Having a job that I like, doing things that I love (beer, rugby, eating, exercising), being with people who make me laugh. Oh, and the weekend.
posted by Scottie_Bob at 2:17 PM on October 3, 2011


Cigarettes, coffee, beer, cats, books, naps, sex, and video games.

Not necessarily in that order.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:17 PM on October 3, 2011


Creating, or facilitating the creation of, beauty e.g. art, music, dance, theatre, ...
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:24 PM on October 3, 2011


There are lots of great answers in this vaguely similar post from a couple of days ago.
posted by valleys at 2:25 PM on October 3, 2011


There's always something new to read, or listen to, or see, or taste, or experience. Or something old to go back to and appreciate again.

That, and sheer stubbornness.
posted by EvaDestruction at 2:26 PM on October 3, 2011


Physical comfort. I couldn't make it through a day without knowing that something pleasant was on its way (macaroni and cheese, sex, knitting, a good TV show).
posted by Melismata at 2:28 PM on October 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


I want to find out what happens. Life can be fairly crappy at times, but it's still so interesting.
posted by theora55 at 2:30 PM on October 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


Exactly what theora55 said. Endless curiosity.
posted by ad4pt at 2:32 PM on October 3, 2011


There is always at least one small good thing about the world every day you are alive. One tiny thing you will see, hear, touch, taste, think, smell, witness, or otherwise encounter.

Maybe it's realizing that yes, you can throw a New Orleans dinner party with ease for a couple friends this Friday, even though your work schedule is harried, because you've found a couple of good make-ahead recipes and you've also discovered a way to make red beans in a crock pot. Some days it'll be something especially funny or sweet you overhear strangers say. Some days it'll be the calm you feel after deciding nope, you'll leave the TV off tonight and listen to Astral Weeks a couple times in a row while reading the paper. Some days it'll be the pink of the sunset.

Start noticing small things like that. They accumulate. And -- outweigh the bad.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:32 PM on October 3, 2011


Alcohol, mainly. It's been pretty much the only thing that makes me feel genuinely good for most of my life.
posted by Decani at 2:39 PM on October 3, 2011


The alternative is worse.
posted by oddman at 2:41 PM on October 3, 2011


To the effect of what theora55 said--sometimes I will learn something new and wonderful--or just something ordinary where I think "How have I never heard of that before?!"--and it sincerely reinvigorates me. Just when you think things are gettin' old, you come across something new and it reminds you you are ALIVE!
posted by lovableiago at 2:45 PM on October 3, 2011


The little things: a good cup of coffee or hot chocolate, a hot shower. Also just seeing what's going to happen next.
posted by barney_sap at 2:46 PM on October 3, 2011


I like doing things for people. Sometimes it'll be as small as forwarding a job listing to a friend that I know might be interested, or writing a postcard to brighten someone's day, or spreading joy through home-baked pastries. If you make kindness a habit, you can reap the reward of continuous warm fuzzies. We can't change the big things in the world, but we can make our own immediate world a bit brigher.
posted by so much modern time at 2:46 PM on October 3, 2011


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