Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Psychology
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-07-2014, 09:23 PM
 
Location: Northeast
1,886 posts, read 2,218,885 times
Reputation: 3758

Advertisements

What keeps me going is to live another day, being grateful to be employed despite my circumstances and to be there for my mother and father as they are both going through difficult times. My father just done with cancer surgery and my mom going in for hip replacement on Aug 7th.
That's enough for me..in the end it's about giving back no matter what's going on with me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-07-2014, 09:39 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles area
14,017 posts, read 20,869,471 times
Reputation: 32530
Having defended careers as a possible legitimate point to one's life, there is then a question of what happens when we can no longer practice our careers. The OP asked a personal question of each of us: "What do you live for and what keeps you going?" Here is my answer:

I am 70 and have been semi retired for nine years, over which time I have become progressively more and more "retired". Since I am divorced and live alone, having something meaningful to do is of paramount importance. What I have found that is meaningful is volunteering in schools. I conduct a lunch time chess club once a week in two middle schools and two elementary schools. In addition I read aloud to the fifth grade classes once a week in the two elementary schools.

I feel like I am a catalyst in the awakening of the students' intellects. Fifth graders are at an age where they are beginning to be able to go beyond the meanings of individual words and grasp the implied meaning behind a group of words. I don't just read for 30 minutes and walk out. Rather, I ask questions, field their questions, and provide context for the readings. If the books are correctly chosen so that the students relate to them and enjoy them, it is an amazing process. When I observe a sea of rapt faces (and of course that doesn't happen every day), that provides a reward no money can buy.

One book from which I read excepts was "Dance on the Volcano" by Renata Zerner, who was a teenage girl in Nazi Germany. The author is now 86 or 87. After the readings I had Ms. Zerner visit the schools to speak to the students and answer their questions. She loved it, and the students loved it too.

This is what I live for and what keeps me going: The parents who seek me out to tell me that I have made an impact. The students whose enthusiasm can be read in their faces. I have had immense good fortune in stumbling on this activity in this particular public school district.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-07-2014, 11:01 PM
 
Location: Northeast
1,886 posts, read 2,218,885 times
Reputation: 3758
Quote:
Originally Posted by Escort Rider View Post
Having defended careers as a possible legitimate point to one's life, there is then a question of what happens when we can no longer practice our careers. The OP asked a personal question of each of us: "What do you live for and what keeps you going?" Here is my answer:

I am 70 and have been semi retired for nine years, over which time I have become progressively more and more "retired". Since I am divorced and live alone, having something meaningful to do is of paramount importance. What I have found that is meaningful is volunteering in schools. I conduct a lunch time chess club once a week in two middle schools and two elementary schools. In addition I read aloud to the fifth grade classes once a week in the two elementary schools.

I feel like I am a catalyst in the awakening of the students' intellects. Fifth graders are at an age where they are beginning to be able to go beyond the meanings of individual words and grasp the implied meaning behind a group of words. I don't just read for 30 minutes and walk out. Rather, I ask questions, field their questions, and provide context for the readings. If the books are correctly chosen so that the students relate to them and enjoy them, it is an amazing process. When I observe a sea of rapt faces (and of course that doesn't happen every day), that provides a reward no money can buy.

One book from which I read excepts was "Dance on the Volcano" by Renata Zerner, who was a teenage girl in Nazi Germany. The author is now 86 or 87. After the readings I had Ms. Zerner visit the schools to speak to the students and answer their questions. She loved it, and the students loved it too.

This is what I live for and what keeps me going: The parents who seek me out to tell me that I have made an impact. The students whose enthusiasm can be read in their faces. I have had immense good fortune in stumbling on this activity in this particular public school district.
Maybe I've missed them as I''m not here 24/7 but your post was touching and feel much respect for. I wish there where more people in the world like you. Keep on teaching and if you can see the reaction on a kids face you are doing a good thing. Very cool.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2014, 07:35 PM
 
Location: Southern MN
11,981 posts, read 8,320,397 times
Reputation: 44613
"But I do hold out hope that we will pull a deus ex machine out of our posteriors."

Quote:
Originally Posted by blueherons View Post
You really should see a shrink./
Or, given the use of deus ex machina, an English major.
No wait! A proctologist.

Just teasing you, ScoopLV.

Last edited by Lodestar; 06-09-2014 at 07:46 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-10-2014, 02:44 AM
 
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
10,939 posts, read 5,914,844 times
Reputation: 5635
I have not been following this post but I did comment very early on. Now I am wondering what is keeping me going and I'm not sure. I just don't want to quit! Thing is, everything positive I have around me doesn't seem to matter. Yet I cannot quit! Then again, while my life does not seem to have any 'value' at the moment, I am not in the depths of despair. I have been grieving for the last six months but grief does not constitute a reason for giving up even though there doesn't seem to be any point of further existence. Those of you who have experienced loss to suicide will know what I am talking about. The pain never seems to let up. There is always a new angle to it yet giving up does not feature. The only thoughts regarding continued existence are how to get through. How to to move forward. How to recover. But then I am on anti-depressants which I was on for major depression before the tragedy. I don't have the answer - maybe it's just a stubbornness. Fact is that my grieving has gone from unbelievable distress to periods of near normality in between the grieving. But I still don't know what keeps me going. Built in survival instincts maybe? Obviously, my attempts to deal with my grief are what makes me interested in this and similar threads.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-10-2014, 12:31 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,764,762 times
Reputation: 36643
Look at the converse. I'm still going to be here tomorrow -- why should I make myself miserable then, too?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2014, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Sunrise
10,865 posts, read 16,960,118 times
Reputation: 9084
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV View Post
But I do hold out hope that we will pull a "deus ex machina" solution out of our posteriors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodestar View Post
"But I do hold out hope that we will pull a deus ex machine out of our posteriors."



Or, given the use of deus ex machina, an English major.
No wait! A proctologist.

Just teasing you, ScoopLV.

Perhaps you should try reading what I write before correcting it. Posts like this are part of the reason I hold out little hope for the future.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2014, 06:46 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
8,711 posts, read 11,713,374 times
Reputation: 7604
Nothing. I keep waking up everyday, I didn't ask for it, just keeps happening.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2014, 11:57 PM
 
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
10,939 posts, read 5,914,844 times
Reputation: 5635
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doll Eyes View Post
Nothing. I keep waking up everyday, I didn't ask for it, just keeps happening.
Funny you should say that. I was about to say me too when I realized I actually want to wake up in the morning! I actually wan't to live and I am asking for it. Go figure!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-12-2014, 09:09 AM
 
Location: New Jersey
8,711 posts, read 11,713,374 times
Reputation: 7604
Quote:
Originally Posted by 303Guy View Post
Funny you should say that. I was about to say me too when I realized I actually want to wake up in the morning! I actually wan't to live and I am asking for it. Go figure!

well that's great for you I guess.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Psychology

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:34 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top