# What keeps you going? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812 "2009-02-14T12:29:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/61 "2009-02-17T15:15:35Z")
My wonderful husband, my darling dogs, books, and the knowledge that I have outlived my entire family, who can suck it. I have triumphed. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/62 "2009-02-17T15:17:47Z")
Pure cussedness. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Beginning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@New\_Beginning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Beginning)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/63 "2009-02-18T02:14:24Z")
On the best days, good music, good coffee, good sex, and pretty much every little thing that I enjoy doing can make me thank my lucky stars that I’m around. On the bad days (which come often enough), I struggle by and just try to distract myself and get stuff done, knowing that the fog will eventually pass. During down times, what really keeps me going is the understanding that there is progress in life; I am still learning and growing, so there is reason for hope. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/64 "2009-02-18T02:50:57Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > What I’m getting from this is that the majority aren’t terribly enthused about life in general. While my default mode is gloom, I’d always assumed that the rest of you had a rather more positive attitude. Interesting. I can’t speak for others, but the way I see it, I have a pretty good life. The problem lies in the fact that a _good_ life isn’t the same thing as an _interesting_ life, and as I get older, it gets harder to inject variety and spontenaity (or however the hell you spell it) into my existence. Hell, just getting to the point where I can quit my boring, monotonous job seems to have involved a metric ton of paperwork, slightly less planning than that used to land the first guy on the moon, and close coordination with my wife consisting of letting her know that I am going to be in Korea for a year because I want to get qualifications and experiences that will help us both find better lives on the west coast and _not_ because I’m bored with her. And for the time being, I’m _still_ stuck in that boring, monotonous job with my fuckhead, passive-aggressive boss, and the sociopath in the office next to the desk. I would never pull a stunt like killing myself, fucking around behind my wife’s back or telling my boss what I think of her in front of _her_ boss, complete with curse words invented for the occasion, but damn, it’s not like I don’t understand. Interesting lives are hard. Good lives are somewhat dull. You really, really need _something_ to keep you going. Something in your life where you can push yourself and discover something new every day. Something that lets you remember what it’s like to be surprised and forget what it’s like to be bored. That’s where my studies come in. For other people, it’s their kids or other family. Just my flu sense. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/65 "2009-02-18T03:46:44Z")
Great radio. Great radio… ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/66 "2009-02-18T04:32:35Z")
- My cat. I am his whole world. - Vague hopes and dreams that MIGHT still come true - I might be able to own a Boston Terrier someday. I might be able to go on a vacation to the seashore. I might be able to sell the house and move into a nice apartment. Things could still happen. - Curiosity. I want to know how things end. I want to see the last episode of Lost. I wonder if my friend’s daughter is going to straighten out her life. I want to know if my daughter is going to get a license/get that job/get married/go to Australia. Frankly, I am glad I’m in the autumn of my life. I feel sorrow and pity for the younger people who have to live in this sick dying world. But they will adjust to it somehow, and they will find reasons to keep going, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/67 "2009-02-18T05:32:51Z")
Law School. I might eventually change this world for the better and see how that works out. I also want to finish season seven of The Shield and see how Obama’s presidency goes. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/68 "2009-02-18T07:23:25Z")
Damned if I know. Momentum? Inertia? Whatever keeps the average zombie going? I have no family. I have few friends. I have no love life. I can be easily replaced at work. No one would particular miss me, or even notice my absence if I were gone. Basically, I have little reason to keep going. Yet I’m still here. And I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/69 "2009-02-18T18:33:20Z")
_… Is that all there is? Is that all there is? If that’s all there is, my friend, Then let’s keep dancing. Let’s break out the booze And have a ball …_ ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/70 "2009-02-18T18:40:52Z")
Sounds like a good “Apocalypse” song, **Polecat**. 😉 I like it, and so (I bet) will the History Channel. Quasi ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/71 "2009-02-18T18:45:26Z")
Tomorrow. There’s always a new recipe to try, a new TV show or movie to watch, new books, a shift in the weather, a new stupid thing for my cat to do, etc. Even when I’m deeply, horrifically depressed, I keep going because I’m just too damned curious. Plus, my dad killed himself when I was a young teenager, so it’s not as though I have a positive view of the alternative after that. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/72 "2009-02-18T19:02:19Z")
Because every now and then, I turn on the TV and see that a chimpanzee went ape shit, got into a knife fight with it’s owner and then tried to drive away before getting gunned down by the police and say to myself “truly a wonderous age we live in!”.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/73 "2009-02-18T19:04:22Z")
Life, itself, is fucking _beautiful_. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/74 "2009-02-18T19:20:50Z")
Because this is all there is. This is it. There is no alternative. If I could choose to have my own TARDIS and go exploring the universe I would at the drop of a hat but since I can not and I am stuck with this I might as well enjoy it. To borrow a famous list: 1. Birth 2. ??? 3. Death (Profit? I have no fucking idea.) I guess it is up to each of us to fill in #2 and for me there really is no specific thing or things it is just that #3 hasn’t happened yet so I might as well hang around. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/75 "2009-02-18T19:51:47Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > Such a good question. I want positive things to happen in my life. Friends, family, music, good times, hopefully one day a SO. What keeps me going is knowing I’m the only one who is going to make it happen in my life. My friend, with that kind of attitude, it’s just a matter of a very short time! Sending 59 year old positive vibes your way, young’un! 🙂 Q ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/76 "2009-02-18T19:55:54Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > My friend, with that kind of attitude, it’s just a matter of a very short time! > > Sending 59 year old positive vibes your way, young’un! 🙂 > > Q I seriously thought you were talking to yourself! ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/77 "2009-02-18T20:18:51Z")
Rou-Fla-Mou! (ROFLMAO in Azeroth-Speak)🙂 No, me and the young’un have been “buds” for a while, **Anaamika**. Like all the “Q” people (and all of **y’all** ), he’s precious to me.🙂 Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/78 "2009-02-18T20:26:38Z")
Most days, I don’t even think about it beyond trying to figure out how to fit in more. I would like to get more done at work (I like my job), I have family, friends, my husband, and my dogs to maintain relationships with, video games I want to play, movies I’d like to see, books I’d like to read, rooms I’d like to clean, exercise I’d like to do, food I want to cook and eat, gardening I’d like to do, projects I’d like to finish or start, hobbies I’d like to pick up, baths I want to take, and sleep I need to get. And there’s just no darn time for all of it at once! On bad days, I keep going because of my family and husband, and the guilt I’d feel if I failed. There aren’t _really_ a lot of them, though- a day or two a month, max, though they occur more often when I’m stressed out. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/79 "2009-02-18T20:37:19Z")
… think about our planet, kiddos! Think about how long it was here before **we** appeared, and think about how it has adapted itself over and over again. Are we headed for an “Armageddon” in the form of a meteorite or an earthquake or another ice-age? Hell yeah, we _might_ be, but you know what? The _universe_ has always evolved! We just always judged it by our own experience! If we all have to go at the same time, with whatever “disaster” it may be, I think we ought to \*\* celebrate\*\* it, and not fear it, because the universe is truly “universal” and if it can create **us** (pinch yourself and make it hurt), we’ll be back, and so will the world. Q Fuck! Did I just write all that philosophical shit???:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812/80 "2009-02-18T21:42:40Z")
I’ve only skimmed the responses so far, but it seems that only a few reflect my own answer: I don’t really get the question. The very question seems predicated on the notion that life is, by default, painful, unbearable, and full of inescapable drudgery. In that light, it seems that the actual question is “What’s your painkiller?” I don’t experience life that way. Every day is full of all kinds of pleasant things. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed (and on good days, an hour or two afterwards), life is full of interesting and fun things. That’s not to say that I don’t have bad days, or bad moments within days. So what gets me through those? Knowing that they are temporary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-keeps-you-going/485812.md?page=5)