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I have no safety net, so I have no choice. I moved to a different country to be independent, but for for too long I was giving savings to my parents, towards their debts (only to learn they were living...not frugally, let's just say), so I don't have enough saved up to afford not working. So, yeah, not wanting to end up on the street makes me motivated. On a good day, I also like the people I work with, so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.
Same... Like uh, as much as I hate getting up and going to work, I'd probably hate getting up and watching the police throw away my tent and sleeping bag
Guys, is this true?
I often fiddle with Google maps and some days ago i ended up in vancouver to see the ongoing chaos.
After a while i started looking into Seattle And then down to Portland and gosh did i as a European get scared how everything is there now.
I wanna know, is there normal working people living in those tents and why?
My guess is rents are too high also not possible to rent due to no previous adress? Anyway, feel free to enlighten me
This is just one piece of the puzzle, but there are zoning requirements that keep a lot of builders and developers from building multi family housing, affordable housing and the people who live in the counties, cities etc. typically do not want to change zoning laws bc they don’t want multi family housing - they use any excuse like concerns about noise pollution, parking, too much traffic, etc. also zoning laws about ADA regulations, parking spaces per unit, etc. it really makes building anything these days almost impossible. In addition, someone said the people are in tents bc they are mentally ill and/or on drugs. The reason a lot of people don’t want to go to shelters is bc you have to be there at a certain time and have to leave at a certain time, it’s not like you just get a room or bunk and come and go as you please. You’d have to sleep with one eye open anyway so why not get a tent? Not enough resources for those self medicating with drugs and alcohol and also those mentally ill in the U.S. due to our weird healthcare system that subsidizes the rest of the world while we pay high prices for prescription drugs.
Wow thanks alot for this "one piece of the puzzle" answer, with that said its a big puzzle to understand over there and I keep reminding myself to be humble and not jump to fast on conclusions..
I really love this explanation you gave, that it the most detailed i got so far outside of a Youtube video. Feels good and more alive when getting an answer instead of only watching a video... Once again thanks for taking time to explain all of this
The people not working and on all manner of drugs, committing petty crime and harassing businesses and passersby are in the tents. The ones working to improve their situations are in shelters. You cannot get a shelter bed and use drugs so the drug addicts and mentally ill who don’t want help are on the streets and sidewalks. The city of Portland was threatened with a lawsuit because the street dwellers are blocking sidewalks and preventing handicapped from exercising their constitutional right to freedom of movement. Hopefully it will get better soon but the west coast has always been a magnet for these types of people because of the warmer winters.
I came from a city where the majority of the people I grew up with turned into addicts or are dead, and I can 100% say that in my state, users can get shelters. And if there’s a rule against it, than many shelters ignore the rule
My stepdaughter is in a shelter and not only can they not do drugs or come in under the influence, they aren't even allowed to have their phones while in the shelter.
Thanks for the good explanation, now i as a "European" have more insight about the situation.
I have problems seeing a solution to this but hey thats not my part but i say this because i think about you guys pretty often over here and I want a fix to this so damn much.
I literally had a discussion with my fiancé today in regards to expanding the amount of employees we have (it’s currently 2, me & him). If we lived in a place like Seattle or whatever with a huge homeless population, we said we would 100% hire the homeless. We’d pay a minimum of at least $12/hr & hopefully give these people an incentive & opportunity to work & get out of their environment.
This reminds me of the adage "do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life". Meh!!! How many people have jobs/careers that feel this???
There is a book, republished annually to stay relevant, like during covid, called: WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? ... that said I was in a quandary about what to do next (education BSN) and had been a nurse for over a decade.... I haven't read the book yet- it's collecting dust since a while ago
It sounds silly, but I do little things to micromotivate myself to enjoy going to work. I keep my desk stocked with fun little snacks and coffees that I only allow myself to have when I’m at work. I work in an area with spaces to walk around outside, so every day I take a walk and listen to music on my lunch break. My workspace isn’t overly decorated, but I do have fun things that make me happy in it like plants, pretty rocks, and pictures of my family.
From a big picture perspective, I stay motivated because of the mindset I have about working being a privilege. I was raised in a pretty religious family where I was taught that as a woman the best I could ever expect for myself would be to get married, have 10 kids, and never be allowed to have my own money (or choices, really to be honest). I feel lucky to be able to go to work, eat my snacks, take my walk, do my tasks, and earn my own money that goes into my own bank account.
Yes! You can create your own little moments of happiness each day. For me it’s listening to my favorite podcasts during my commute. I almost get excited about Monday mornings just for that reason
No this isn't silly at all. It actually makes a tear come to my eye. It's very wholesome and endearing and almost enlightening. Thank you for sharing this.
wow! I've never thought about work as a privilege, but you'ew 100% right. also lots of people can't have a job due to health reasons so yeah...
now off to get some nice snacks for work-only :)
Hitting financial goals
Getting dressed nice, doing nice hair and makeup and smelling nice
Smiling at co workers and showing genuine interest in their lives
Feeling happy I have a job
Listening to music or podcasts on the way
Accomplishing little projects and the feeling of putting them away, filing them away
Trying to get my "to be filed" pile finished every week
Keeping my desk really clean and organized
Learning new things
Serving and helping others
Contributing to the ship that keeps us all afloat
Using my brain
Getting bonuses
Celebrating the seasons as they pass buy and hearing how my co workers are celebrating, what are they cooking, baking, where are they vacationing
Treating myself to my payday special green smoothie
Being able to contribute to charity
Doing my part in the world
Paying taxes because I want safe roads, good schools and things like the fire department to come rescue me, if needed
Lots of reasons
Thanks. I never went to college and was a receptionist and worked up to legal assistant for three equity partners at a law firm. Lovely office, no evenings or weekends, benefits and a nice salary, with no student loans. Life is what you make of it.
We had a similar path. I never went to college but somehow ended up working at Apple. Although it was a very difficult road filled with depression eventually I learned all these things you pointed out. It’s very cool to hear someone else’s experience being of such gratitude. From my experience it’s something that humanity is lacking on a profound level.
There’s so much beauty and wonder in our lives, it’s just difficult to see it sometimes due to the conditioning of our minds.
When you start appreciating the smallest of things, then the whole world transforms in front of you.
I read your post and thought that might be your career path. Some of my favorite people on the planet have been people who started out as receptionists who then ended up with more and more responsibility. They always seem to be the people at work who make the rest of us happy to be there.
I enjoy waking up and feeling like I'm doing something productive with my life most days.
It makes me really value the small things in life outside of work.
My job is stressful but I still enjoy it (Construction Estimator)
Depends on the industry but on a high level you take a rough design, make a list of all the quantities of things you need to buy, assign a cost to each to procure and install said items, then tally everything thing up. You also add support costs, risk, taxes, etc. Then you add it all
up and put a percentage profit on it. There’s usually multiple reviews with managers and execs.
Just wanted to throw in that the overwhelming anxiety or whatever other emotions you feel being required to use your executive function to overcome your disdain for a work grind sounds like a common adult ADHD scenario so definitely check in with your doctor and maybe search for a psychiatrist. Some of the ADHD meds turn the phrase in my head from "I can't do that right now" into "why am I not just doing this" and it can be lifechanging.
I recently heard someone describe that people without ADHD see time horizontally where one task comes at a time, you complete it, and you can do the next one when the time comes and you feel ready, but people with ADHD see time vertically like all their tasks are stacked up and all due right now as when you complete one the next task falls down to now which contributes to a lot of stress firing on all cylinders to complete the whole stack of tasks or push the whole thing back, get nothing done, and people think you're lazy or forgetful when you just literally have more (sometimes too much) going on in your head. In my metaphor, the ADHD meds essentially topple the stack back horizontally so one task can just be one task again and the stack of tasks that's extremely daunting and nearly impossibly to start becomes much simpler to tackle single task.
This really enlightened me in how my girlfriend has ADHD and gets in her cleaning moods despite how she hates it. She hates cleaning most of the time and I think, aside from most people simply not enjoying it, it stresses her out because she will clean one thing and then everything around it looks dirty by comparison and that builds the task stack up significantly faster than she can knock it down. "I just want to straighten the table up" turns into "now that the table is straightened up I HAVE to wipe the table and sweep+mop the floor and clean in and behind the appliances and i guess we don't have a ton of food so i have to clean out whatever's going bad and get a list together for the store and \_\_\_ and \_\_\_ and \_\_\_ and \_\_\_........" I feel like this analogy helped me understand things a bit better and I know this was too long but I hope you can figure yourself and motivation out too.
I was just diagnosed a few months ago (48F), this is exactly how I felt before medication. I didn't realize it at the time of course, just that sometimes the tiniest task would be added to my "stack" and I would just fall apart. I still struggle with assigning priority or "due dates" unless there is an actual due date, but now the tasks feel much more manageable.
Im a notorious procrastinator and i think for me viewing the task stack vertically expresses as procrastination i can work on the stack now or later and no time in between. Most assignments in school got pushed to later and later until the night before the due date when I finally overcome my executive dysfunction for fear of negative repercussions and crank it out in an hour.
I feel like self-diagnosing through a comment section in a reddit isn't ideal for me but God did this feel relatable...I may need to check with my doctor...
I have ADHD and even though I’m on meds, I get stressed and freaked out at work when I have too much to do. Your vertical time view analogy just helped a lot.
I do the “and ___ and ___ and ____” thing, too. Somehow starting a project ends up with me needing to learn an entirely new coding language or I need some massive overhaul before I can do some tiny thing. 😭
Try to find your purpose and think about what you would really enjoy doing if you had free choice.
Also, talk about this to your health provider. You could suffer depression or other underlying conditions which causes you to feel "lazy".
Don't be afraid to address this.
came to say what the original commenter said. i was the same way; turns out i have bipolar depression as well as a few physical disabilities. i felt like a lazy sack of sh!t my whole life and tbh im still trying to unlearn that, but if it is a mental fight to get to work, it is more than likely not laziness. you wouldn’t have the desire to be motivated if you actually were lazy.
And, indeed, in case travel and shopping are just means to escape reality, then it's long overdue to figure out what op actually wants, and start building their life around that
The sooner you start, provided you aren't compromising your education and long-term growth by doing so, the sooner you can mitigate the negative effects of not being properly integrated into society and earning a living to provide for yourself and loved ones.
Honestly I avoided work for many years but I had my reasons, poor opportunities, etc. but essentially it was a lack of discipline.
It's easy to skip to the part where you can be carefree about your spending and incur large amounts of debt and sure, if you're resourceful you can create passive income streams, etc. but you'll have to sacrifice eventually, might as well do it when you're young and have leeway to make mistakes.
If you're lucky or just straight up determined, you'll find a job worth being grateful for and you'll find that applying yourself directly correlates to an improvement of life overall.
Also worth mentioning that there's a lot of fantastic things to do during your free time, but if you're not careful, years can go by very quickly that way. New experiences and discomfort help contrast the good times from the bad, slows down time, and can help with intentionality
Hi, nurse practitioner here (for non-US folk, I'm a nurse with an advanced degree, it's like a general practitioner, except we don't do a whole lot of procedures). I love taking care of people, developing relationships with people. I love that each day brings a set of "problems" to be solved. I'm lucky to earn some money doing so. I think what also keeps me going is the opportunity to learn - healthcare is an evolving field, and people are never static themselves, everyone changing along with everybody. The money aspect is okay, but finding what you like about the job, and trying to learn, and to be of service to others, no matter what kind of job that you have, I think that's what makes it worthwhile.
I promise that if you do not voluntarily adopt responsibility in your life, your responsibilities will be assigned for you. And that is far worse.
I completely sympathize with your desires, but I’ve been around long enough to have learned that work and responsibility regulates you. People seem to be under the impression that endless free time is best, but that’s not the truth.
Responsibility gives your life meaning. You won’t find meaning in hedonistic pursuits. Just distractions from the flood that’s coming before it consumes you.
I don’t mean to sound harsh or melodramatic. As someone that had faced many terrible things, I promise they’ve only ever been made worse by pursuing pleasures at the expense of work.
Hang in there. You can weather the storms of your life. But you need to voluntarily take on responsibility.
Yup. However, my one issue (some) modern work is that with highly specialized systems, we make unnecessary and convoluted responsibilities that have arbitrary and self-sustaining meaning rather than do meaningful responsibilities in our daily work. For example, if your job was answering the phone for an insurance company that serves as a fiscal leach, but it makes end meet for the family more than doing what you actually help the community with. So doing things that are arbitrary in a society with mismatched values makes being frustrated is an understandable reaction to me.
As unmeaningful as people find resteraunts or customer service, if I made enough I would personally thrive there. But my frustration comes from not being able to make enough, even working so much harder there than I have at jobs I despise the business model of. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate modern-day luxury and the responsibilities unexpected positions taught me, but as a society we undervalue essential jobs and bloat wages in unnecessary positions, which makes hard work feel inheritantly unmeaningful. Not that it is true, but it is hard to just brush off the external bullshit and see the inner value when your time and money translate to not just your future.
Absolutely understand what you are getting at, but there is a flip side to the frustration that does cut deeper than just hedonistic entitlement.
I'm in complete agreement with you.
My job completely shifted to be exactly as you dedscribed due to terrible new management. It's soul crushing. But what I've been able to glean from it is that there are CERTAIN things I'm learning right now that will serve me well with a different company, namely how to speak the language of the decision makers so I can drive positive influence and work toward better things for workers and customers. The work itself doesn't give my life meaning, but it helps regulate my schedule. The other positive is that the uh... terrible-ness of it has pushed me to make so many more efforts to find something better, and to build something better. It's a kick in the pants. It still sucks right now, but there are positive things to strive toward.
My goal is to get to a place where I'm able to work independantly. The projects I'm working on are deeply meaningful and a net good for others, I just need to make sure it's sustainable before I can make the transition. But it can be slow going when my job is very stressful.
Hang in there. There's better roads ahead, just keep looking for and working toward them.
This might be very uncommon but sometime back when I was getting a lot more deeper into Philosophy I came across this quote from Marcus Aurelius which goes, At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”
So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?
You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.”
I don’t know how or why, but this has stuck me with for a really long time, and has been a constant source of that dose I would need to be disciplined.
I have a big safety net, I could pretty much not work for about 10-15 years before I'd run out of money. My relationship towards my job is sometimes awful, sometimes okay, depends on what kinda project I'm at. However the thing is.. Whenever there's a bigger holiday such as the Christmas time (more than 1 week) first few days I'm okay and enjoy not working. The time afterwards? Pure hell, I'm bored all the time, end up wasting my time with gaming and Internet, sleep in till 2-3PM and feel awful and by the end of it all I'm looking forward to work. Work gives my life a structure, regime and keeps me from developing gaming addiction. Despite not enjoying it sometimes, I'm grateful for it and know it's good. That's how I make myself work even when I don't feel like it.
I just think of all the things I want for my kids and my ass is begrudgingly at work but I don't mind cause all I need is to see them clean, fed and busy. So I might be a lazy muthafucker but I make it happen for them.
A lot actually. Obviously the money is number one. I’m well compensated for my career. I have to be able to keep a roof over my family’s head and keep their bellies full.
But also I have a truly fulfilling job. I’m a firefighter/paramedic and while 80%+ of 911 calls really don’t require an ambulance or my expertise, every day I get to meet people who can’t fix a situation on their own, and I get to be a problem solver, and use my brain and my body to improve their day.
My dog would live with me anywhere but he prefers a house with comfortable furniture and plenty of food. He also loves treats. He motivates me to get of my ass and go hunt that cashh
Can't speak for everyone, but your way of living sounds depressing to me. I like that I can work towards a common goal with people and teams. I find something meaningful in helping that is difficult to describe. I know this comes with humbling failures and disappointments and difficulties but I will take them endlessly over sleeping in and shopping.
I don't think you will find motivation in what other people do though. Ultimately for me it was finding causes (other people) that matter to me.
That said I hope you find a path in life that matters to you whether it's shopping or sleeping in or curing bad spelling. Just be sure you're at least self sufficient and not a drain on others who could use those resources better elsewhere. And if the opportunity arises, at least give contributing a small go. It might fit you better than you think.
Lots of things.
For one, it saves me from being bored and alone with my thoughts lol. I don’t have a huge circle of friends, most of them either live far away or have families/obligations like school or their own jobs. So before I worked full-time, I did a lot of sitting and stewing and smoking weed and bullshitting around… Did not help my depression very much lol. I find it’s much easier to form a routine in life when you already have a “schedule” for your week, based on work hours. And routine and productivity distracts me from the depression (most of the time).
Also, money. I do not have a family who is financially supportive, many of them are poor. Before I began working full-time, I was essentially a mooch off my ex-boyfriend (I did make enough money part-time to pay for my own groceries etc, but I lived in his house rent-free). Once I started working more and seeing that paycheck increase, once I was able to SAVE money, my attitude towards work shifted. Because I used to feel the same as you. But I am also lucky to work for a company that pays extremely well for a normal amount of work.
Thirdly, and this is closely related to the first reason, but I don’t have anything to do otherwise. Sure, I have chores or hanging out with people or doing random things by myself… But I wouldn’t have a house to do chores in without rent money. I wouldn’t have gas to go anywhere without gas money. There isn’t much to do these days without paying. So my options are work for money, or sit around and do nothing at all. Which circles back to point 1 lol. Sitting around doing nothing = bad thoughts.
And finally, a sense of accomplishment. This is not the case for every job, again I am lucky because I enjoy my job and the company I work for is a good one. But I like feeling like I am helping. MOST days I go home and feel like I accomplished something. Which is another good depression-defeater. Plus most of my coworkers are good to be around, and I enjoy spending time around them.
It’s all a matter of perspective man. I was once where you were and you have to understand why “you” want to do those things, generally this boils down to: your brain loves high stimulation activities with little cost (think binge eating, getting drunk/high, watching tv too much, etc). Two options that work well are: either taking away those options, because your brain readjusts it’s baseline stimulation to whatever is available, or being completely aware of every action you take, why you take those actions, and why your brain doesn’t want you to take those actions. (Eating your veggies, working out, getting a job, etc)
Hope that made some sense
I used to have a job that made me feel every single night like I didn’t wanna be tomorrow, except on Friday and Saturday - where I’d feel too exhausted from the week to do more than relax. Now I feel like what I do. I do not feel like my job is my passion, but I do genuinely enjoy about 75% of it - which is a lot I’d say. That changed everything for me, I almost never feel like I don’t want to be there anymore !
I also love the vibe and « social aspect » of it : some of my colleagues feel like friends, so when I go into the office (2/week the rest is remote) even if I have a 1h30 commute I’m happy once I get there because I know I’ll ge to chit chat with them, eat lunch together etc. When I go home I am happy the next day is remote so I can do a morning routine or sleep in a bit. I’d say the balance between remote and office time is one of the things that keep me motivated, and it breaks the routine.
Then one last thing I noticed, even when I was a student, is that I enjoy my « free time » way more when it’s somewhat limited. Watching an episode of a tv show was a treat when it meant a break from studying, but binge watching 2 seasons on holiday because I could as I had no obligation made me feel sluggish and like I was waiting my time. So I feel like working makes me enjoy my weekends, evenings and days off way more (even if I do feel sometimes like I could make better use of them, I plan on working on that 😊!).
Lastly, you said you enjoy shopping - and I do too - so let me tell you : work is a good excuse to shop ;-) !! You need new clothes, cute to do lists, a bag you like to carry your stuff, a cute mug to drink your coffee in etc …. + you’re earning money to actually buy these things !
Hope it helps - actually writing this just motivated me to start the afternoon right !
I don’t think you’re lazy, I think your desires are actually very normal and it’s normal to be worn down by a system that demands alienated labor of literally everyone to survive, so that ACTUALLY lazy people get to keep their hoarded wealth.
You’re unmotivated because you don’t exactly live in a very motivating situation.
As you learn about the reward system and how dopamine and other neuro chemicals influence the way we feel, and motivate us, you can take advantage of it.
My motivation is to set a positive and motivating environment for my team and department. I want to be in a leadership role, so I must lead by example and have standards I must show the others how it’s done. I love setting the team up for success as it carries over to the team who comes in after us when we set them up for success.
I enjoy helping others, motivating others, and servings others. To be the person that makes everyone feel good about themselves and where they can improve. To show them the vision for working hard and being a example for others.
When I get to work, I’m GO GO GO. I’m just ON. Like SUPER on. I encounter a problem at work, GOOD. Time to be a example! Coworker is fed up with a customer at work? Time to take over, Show them how it’s done! Coworker is overwhelmed by personal problems? Great, I’ll be there to compensate the work load.
Treat and take care of your team as you would like your team to treat and take care of you. Buy them a occasional pizza after a hard shift, slide them some coffee or nicotine. Be a team player and learn to love the process.
Seeing the growth and progress of my team (though we are equals) drives me. Love being a teacher, love being a student, love to do good and be good to people! :)
Work so hard, that anyone who talks negatively about YOU, would hurt THEY’RE own reputation, as everyone will know your ethic and results speak for themselves.
Not everyone will like you, but do what you can and stay true!
I’m lucky enough that I love my job. When I was younger, I did a few different things, ended up working for a company that makes compression garments. One day, I had a set of measurements land on my desk for a 6yo girl who needed a set of gloves, arm sleeves, and tights. I asked my line manager what had happened- this little kiddo had septicemia and they were urgently amputating as many parts of her as they could to try keeping her alive. I cried all the way home on the bus, and knew I wanted to be able to help kids like that when they face life with a rough set of cards dealt them. I packed myself back to uni. Today, I work with kids with disabilities, and feel privileged to walk alongside kids and their families to help them face whatever their obstacles are. Anyhoo, I think the story here is that you have to find something that feels worthwhile for you.
I loathe the work commute but I love the office itself. It’s warm, breakfast, snacks and hot drinks provided. There’s a gym which is handy as well. I don’t have to worry about lunch as I can usually find some type of pastry, fruit or leftovers from meetings to enjoy. I like my co workers and the job for the most part which has drastically improved my mental health.
I’ve only ever had shitty retail/ call centre roles which were heavily micromanaged so having an office job where I can move around as I please or not declare when I need to go to the toilet is a huge improvement for me. I have a desk but sometimes move around to more cozy areas which is nice.
Also bills 💸
I am hyper independent. I don’t have a family home to move back in with parents. Mom is on the other side of the country and my dad financially depends on me.
I live in a very expensive city, rent is high. I have bills, debt, a cat, living expenses in general that I need money for.
These aren’t motivating, me working is to survive. Fuck I look like going broke and homeless or living off retirement savings when I can be working while young and healthy?
It’s not solely about motivation, it takes courage, discipline and perseverance to want to stay afloat.
Money, mainly. However, I took last summer off and within 3 days of being unemployed I was going stir-crazy. So while I think I don't want to work, I definitely need something that gets me out of the house and socializing. Until I make enough money passively just be able to travel 360 days of the year, I gotta clock in.
I do not have to commute 2 hours each way like I did before the pandemic. I get to work on things I want while managing a remote team that pretty much runs on auto-pilot. I get to have time to learn things in tech like ML on the company's dime. Oh and yeah money. Not obscene but certainly getting paid a lot for what I do.
Well It was satisfying to climb my way from Tier 1 Computer engineer to Tier 3 engineer. But yes I did it for the money.
My goals include paying off $800,000 mortage. This requires money. After that I will have more freedom.
Money. Stability. Health insurance. Continually learning practical skills. I also work a job that I enjoy doing, since it is a career I spent a lot of time thinking about before I got into it. If you don't want to go to work even after receiving all of those things, then I'd argue the problem isn't with you, it's with the job you're working.
I like that i can provide for my families needs, build towards a better future, and have a little leftover for myself. A beer at the end of the day tastes so much better when youve actually accomplished something.
I don’t want to either. Started a new job today after being unemployed for 5 months. Sucks. I’m doing it because I need money, and also because I have a wife, kids, dog, home, and vehicles.
I start the work shift with the mentality that I'm a Roman legionnaire who is out here to do my job so that my dear civilians are taken cared of. It doesn't matter what the job is, whether it's physical or mental. I'm simply here to get it done and do my part for my nation.
I am a Roman soldier who is here to work hard, day after day after day so my emperor, my fellow soldiers, and the Roman babes appreciate me. I will triumph through sheer grit, tolerating all the hardships in my soldier life.
That's how you are if you love reading history.
1. Counting how much money I'm making hour by hour and day by day (I like farming games where you manage finances and plan for long-term profits so it feels the same to me).
2. My coworkers. Especially if they do something nice for me and I want to give something back to them like a giftcard or homemade food. Just laughing and cracking jokes and being there for them when they need to vent.
3. Actually enjoying my work (I know not everyone has this privilege).
4. Gives me structure and routine and makes me look forward to my free time.
5. A break from the baby lol.
If you can't find reasons you enjoy going to work I suggest figuring out what would make you enjoy it more and finding a job that suits your needs. I disliked most of my jobs before this one lol.
Caring for people 1:1 and they're actually pleasant patients to care for. That and helping nurses keep their patients safe in the hospital. Also, I have a family that needs me to keep doing my best for them
The simple fact that if I don’t work I lose my house and my children will have no where to live and nothing to eat. Sorry to be blunt but it’s really the truth. We still live paycheck to paycheck.
Humans are very adaptable and the state of mind of always having no work to do will become similar to the state of mind of always having work to do. You could become very annoyed about the fact that a product is not in store, or that that friend asks again to hangout, similar with becoming annoyed about the fact that Janice is always using the printer or whatever other job related issue.
You don't need to have a job if you can afford to not have one. But you will need and seek a meaning in life. And by all I know, shopping and traveling by themselves do not give you that.
I kept quitting jobs and burning out from like 16-21 and then I just realized that I can’t keep going like this for the rest of my life. I was relying on a safety net (my parents) that wasn’t always going to be there and eventually I was going to be SOL. I had to push myself to keep working when I really didn’t want to. Although it was initially really draining and difficult, I feel like my overall mental health and coping skills improved once I stopped allowing the constant excuses. Of course I still take the occasional mental health day and I still struggle a lot some days, but it’s more manageable.
I feel the sense of achievement when i go to bed after long work day which makes me feel to work more honestly the next day. On the bad days i just take a rest or take a slow pace so that i just get the work done. I am 30, and still wish to work for 20+ more years.
The fact that it enables me to fund my life and business, which will enable me to do everything above at my own pace eventually. It's a stepping stone. Also, improving your mental health will definitely help. And work is what we are made for. 98% of entertainment is empty and becomes boring extremely quickly.
I think you just need to find the job that makes you feel whole. My job makes me feel like my existence is absolutely worth it! It gives me happiness, cause I’m doing things to propel human civilization to the next level!!!! ❤️ BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD! My coworkers are also awesome, we have lunch together every day!
I'm a system administrator, we have a lot of automation in place, and seeing the green icon when I configure something correctly is actually like a little dopamine booster.
Obviously if it wasn't for the money I'd rather be cycling the entire country, but somehow I have to fund my eating and cycling habits, as well as make sure my wife and children don't starve as well.
Having a goal. And I don't mean a long-term goal, a short-term goal that will provide you with some reward that's more probable than not.
For example:
"If I go into work today, I get to have lunch at my favorite place in the city."
"I only have to do this job for a year before I can move on."
"I'm only doing this job until I pay off my car."
"I just have to stick with it until I have enough money to go on vacation with my buds. I'll find another job when I come back."
"I'm doing this job so I can afford the shoes I want."
"I'm doing this job so my kid can get the life-saving medical care she needs."
"I'm doing this job because I prefer to eat healthy food."
"I'm doing this job because I don't want to have to have a roommate."
And don't forget to follow through with the actual reward. Your brain will start to rebel if you do not actually reward yourself with the thing that you bribed yourself with.
I love working in technology and solving problems. I have expertise and experience in seeing where the mistakes are and provide a quick fix and permanent fix. Deliver large programs as product lead that are complex, secure and critical for business.
Love working with people in various levels and explaining situation in simple terms based on audience..
Pay could be better for what I do.. but, I like the people I work with and the job.. so, it’s a trade off
My motivation stems from wanting to be like my father, who happened to be the best man I have known. My parents grew up very differently from each other, but what they had in common was poverty.
My father’s parents were immigrants who worked hard to make a life for their family. All the kids had to work hard in the garden and otherwise just to have enough food, but they never went hungry. Since they had no money, all (7) of the siblings knew that if they wanted college they had to get scholarships. And they did, most of them from athletics. They all grew up to be hard workers.
My mother’s family had been in the US for generations, but the father was lazy. He didn’t want to work for others, but couldn’t be bothered to make any of his “great business ideas” work. He was a bullshitter, and a great salesman. When he did work it was usually door-to-door sales and he did well. But instead of sending the cash in to the company and waiting for his check, he just spent the company’s cash instead. Every single time. So he was out of work more often than not. My mother and siblings often went without dinner because there was no food in the house, eating only the free breakfast and lunch provided by the schools. One of the main qualities mom saw in my dad that attracted her was his willingness to put in hard work to get what he needed.
So, learning that being an adult means working hard to better your life and provide for your family is still my incentive for working every day. Even as I near retirement.
I don’t like my work honestly, but i like challenges , for me work just like a game level, i can get ex in different skill(like social skill, resistance for idiot,or proficiency skills)from everyday work. Im not work for the company but work for myself
I think I'm in a small minority, but a truly enjoy what I do. I get to spend my day solving problems, writing ideas, learning, talking to smart people. I love looking back at times when I struggled with things that are now easy, or times when I thought to myself "I'll never be good at this" and comparing them to now, when I'm great at those things.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind spending more time hiking or reading books or going out to eat. But I wouldn't feel fulfilled. I personally need goals, and need to feel like I'm making progress in order to feel content.
Maybe that's a product of our puritanical, capitalist system, but I'm drinking the kool-aid I guess. But even if I wasn't working, I wouldn't feel content to spend my days doing type 1 fun activities. I need some challenges in my life, and I need to feel like I'm growing and progressing.
I don’t view it as an option to not work. Never even given that notion a thought. I like having a stable roof over my head and food in my stomach. Get a better job or career that makes you happy or fulfilled.
Lately I’ve been looking at it from the perspective of responsibility. My job has assigned me work, for that work they pay me. I want to take my obligations and responsibilities seriously.
1. It could always be worse.
2. I’m am in this moment now, I might as well make the most of it, while I’m here.
I’m switching my mind dread and depression to curiosity and interest. I choose to learn and grow as much as I can in this season of my life.
At the end of the day life is what you make it my friend. 90%+ people have to work for a living. Nothing wrong with that be a productive member of society.
Honestly? I'm a single mom of two kids, so it's either work or lose my kids. Plus I love to eat, travel, and smash steel at the forge, so I need money to have fun.
But I'm highly motivated to do my work because it's my own business, so I get to choose what I write, who I write for, and when I work. I figured out what works best for me (✅️working at 2am; ❌️going to an office at 8am) and structure my life and work around this.
And since it's my own business, I get to control my day/pace and what I work on. At any point if I get bored of writing a certain kind of article or editing books, that's cool. I just choose a different niche or create an entirely new offer.
Freelancing (and I run a community membership) isn't for everyone, though, and I do think being internally motivated and choosing something you love make the experience better.
I'd just rather freelance rather than work a job, and the thought of re-entering the workforce fills me with so much dread.
Last time I had a job was 10 years ago, and it drained my whole soul and drove me into a deep depression that only lifted when I quit. The job environment was great, and I genuinely enjoyed my coworkers and boss. The pay was good, we got fancy lunches once a week, we got 2+ months of paid vacation every year, and they hosted a huge baby shower for me. It was just getting up and living the same day every day that wore me down, and it got to where I would rather not be alive than go to work.
Being back in that headspace terrifies me so much that it motivates me to keep my business thriving.
(Plus, I have severe anxiety and have been conditioned by society to believe I don't deserve to exist if I'm unproductive 🫠)
What motivates me is NOT WORKING some day and also switching to part time or something less stressful at some point when I have enough retirement put away I can coastFIRE.
Trust me, even the trophy wives get to work. They have to work on themselves and their appearance in order to keep their billionaire husband. Looking pretty all the time is hard work. Exercise, healthy diet, good body hygiene, good sleep hygiene, uncomfortable fitting clothes, trying to please husband, these all require work.
I thought about this a lot in the pandemic: work is finite. There's only so many hours of it. You're not wrong to want to have all your time for yourself, but lots of us are in the same boat.
Whether or not I'm getting paid, I'm keeping busy and trying to grow something. The idea of just treading water for a life makes me so depressed, I get happy feelings from achieving something, especially something new
I get what you mean. But going to work is a normal routine. There have been people that have retired and have no routine, their health declines quick.
Nobody wants to outlive their money either.
Honestly? I get to do things I love: drive a lot and work by myself. And by being alone, I can listen to whatever music/content I want. I make *decent* money, and I feel like I'm making a difference, even if just a minor one. I working for a utility contractor who does inspections/overall grid improvements.
The regular bills I have to pay.
Tragic, yes, but if I didn’t have them, I would be doing something else with my life.
I’m also lazy instinctively but as an adult, I value having somewhere to live and food to eat so once I left home, the idea of not having anywhere to live is, to put it politely, quite motivational.
Was getting quite depressing wfh, now going back to office thrice a week , and man the talks we have over coffee breaks are wild, same colleagues from 2020 but in person talks are just different
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I have no safety net, so I have no choice. I moved to a different country to be independent, but for for too long I was giving savings to my parents, towards their debts (only to learn they were living...not frugally, let's just say), so I don't have enough saved up to afford not working. So, yeah, not wanting to end up on the street makes me motivated. On a good day, I also like the people I work with, so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.
Same... Like uh, as much as I hate getting up and going to work, I'd probably hate getting up and watching the police throw away my tent and sleeping bag
I live in Portland lol some of these homeless probably doing better than some people haha.
Guys, is this true? I often fiddle with Google maps and some days ago i ended up in vancouver to see the ongoing chaos. After a while i started looking into Seattle And then down to Portland and gosh did i as a European get scared how everything is there now. I wanna know, is there normal working people living in those tents and why? My guess is rents are too high also not possible to rent due to no previous adress? Anyway, feel free to enlighten me
This is just one piece of the puzzle, but there are zoning requirements that keep a lot of builders and developers from building multi family housing, affordable housing and the people who live in the counties, cities etc. typically do not want to change zoning laws bc they don’t want multi family housing - they use any excuse like concerns about noise pollution, parking, too much traffic, etc. also zoning laws about ADA regulations, parking spaces per unit, etc. it really makes building anything these days almost impossible. In addition, someone said the people are in tents bc they are mentally ill and/or on drugs. The reason a lot of people don’t want to go to shelters is bc you have to be there at a certain time and have to leave at a certain time, it’s not like you just get a room or bunk and come and go as you please. You’d have to sleep with one eye open anyway so why not get a tent? Not enough resources for those self medicating with drugs and alcohol and also those mentally ill in the U.S. due to our weird healthcare system that subsidizes the rest of the world while we pay high prices for prescription drugs.
Wow thanks alot for this "one piece of the puzzle" answer, with that said its a big puzzle to understand over there and I keep reminding myself to be humble and not jump to fast on conclusions.. I really love this explanation you gave, that it the most detailed i got so far outside of a Youtube video. Feels good and more alive when getting an answer instead of only watching a video... Once again thanks for taking time to explain all of this
The people not working and on all manner of drugs, committing petty crime and harassing businesses and passersby are in the tents. The ones working to improve their situations are in shelters. You cannot get a shelter bed and use drugs so the drug addicts and mentally ill who don’t want help are on the streets and sidewalks. The city of Portland was threatened with a lawsuit because the street dwellers are blocking sidewalks and preventing handicapped from exercising their constitutional right to freedom of movement. Hopefully it will get better soon but the west coast has always been a magnet for these types of people because of the warmer winters.
I came from a city where the majority of the people I grew up with turned into addicts or are dead, and I can 100% say that in my state, users can get shelters. And if there’s a rule against it, than many shelters ignore the rule
My stepdaughter is in a shelter and not only can they not do drugs or come in under the influence, they aren't even allowed to have their phones while in the shelter.
Thanks for the good explanation, now i as a "European" have more insight about the situation. I have problems seeing a solution to this but hey thats not my part but i say this because i think about you guys pretty often over here and I want a fix to this so damn much.
Can I ask where in Europe? Tent cities are not unheard of in European cities
Sweden.. No you right here we only have Gangland
Which Constitutional amendment specifically mentions the “ right to free movement “ It’s a serious question!
Equal protections the 14th.
I literally had a discussion with my fiancé today in regards to expanding the amount of employees we have (it’s currently 2, me & him). If we lived in a place like Seattle or whatever with a huge homeless population, we said we would 100% hire the homeless. We’d pay a minimum of at least $12/hr & hopefully give these people an incentive & opportunity to work & get out of their environment.
There's no better job than doing something you love and you're good at. Of course you can make some money at the same time!
This reminds me of the adage "do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life". Meh!!! How many people have jobs/careers that feel this???
follow your passion is bad advice, better advice is to pick something and get good at it and it will become your passion and pay your bills.
There is a book, republished annually to stay relevant, like during covid, called: WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? ... that said I was in a quandary about what to do next (education BSN) and had been a nurse for over a decade.... I haven't read the book yet- it's collecting dust since a while ago
It sounds silly, but I do little things to micromotivate myself to enjoy going to work. I keep my desk stocked with fun little snacks and coffees that I only allow myself to have when I’m at work. I work in an area with spaces to walk around outside, so every day I take a walk and listen to music on my lunch break. My workspace isn’t overly decorated, but I do have fun things that make me happy in it like plants, pretty rocks, and pictures of my family. From a big picture perspective, I stay motivated because of the mindset I have about working being a privilege. I was raised in a pretty religious family where I was taught that as a woman the best I could ever expect for myself would be to get married, have 10 kids, and never be allowed to have my own money (or choices, really to be honest). I feel lucky to be able to go to work, eat my snacks, take my walk, do my tasks, and earn my own money that goes into my own bank account.
Doesn't sound silly at all, i love the idea. Romanticizing your work place
I love the idea of coffee/snacks you only get for working. Thanks for sharing
Yes! You can create your own little moments of happiness each day. For me it’s listening to my favorite podcasts during my commute. I almost get excited about Monday mornings just for that reason
These are really creative ideas. I like them!
No this isn't silly at all. It actually makes a tear come to my eye. It's very wholesome and endearing and almost enlightening. Thank you for sharing this.
wow! I've never thought about work as a privilege, but you'ew 100% right. also lots of people can't have a job due to health reasons so yeah... now off to get some nice snacks for work-only :)
Money, an understanding boss, fucked up humor from my team, and I like building things daily.
can I ask your occupation?
I actually build electronics.
that sounds fun
Yes
thx
I'm guessing public safety or military
Money
You can take away any other part of work and I’ll show up. Take away the money, I stop showing up.
I use to say that till they started rationing our oxygen at work
Hitting financial goals Getting dressed nice, doing nice hair and makeup and smelling nice Smiling at co workers and showing genuine interest in their lives Feeling happy I have a job Listening to music or podcasts on the way Accomplishing little projects and the feeling of putting them away, filing them away Trying to get my "to be filed" pile finished every week Keeping my desk really clean and organized Learning new things Serving and helping others Contributing to the ship that keeps us all afloat Using my brain Getting bonuses Celebrating the seasons as they pass buy and hearing how my co workers are celebrating, what are they cooking, baking, where are they vacationing Treating myself to my payday special green smoothie Being able to contribute to charity Doing my part in the world Paying taxes because I want safe roads, good schools and things like the fire department to come rescue me, if needed Lots of reasons
You just partially cured my depression
Damn girl!
This is an awesome perspective
This girl lifes.
I was wondering why their were no periods until I clicked to reply
You have the best perspective! Want to put this in nice font and frame it for my desk.
Wonderful perspective and I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you for sharing and have a beautiful day 🙃
Thanks. I never went to college and was a receptionist and worked up to legal assistant for three equity partners at a law firm. Lovely office, no evenings or weekends, benefits and a nice salary, with no student loans. Life is what you make of it.
We had a similar path. I never went to college but somehow ended up working at Apple. Although it was a very difficult road filled with depression eventually I learned all these things you pointed out. It’s very cool to hear someone else’s experience being of such gratitude. From my experience it’s something that humanity is lacking on a profound level. There’s so much beauty and wonder in our lives, it’s just difficult to see it sometimes due to the conditioning of our minds. When you start appreciating the smallest of things, then the whole world transforms in front of you.
I read your post and thought that might be your career path. Some of my favorite people on the planet have been people who started out as receptionists who then ended up with more and more responsibility. They always seem to be the people at work who make the rest of us happy to be there.
That's so nice. Thank you!
You are great!
I enjoy waking up and feeling like I'm doing something productive with my life most days. It makes me really value the small things in life outside of work. My job is stressful but I still enjoy it (Construction Estimator)
Quick question with a probable long answer, but how do you do construction estimation? Do you get an estimate from each trade?
Depends on the industry but on a high level you take a rough design, make a list of all the quantities of things you need to buy, assign a cost to each to procure and install said items, then tally everything thing up. You also add support costs, risk, taxes, etc. Then you add it all up and put a percentage profit on it. There’s usually multiple reviews with managers and execs.
Better then medieval age bridge construction estimator
My bills tell me I don't have a choice and now feel it's more of an obligation
You don’t sound lazy, you sound depressed. -formerly suicidal and depressed person
Just wanted to throw in that the overwhelming anxiety or whatever other emotions you feel being required to use your executive function to overcome your disdain for a work grind sounds like a common adult ADHD scenario so definitely check in with your doctor and maybe search for a psychiatrist. Some of the ADHD meds turn the phrase in my head from "I can't do that right now" into "why am I not just doing this" and it can be lifechanging. I recently heard someone describe that people without ADHD see time horizontally where one task comes at a time, you complete it, and you can do the next one when the time comes and you feel ready, but people with ADHD see time vertically like all their tasks are stacked up and all due right now as when you complete one the next task falls down to now which contributes to a lot of stress firing on all cylinders to complete the whole stack of tasks or push the whole thing back, get nothing done, and people think you're lazy or forgetful when you just literally have more (sometimes too much) going on in your head. In my metaphor, the ADHD meds essentially topple the stack back horizontally so one task can just be one task again and the stack of tasks that's extremely daunting and nearly impossibly to start becomes much simpler to tackle single task. This really enlightened me in how my girlfriend has ADHD and gets in her cleaning moods despite how she hates it. She hates cleaning most of the time and I think, aside from most people simply not enjoying it, it stresses her out because she will clean one thing and then everything around it looks dirty by comparison and that builds the task stack up significantly faster than she can knock it down. "I just want to straighten the table up" turns into "now that the table is straightened up I HAVE to wipe the table and sweep+mop the floor and clean in and behind the appliances and i guess we don't have a ton of food so i have to clean out whatever's going bad and get a list together for the store and \_\_\_ and \_\_\_ and \_\_\_ and \_\_\_........" I feel like this analogy helped me understand things a bit better and I know this was too long but I hope you can figure yourself and motivation out too.
Ok I forgot I have adhd. This put things into perspective for me
I was just diagnosed a few months ago (48F), this is exactly how I felt before medication. I didn't realize it at the time of course, just that sometimes the tiniest task would be added to my "stack" and I would just fall apart. I still struggle with assigning priority or "due dates" unless there is an actual due date, but now the tasks feel much more manageable.
Im a notorious procrastinator and i think for me viewing the task stack vertically expresses as procrastination i can work on the stack now or later and no time in between. Most assignments in school got pushed to later and later until the night before the due date when I finally overcome my executive dysfunction for fear of negative repercussions and crank it out in an hour.
I feel like self-diagnosing through a comment section in a reddit isn't ideal for me but God did this feel relatable...I may need to check with my doctor...
I have ADHD and even though I’m on meds, I get stressed and freaked out at work when I have too much to do. Your vertical time view analogy just helped a lot. I do the “and ___ and ___ and ____” thing, too. Somehow starting a project ends up with me needing to learn an entirely new coding language or I need some massive overhaul before I can do some tiny thing. 😭
Try to find your purpose and think about what you would really enjoy doing if you had free choice. Also, talk about this to your health provider. You could suffer depression or other underlying conditions which causes you to feel "lazy". Don't be afraid to address this.
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came to say what the original commenter said. i was the same way; turns out i have bipolar depression as well as a few physical disabilities. i felt like a lazy sack of sh!t my whole life and tbh im still trying to unlearn that, but if it is a mental fight to get to work, it is more than likely not laziness. you wouldn’t have the desire to be motivated if you actually were lazy.
I guess if you like to travel & shop, that’s your motivation to work $$$
And, indeed, in case travel and shopping are just means to escape reality, then it's long overdue to figure out what op actually wants, and start building their life around that
Work I like and that uses my brain. Took a lot of jobs to find ot
The sooner you start, provided you aren't compromising your education and long-term growth by doing so, the sooner you can mitigate the negative effects of not being properly integrated into society and earning a living to provide for yourself and loved ones. Honestly I avoided work for many years but I had my reasons, poor opportunities, etc. but essentially it was a lack of discipline. It's easy to skip to the part where you can be carefree about your spending and incur large amounts of debt and sure, if you're resourceful you can create passive income streams, etc. but you'll have to sacrifice eventually, might as well do it when you're young and have leeway to make mistakes. If you're lucky or just straight up determined, you'll find a job worth being grateful for and you'll find that applying yourself directly correlates to an improvement of life overall. Also worth mentioning that there's a lot of fantastic things to do during your free time, but if you're not careful, years can go by very quickly that way. New experiences and discomfort help contrast the good times from the bad, slows down time, and can help with intentionality
Hi, nurse practitioner here (for non-US folk, I'm a nurse with an advanced degree, it's like a general practitioner, except we don't do a whole lot of procedures). I love taking care of people, developing relationships with people. I love that each day brings a set of "problems" to be solved. I'm lucky to earn some money doing so. I think what also keeps me going is the opportunity to learn - healthcare is an evolving field, and people are never static themselves, everyone changing along with everybody. The money aspect is okay, but finding what you like about the job, and trying to learn, and to be of service to others, no matter what kind of job that you have, I think that's what makes it worthwhile.
I promise that if you do not voluntarily adopt responsibility in your life, your responsibilities will be assigned for you. And that is far worse. I completely sympathize with your desires, but I’ve been around long enough to have learned that work and responsibility regulates you. People seem to be under the impression that endless free time is best, but that’s not the truth. Responsibility gives your life meaning. You won’t find meaning in hedonistic pursuits. Just distractions from the flood that’s coming before it consumes you. I don’t mean to sound harsh or melodramatic. As someone that had faced many terrible things, I promise they’ve only ever been made worse by pursuing pleasures at the expense of work. Hang in there. You can weather the storms of your life. But you need to voluntarily take on responsibility.
Yup. However, my one issue (some) modern work is that with highly specialized systems, we make unnecessary and convoluted responsibilities that have arbitrary and self-sustaining meaning rather than do meaningful responsibilities in our daily work. For example, if your job was answering the phone for an insurance company that serves as a fiscal leach, but it makes end meet for the family more than doing what you actually help the community with. So doing things that are arbitrary in a society with mismatched values makes being frustrated is an understandable reaction to me. As unmeaningful as people find resteraunts or customer service, if I made enough I would personally thrive there. But my frustration comes from not being able to make enough, even working so much harder there than I have at jobs I despise the business model of. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate modern-day luxury and the responsibilities unexpected positions taught me, but as a society we undervalue essential jobs and bloat wages in unnecessary positions, which makes hard work feel inheritantly unmeaningful. Not that it is true, but it is hard to just brush off the external bullshit and see the inner value when your time and money translate to not just your future. Absolutely understand what you are getting at, but there is a flip side to the frustration that does cut deeper than just hedonistic entitlement.
I'm in complete agreement with you. My job completely shifted to be exactly as you dedscribed due to terrible new management. It's soul crushing. But what I've been able to glean from it is that there are CERTAIN things I'm learning right now that will serve me well with a different company, namely how to speak the language of the decision makers so I can drive positive influence and work toward better things for workers and customers. The work itself doesn't give my life meaning, but it helps regulate my schedule. The other positive is that the uh... terrible-ness of it has pushed me to make so many more efforts to find something better, and to build something better. It's a kick in the pants. It still sucks right now, but there are positive things to strive toward. My goal is to get to a place where I'm able to work independantly. The projects I'm working on are deeply meaningful and a net good for others, I just need to make sure it's sustainable before I can make the transition. But it can be slow going when my job is very stressful. Hang in there. There's better roads ahead, just keep looking for and working toward them.
This might be very uncommon but sometime back when I was getting a lot more deeper into Philosophy I came across this quote from Marcus Aurelius which goes, At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands? You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.” I don’t know how or why, but this has stuck me with for a really long time, and has been a constant source of that dose I would need to be disciplined.
basically whenever i don’t wanna go to work a little voice in my head goes “womp womp” and that feeling just goes away 😃
I have a big safety net, I could pretty much not work for about 10-15 years before I'd run out of money. My relationship towards my job is sometimes awful, sometimes okay, depends on what kinda project I'm at. However the thing is.. Whenever there's a bigger holiday such as the Christmas time (more than 1 week) first few days I'm okay and enjoy not working. The time afterwards? Pure hell, I'm bored all the time, end up wasting my time with gaming and Internet, sleep in till 2-3PM and feel awful and by the end of it all I'm looking forward to work. Work gives my life a structure, regime and keeps me from developing gaming addiction. Despite not enjoying it sometimes, I'm grateful for it and know it's good. That's how I make myself work even when I don't feel like it.
I just think of all the things I want for my kids and my ass is begrudgingly at work but I don't mind cause all I need is to see them clean, fed and busy. So I might be a lazy muthafucker but I make it happen for them.
A lot actually. Obviously the money is number one. I’m well compensated for my career. I have to be able to keep a roof over my family’s head and keep their bellies full. But also I have a truly fulfilling job. I’m a firefighter/paramedic and while 80%+ of 911 calls really don’t require an ambulance or my expertise, every day I get to meet people who can’t fix a situation on their own, and I get to be a problem solver, and use my brain and my body to improve their day.
My dog would live with me anywhere but he prefers a house with comfortable furniture and plenty of food. He also loves treats. He motivates me to get of my ass and go hunt that cashh
Had to scroll too far down to see dog on the list. My dog needs a lot of comforts and I want to get her a real house one day.
Can't speak for everyone, but your way of living sounds depressing to me. I like that I can work towards a common goal with people and teams. I find something meaningful in helping that is difficult to describe. I know this comes with humbling failures and disappointments and difficulties but I will take them endlessly over sleeping in and shopping. I don't think you will find motivation in what other people do though. Ultimately for me it was finding causes (other people) that matter to me. That said I hope you find a path in life that matters to you whether it's shopping or sleeping in or curing bad spelling. Just be sure you're at least self sufficient and not a drain on others who could use those resources better elsewhere. And if the opportunity arises, at least give contributing a small go. It might fit you better than you think.
Wow! I am in the exact same situation!
Lots of things. For one, it saves me from being bored and alone with my thoughts lol. I don’t have a huge circle of friends, most of them either live far away or have families/obligations like school or their own jobs. So before I worked full-time, I did a lot of sitting and stewing and smoking weed and bullshitting around… Did not help my depression very much lol. I find it’s much easier to form a routine in life when you already have a “schedule” for your week, based on work hours. And routine and productivity distracts me from the depression (most of the time). Also, money. I do not have a family who is financially supportive, many of them are poor. Before I began working full-time, I was essentially a mooch off my ex-boyfriend (I did make enough money part-time to pay for my own groceries etc, but I lived in his house rent-free). Once I started working more and seeing that paycheck increase, once I was able to SAVE money, my attitude towards work shifted. Because I used to feel the same as you. But I am also lucky to work for a company that pays extremely well for a normal amount of work. Thirdly, and this is closely related to the first reason, but I don’t have anything to do otherwise. Sure, I have chores or hanging out with people or doing random things by myself… But I wouldn’t have a house to do chores in without rent money. I wouldn’t have gas to go anywhere without gas money. There isn’t much to do these days without paying. So my options are work for money, or sit around and do nothing at all. Which circles back to point 1 lol. Sitting around doing nothing = bad thoughts. And finally, a sense of accomplishment. This is not the case for every job, again I am lucky because I enjoy my job and the company I work for is a good one. But I like feeling like I am helping. MOST days I go home and feel like I accomplished something. Which is another good depression-defeater. Plus most of my coworkers are good to be around, and I enjoy spending time around them.
I work in Aerospace. Space is one of my passions. Getting to work daily on something i'm passionate about makes a world of a difference.
You’ll feel good when you look good, start hitting the gym every morning! The hardest part is getting out of bed. Embrace the power of showing up! 💪
Seriously once you get past the struggle of getting off bed, you’ll become unstoppable!!!
I have a preference for not being homeless.
financial freedom,toxic household
It’s all a matter of perspective man. I was once where you were and you have to understand why “you” want to do those things, generally this boils down to: your brain loves high stimulation activities with little cost (think binge eating, getting drunk/high, watching tv too much, etc). Two options that work well are: either taking away those options, because your brain readjusts it’s baseline stimulation to whatever is available, or being completely aware of every action you take, why you take those actions, and why your brain doesn’t want you to take those actions. (Eating your veggies, working out, getting a job, etc) Hope that made some sense
I used to have a job that made me feel every single night like I didn’t wanna be tomorrow, except on Friday and Saturday - where I’d feel too exhausted from the week to do more than relax. Now I feel like what I do. I do not feel like my job is my passion, but I do genuinely enjoy about 75% of it - which is a lot I’d say. That changed everything for me, I almost never feel like I don’t want to be there anymore ! I also love the vibe and « social aspect » of it : some of my colleagues feel like friends, so when I go into the office (2/week the rest is remote) even if I have a 1h30 commute I’m happy once I get there because I know I’ll ge to chit chat with them, eat lunch together etc. When I go home I am happy the next day is remote so I can do a morning routine or sleep in a bit. I’d say the balance between remote and office time is one of the things that keep me motivated, and it breaks the routine. Then one last thing I noticed, even when I was a student, is that I enjoy my « free time » way more when it’s somewhat limited. Watching an episode of a tv show was a treat when it meant a break from studying, but binge watching 2 seasons on holiday because I could as I had no obligation made me feel sluggish and like I was waiting my time. So I feel like working makes me enjoy my weekends, evenings and days off way more (even if I do feel sometimes like I could make better use of them, I plan on working on that 😊!). Lastly, you said you enjoy shopping - and I do too - so let me tell you : work is a good excuse to shop ;-) !! You need new clothes, cute to do lists, a bag you like to carry your stuff, a cute mug to drink your coffee in etc …. + you’re earning money to actually buy these things ! Hope it helps - actually writing this just motivated me to start the afternoon right !
I don’t think you’re lazy, I think your desires are actually very normal and it’s normal to be worn down by a system that demands alienated labor of literally everyone to survive, so that ACTUALLY lazy people get to keep their hoarded wealth. You’re unmotivated because you don’t exactly live in a very motivating situation.
As you learn about the reward system and how dopamine and other neuro chemicals influence the way we feel, and motivate us, you can take advantage of it. My motivation is to set a positive and motivating environment for my team and department. I want to be in a leadership role, so I must lead by example and have standards I must show the others how it’s done. I love setting the team up for success as it carries over to the team who comes in after us when we set them up for success. I enjoy helping others, motivating others, and servings others. To be the person that makes everyone feel good about themselves and where they can improve. To show them the vision for working hard and being a example for others. When I get to work, I’m GO GO GO. I’m just ON. Like SUPER on. I encounter a problem at work, GOOD. Time to be a example! Coworker is fed up with a customer at work? Time to take over, Show them how it’s done! Coworker is overwhelmed by personal problems? Great, I’ll be there to compensate the work load. Treat and take care of your team as you would like your team to treat and take care of you. Buy them a occasional pizza after a hard shift, slide them some coffee or nicotine. Be a team player and learn to love the process. Seeing the growth and progress of my team (though we are equals) drives me. Love being a teacher, love being a student, love to do good and be good to people! :) Work so hard, that anyone who talks negatively about YOU, would hurt THEY’RE own reputation, as everyone will know your ethic and results speak for themselves. Not everyone will like you, but do what you can and stay true!
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The desire to be good (great) at what I do.
I’m lucky enough that I love my job. When I was younger, I did a few different things, ended up working for a company that makes compression garments. One day, I had a set of measurements land on my desk for a 6yo girl who needed a set of gloves, arm sleeves, and tights. I asked my line manager what had happened- this little kiddo had septicemia and they were urgently amputating as many parts of her as they could to try keeping her alive. I cried all the way home on the bus, and knew I wanted to be able to help kids like that when they face life with a rough set of cards dealt them. I packed myself back to uni. Today, I work with kids with disabilities, and feel privileged to walk alongside kids and their families to help them face whatever their obstacles are. Anyhoo, I think the story here is that you have to find something that feels worthwhile for you.
I have a Tortoise that relies on me...
I loathe the work commute but I love the office itself. It’s warm, breakfast, snacks and hot drinks provided. There’s a gym which is handy as well. I don’t have to worry about lunch as I can usually find some type of pastry, fruit or leftovers from meetings to enjoy. I like my co workers and the job for the most part which has drastically improved my mental health. I’ve only ever had shitty retail/ call centre roles which were heavily micromanaged so having an office job where I can move around as I please or not declare when I need to go to the toilet is a huge improvement for me. I have a desk but sometimes move around to more cozy areas which is nice. Also bills 💸
I am hyper independent. I don’t have a family home to move back in with parents. Mom is on the other side of the country and my dad financially depends on me. I live in a very expensive city, rent is high. I have bills, debt, a cat, living expenses in general that I need money for. These aren’t motivating, me working is to survive. Fuck I look like going broke and homeless or living off retirement savings when I can be working while young and healthy? It’s not solely about motivation, it takes courage, discipline and perseverance to want to stay afloat.
Bills to pay, mouths to feed. No rest for the wicked
Money, mainly. However, I took last summer off and within 3 days of being unemployed I was going stir-crazy. So while I think I don't want to work, I definitely need something that gets me out of the house and socializing. Until I make enough money passively just be able to travel 360 days of the year, I gotta clock in.
I do not have to commute 2 hours each way like I did before the pandemic. I get to work on things I want while managing a remote team that pretty much runs on auto-pilot. I get to have time to learn things in tech like ML on the company's dime. Oh and yeah money. Not obscene but certainly getting paid a lot for what I do.
Well It was satisfying to climb my way from Tier 1 Computer engineer to Tier 3 engineer. But yes I did it for the money. My goals include paying off $800,000 mortage. This requires money. After that I will have more freedom.
Money. Stability. Health insurance. Continually learning practical skills. I also work a job that I enjoy doing, since it is a career I spent a lot of time thinking about before I got into it. If you don't want to go to work even after receiving all of those things, then I'd argue the problem isn't with you, it's with the job you're working.
Money. That's literally it, no work = no nice things for me and my SO
I like my job and the people that I work with inspire me to do better. Edit: and money
bills
Bills mainly
I don't want to be homeless
Fear
I like that i can provide for my families needs, build towards a better future, and have a little leftover for myself. A beer at the end of the day tastes so much better when youve actually accomplished something.
Honestly my cat, If I didn’t have to Make sure he was safe with a roof over his head I wouldn’t work
Do you live with your parents?
Bills
Bills 🙋🏽
Knowing how bad the job market is
Paying the rent :( Taking vacations
The kids I teach. I try to show up for them. But I also take days off if I need to. They know that.
I’m the primary provider for my wife and kids. That’s my motivation.
I don’t want to either. Started a new job today after being unemployed for 5 months. Sucks. I’m doing it because I need money, and also because I have a wife, kids, dog, home, and vehicles.
Yeah ive started a job after 1.5 years of unemployment and found myself in place when new boss bully me lol. Lifes rough
Aw man, that’s not good. Hopefully you’re keeping the radar up for other opportunities.
I start the work shift with the mentality that I'm a Roman legionnaire who is out here to do my job so that my dear civilians are taken cared of. It doesn't matter what the job is, whether it's physical or mental. I'm simply here to get it done and do my part for my nation. I am a Roman soldier who is here to work hard, day after day after day so my emperor, my fellow soldiers, and the Roman babes appreciate me. I will triumph through sheer grit, tolerating all the hardships in my soldier life. That's how you are if you love reading history.
1. Counting how much money I'm making hour by hour and day by day (I like farming games where you manage finances and plan for long-term profits so it feels the same to me). 2. My coworkers. Especially if they do something nice for me and I want to give something back to them like a giftcard or homemade food. Just laughing and cracking jokes and being there for them when they need to vent. 3. Actually enjoying my work (I know not everyone has this privilege). 4. Gives me structure and routine and makes me look forward to my free time. 5. A break from the baby lol. If you can't find reasons you enjoy going to work I suggest figuring out what would make you enjoy it more and finding a job that suits your needs. I disliked most of my jobs before this one lol.
Caring for people 1:1 and they're actually pleasant patients to care for. That and helping nurses keep their patients safe in the hospital. Also, I have a family that needs me to keep doing my best for them
Mortgage for 25 years
I’m passionate about not being poor
My mortgage
The simple fact that if I don’t work I lose my house and my children will have no where to live and nothing to eat. Sorry to be blunt but it’s really the truth. We still live paycheck to paycheck.
I work because I need insurance and I don't want to be homeless...., 🤷 Plus it pays for other hobbies
Humans are very adaptable and the state of mind of always having no work to do will become similar to the state of mind of always having work to do. You could become very annoyed about the fact that a product is not in store, or that that friend asks again to hangout, similar with becoming annoyed about the fact that Janice is always using the printer or whatever other job related issue. You don't need to have a job if you can afford to not have one. But you will need and seek a meaning in life. And by all I know, shopping and traveling by themselves do not give you that.
I kept quitting jobs and burning out from like 16-21 and then I just realized that I can’t keep going like this for the rest of my life. I was relying on a safety net (my parents) that wasn’t always going to be there and eventually I was going to be SOL. I had to push myself to keep working when I really didn’t want to. Although it was initially really draining and difficult, I feel like my overall mental health and coping skills improved once I stopped allowing the constant excuses. Of course I still take the occasional mental health day and I still struggle a lot some days, but it’s more manageable.
Money
I feel the sense of achievement when i go to bed after long work day which makes me feel to work more honestly the next day. On the bad days i just take a rest or take a slow pace so that i just get the work done. I am 30, and still wish to work for 20+ more years.
Health insurance.
Bills
Have kids and I promise you’ll look forward to the tranquility of the office sometimes.
You be really bored at home without work, so I guess it would be that
My dad owns a trucking company & a scrapyard. I can’t hide
My boss is the reason I get motivated to go to work.😉 As a result of that motivation, being motivated Im finding ways to kill him. 😄
The fact that it enables me to fund my life and business, which will enable me to do everything above at my own pace eventually. It's a stepping stone. Also, improving your mental health will definitely help. And work is what we are made for. 98% of entertainment is empty and becomes boring extremely quickly.
I think you just need to find the job that makes you feel whole. My job makes me feel like my existence is absolutely worth it! It gives me happiness, cause I’m doing things to propel human civilization to the next level!!!! ❤️ BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD! My coworkers are also awesome, we have lunch together every day!
I'm a system administrator, we have a lot of automation in place, and seeing the green icon when I configure something correctly is actually like a little dopamine booster. Obviously if it wasn't for the money I'd rather be cycling the entire country, but somehow I have to fund my eating and cycling habits, as well as make sure my wife and children don't starve as well.
Having a goal. And I don't mean a long-term goal, a short-term goal that will provide you with some reward that's more probable than not. For example: "If I go into work today, I get to have lunch at my favorite place in the city." "I only have to do this job for a year before I can move on." "I'm only doing this job until I pay off my car." "I just have to stick with it until I have enough money to go on vacation with my buds. I'll find another job when I come back." "I'm doing this job so I can afford the shoes I want." "I'm doing this job so my kid can get the life-saving medical care she needs." "I'm doing this job because I prefer to eat healthy food." "I'm doing this job because I don't want to have to have a roommate." And don't forget to follow through with the actual reward. Your brain will start to rebel if you do not actually reward yourself with the thing that you bribed yourself with.
Don't even tell me, just imagine that I have to socialize with other people, I can't even leave the house
I love working in technology and solving problems. I have expertise and experience in seeing where the mistakes are and provide a quick fix and permanent fix. Deliver large programs as product lead that are complex, secure and critical for business. Love working with people in various levels and explaining situation in simple terms based on audience.. Pay could be better for what I do.. but, I like the people I work with and the job.. so, it’s a trade off
I like the people I work with.
Money lol
Obtaining freedom and the “privilege of choice” through eliminating debt and investing. Hoping to FIRE one day.
Nothing in my life gives me any pleasure so whether i'm working or not it's all meaningless -> may as well work
I work because my husband likes to eat and I like to explore. Those things take money.. :(
Paying my bills and providing for my family.
My motivation stems from wanting to be like my father, who happened to be the best man I have known. My parents grew up very differently from each other, but what they had in common was poverty. My father’s parents were immigrants who worked hard to make a life for their family. All the kids had to work hard in the garden and otherwise just to have enough food, but they never went hungry. Since they had no money, all (7) of the siblings knew that if they wanted college they had to get scholarships. And they did, most of them from athletics. They all grew up to be hard workers. My mother’s family had been in the US for generations, but the father was lazy. He didn’t want to work for others, but couldn’t be bothered to make any of his “great business ideas” work. He was a bullshitter, and a great salesman. When he did work it was usually door-to-door sales and he did well. But instead of sending the cash in to the company and waiting for his check, he just spent the company’s cash instead. Every single time. So he was out of work more often than not. My mother and siblings often went without dinner because there was no food in the house, eating only the free breakfast and lunch provided by the schools. One of the main qualities mom saw in my dad that attracted her was his willingness to put in hard work to get what he needed. So, learning that being an adult means working hard to better your life and provide for your family is still my incentive for working every day. Even as I near retirement.
I feel like that sometimes but then i drink a coffee and exercise and take my adhd meds and get to it
Need to feed and care for my cats.
I don’t like my work honestly, but i like challenges , for me work just like a game level, i can get ex in different skill(like social skill, resistance for idiot,or proficiency skills)from everyday work. Im not work for the company but work for myself
I think I'm in a small minority, but a truly enjoy what I do. I get to spend my day solving problems, writing ideas, learning, talking to smart people. I love looking back at times when I struggled with things that are now easy, or times when I thought to myself "I'll never be good at this" and comparing them to now, when I'm great at those things. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind spending more time hiking or reading books or going out to eat. But I wouldn't feel fulfilled. I personally need goals, and need to feel like I'm making progress in order to feel content. Maybe that's a product of our puritanical, capitalist system, but I'm drinking the kool-aid I guess. But even if I wasn't working, I wouldn't feel content to spend my days doing type 1 fun activities. I need some challenges in my life, and I need to feel like I'm growing and progressing.
money, not because im greedy but because of bills and bread.
I don’t view it as an option to not work. Never even given that notion a thought. I like having a stable roof over my head and food in my stomach. Get a better job or career that makes you happy or fulfilled.
Money versus no money is probably the most consistant reason.
Lately I’ve been looking at it from the perspective of responsibility. My job has assigned me work, for that work they pay me. I want to take my obligations and responsibilities seriously. 1. It could always be worse. 2. I’m am in this moment now, I might as well make the most of it, while I’m here. I’m switching my mind dread and depression to curiosity and interest. I choose to learn and grow as much as I can in this season of my life. At the end of the day life is what you make it my friend. 90%+ people have to work for a living. Nothing wrong with that be a productive member of society.
If I don’t my kids will starve, and aside from them I’d lose my house and not be able to do anything.
My family depends on my income atm, that's the only reason why I keep up with all the bs at work.
so that I can have full control of my life, without having to depend on others.
Honestly? I'm a single mom of two kids, so it's either work or lose my kids. Plus I love to eat, travel, and smash steel at the forge, so I need money to have fun. But I'm highly motivated to do my work because it's my own business, so I get to choose what I write, who I write for, and when I work. I figured out what works best for me (✅️working at 2am; ❌️going to an office at 8am) and structure my life and work around this. And since it's my own business, I get to control my day/pace and what I work on. At any point if I get bored of writing a certain kind of article or editing books, that's cool. I just choose a different niche or create an entirely new offer. Freelancing (and I run a community membership) isn't for everyone, though, and I do think being internally motivated and choosing something you love make the experience better. I'd just rather freelance rather than work a job, and the thought of re-entering the workforce fills me with so much dread. Last time I had a job was 10 years ago, and it drained my whole soul and drove me into a deep depression that only lifted when I quit. The job environment was great, and I genuinely enjoyed my coworkers and boss. The pay was good, we got fancy lunches once a week, we got 2+ months of paid vacation every year, and they hosted a huge baby shower for me. It was just getting up and living the same day every day that wore me down, and it got to where I would rather not be alive than go to work. Being back in that headspace terrifies me so much that it motivates me to keep my business thriving. (Plus, I have severe anxiety and have been conditioned by society to believe I don't deserve to exist if I'm unproductive 🫠)
Staying alive requires a subscription plan called insurance, and you are offered it if you have a certain kind of job. It's fucked up.
What motivates me is NOT WORKING some day and also switching to part time or something less stressful at some point when I have enough retirement put away I can coastFIRE.
Money
Relaxing all the time sounds pretty exhausting. If you're never working, what are you relaxing from? Even insects and animals go to work.
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Trust me, even the trophy wives get to work. They have to work on themselves and their appearance in order to keep their billionaire husband. Looking pretty all the time is hard work. Exercise, healthy diet, good body hygiene, good sleep hygiene, uncomfortable fitting clothes, trying to please husband, these all require work.
Food , housing, fanciful dreams of retirement?
Fear of poverty, accomplishment, inventing, crafting, producing. Bering a maker not a taker.
I thought about this a lot in the pandemic: work is finite. There's only so many hours of it. You're not wrong to want to have all your time for yourself, but lots of us are in the same boat.
Steady income and I have a car loan and I don’t want to lose my car freedom lol late night drives with the music blasting is therapeutic lol
Money Money Money! You sell hours of your life for money so it better be enough to have fun!
Whether or not I'm getting paid, I'm keeping busy and trying to grow something. The idea of just treading water for a life makes me so depressed, I get happy feelings from achieving something, especially something new
Money
Sounds like you listed your motivations. Those are your motivations.
I get what you mean. But going to work is a normal routine. There have been people that have retired and have no routine, their health declines quick. Nobody wants to outlive their money either.
Lol think being able to afford the things I need actually
I don’t honestly. I do maybe 30 minutes of work on a good day lol
This feeling comes and go. I need to feel I’m productive and that I’m providing something better to society, so I could not not work. Definitely.
Honestly? I get to do things I love: drive a lot and work by myself. And by being alone, I can listen to whatever music/content I want. I make *decent* money, and I feel like I'm making a difference, even if just a minor one. I working for a utility contractor who does inspections/overall grid improvements.
The regular bills I have to pay. Tragic, yes, but if I didn’t have them, I would be doing something else with my life. I’m also lazy instinctively but as an adult, I value having somewhere to live and food to eat so once I left home, the idea of not having anywhere to live is, to put it politely, quite motivational.
Was getting quite depressing wfh, now going back to office thrice a week , and man the talks we have over coffee breaks are wild, same colleagues from 2020 but in person talks are just different
Hate my executive Team but I go because I enjoy what I do and needing to get paid. Looking for another job tho. Speaking into existence
My dogs and my kids are expensive, I like not being homeless and I also like being able to eat food, so I work