wheelhomies

What is it that keeps you going, especially in times of adversity?

I realize this could be a very "deep" question for some people, but don't be shy...

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Crompsin

Even after I felt the value of my life was nil, this symbol was why I kept going: Duty, discipline, fear, responsibility, honor.


After I took it off, hung it up, didn't look at it anymore... the feeling remained.

Like the man says,

"I am a man with a nuclear reactor in his chest. Instructions: Remain calm. Prepare to go."

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C19H28O2 = C6H2(NO2)3CH3

All your base are belong to us.

The_Jazz

"In times of adversity"? My experience with the real world, especially the real world professionally, is that all times are full of adversity. If they aren't, I'm not doing things right.

What keeps me going? The knowledge that somewhere out there one of my competitors is taking a shortcut and as soon as it pops up in front of me, I'll give him a haircut. Work is a constant grind. Again, if it's not, you're not doing it right. The Secret is to accept the grind as a part of yourself and to get off on it. I love the fact that I work harder and longer than any of my competitors and that they run in fear when they see me on the other end of something.

On the home front, it's family. In good times or bad, there's always something good going on somewhere, whether its going to a nephew's soccer game or listening to my son babble something incomprehensible. There are some very bad things going on in parts of my family, but there's lots of good to balance that out.

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The proud dad of Max since 2/15/06 and Andrew since 1/9/08!

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

pig

is there really a choice?

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You don't love me, you just love my piggy style

tecoyah

A deeper understanding of the bigger picture, and acceptance that this life was not meant to be easy. A belief that the perceived negatives I deal with are the norm, and an ability to see beyond them to the upcoming beauty they lead to. My own decision to pay close attention to diversity and try to learn from it, instead of trying to ignore what is happening in hopes it goes away. Embracing hardship as a path to becoming more than I am right now...and trying to enjoy the bumpy ride.

Knowing deep down, that this life is only as full as I make it...regardless of how hard it is at times.

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Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

maleficent

quoted for truth - what's the alternative? giving in?

my stubbornness and ego are what keep me going..

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wheelhomies

of course there is.

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albania

The possibility of finding answers to some of my questions; or put another way basically the fact that there will be a tomorrow.

abaya

There's always tomorrow.

I've survived a lot of shit already, so why stop now? I know I can handle it, I just have to kick my own ass into gear and drive the hell over the mountain.

The majority of the average people in the world have survived far worse shit than I will EVER have to face, and they still manage to get out of bed every morning. In comparison, I have so many privileges... which would make me even more of a wuss-ass if I gave up early.

Basically, suck it up and deal. Things could be worse, and they'll probably get better over time.

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And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Crompsin

The Choice is that Nietzsche thing... the thing about staring into the abyss. How it stares back.

I'd say one the best examples of the freedoms we have in life is the ability to choose if we don't want to live it anymore.

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C19H28O2 = C6H2(NO2)3CH3

All your base are belong to us.

ironpham

In times when I feel like I mean nothing, I realize that there are those who think so much of me. I can't let them down...Go IronPham!

Ustwo

I have a different take.

Most adversity can be planned for, even the unexpected. This leaves you only open to the catastrophic types of problems and in those cases you won't know until you have them.

Most peoples issues are self inflicted, and therefore can be avoided.

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Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host

Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

Willravel

Nothing. Absolutely nothing can keep me going. I just go.

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ɯǝɥʇ ǝʌlos uɐɔ ǝʍ ʇɐɥʇ ǝɔuɐɹouƃı ɥƃnoɹɥʇ ʇou sı ʇı 'sɯǝlqoɹd ǝʇɐǝɹɔ uɐɔ ǝƃpǝlʍouʞ ɟı

Ourcrazymodern?

This might sound trite:
As far as we know, living beats the alternative.

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BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

squeeeb

i'm too much of a coward to end it myself, directly...it's not that i keep going for any reason, i am just here until i get a chance to leave...

in times of adversity, and in times of joy, i see it this way: life is temporary. you either believe in an afterlife or you don't.

if A: there is an afterlife, then whatever you do on this spinning ball of dirt wont make too much difference. no one will care if you were the CEO or the janitor. no one will care if you were fat or mr olympia.

if B: there is nothing after this, then, whatever you do won't matter at all. no one will care etc etc....

what makes adversity? when shit don't go like you want it to. well, when you are miserable, when everyone is against you, when you are facing seroius adversity, remember....in about 50 years (could be 50 minutes, you don't know, do you?) it won't matter. you fuck up at work. so what. is anyone gonna care 6 months from now? anyone gonna care 1 year from now? is it gonna matter when you die?

NOPE.

so, whatever has you down, if you look at it in the long range scheme of things, so fuckin what? some things will haunt you until you die (why did she leave me? why am i not attractive? why do i suck at everything i do?) but really, does the guy who she is with, the good looking guy, the guy who is good at everything, are his accomplishments gonna mean anything in 80 years?

NOPE.

don't be nihilistic about it, but put it into the long range perspective...enjoy what you have, what you can now...

sorry for the rambling...i could go on and on about this...i've thought about it for many years....

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onward to mayhem!

intellijence

The chance to be alive and breathing

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ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space

ratbastid

We're funny creatures, us human beings. We want what we don't have, and we don't want what we have. We spend all our time either grasping for what we don't have, or rejecting what we have. That grasping and rejecting is also known as "adversity".

When I can embrace what I have and embrace what I don't have, there IS no adversity.

QuasiMondo

I always figure that, "sooner or later, this shit has to stop." And then sooner or later, the shit does stop. It always does, sooner or later.

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"Like it or not, change has come. O.J. is in prison, and a black man is in the White House. Is everybody happy now?"

-Tim Reid & Tom Dreesen

wheelhomies

and then the cycle repeats.

i definitely agree that most people seem to look for reasons to be unhappy, or make mountains out of molehills, but all adversity isn't simply mental.

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Jetée

Everything and nothing.


It would take much too long to explain my philosophy, since it is nothing but uncanny contradictions and ironic truths that beg to be unbelieved by naysayers.


I'll try in a later state to not by a mystery wrapped in a conundrum inside an enigma, but that is all I can ever hope to be. I take it all in, mix and serve you absolutely nothing.

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The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. —M. Scott Peck

ratbastid

So... who is it, then, that points their finger at a situation and declares it "adversity"? You really think "adversity" exists out there in the abstract, in the absence of someone interpreting it as such?

What if instead of "adversity" I use the word "challenge" or "opportunity"?

Crompsin

You can do that. I encourage it. What I don't encourage is everybody doing that. And why not? Well, I say this:

SELF HELP WORDING RANT:

"Challenge" and "opportunity" versus "adversity" are awesome Tony Robbins posi-go-words. Why isn't adversity a positive word, again? Huh. Nope, I'm lost.

If I take a crap on two slices of white bre... okay, nevermind. Bad saying.

As Jesus, Prince, and Cher always declare: "You are what you do..." I.E. not how society spins the thesaurus to justify their complacency with sweater-wearing-latte-drinking nomenclature.

Sometimes life has adversity. Like a car wreck that kills your wife and kid. Like getting shot at in the desert by a 14 year old with an AKM. Like getting AIDS from your girlfriend. We don't refer to these things as challenges or opportunities because they insult common sense... they insult the lucky sucker that inherits their fruits.

Sure, sure... maybe you write a best-seller on emotional survival from the personal growth lessons you received from your hard times (positive). Maybe you say, "Fuck it!" and suck-start a Mossberg in your basement (negative). Maybe you just get a little bitter and consult the bourbon bottle (neutral).

(goes to tear band-aids off unsuspecting people)

Elvis: "Political correctness and excessive positive word reinforcement lower IQ points."

__________________
C19H28O2 = C6H2(NO2)3CH3

All your base are belong to us.

wheelhomies

then you are just being politically correct. i suppose adversity has negative attached to it, but you can embrace it and learn from it just as much as any "opportunity".

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ratbastid

Funny, I was under the impression that this thread was about MY life perspective. I'm sad to find out that my personal life perspective is so wrong, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for educating me.

I find human beings very strange. Why should a philosophy that includes accepting what's so and giving up one's resistance to life encounter so much resistance?

wheelhomies

this thread is about sharing life perspectives. i thought people could discuss their beliefs. but yeah, guess i shouldn't have said anything since it is your perspective and not mine that i asked for.

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Nimetic

Sure. Planned for is different to prevention though.

I know that I could be diagnosed with a painful and chronic disease tomorrow, this doesn't mean that I can do much about it. Likewise I could be in a car accident and have permanent damage from it.

Don't fool yourself. Most of us are lucky. The reality of life for many people is hardship. Many people have poor health or dependents who have poor health.

If you question this... look at MS, look at Huntington's disease, look at cancer. Sick people and their carers are hidden in hospitals, in nursing homes and in family houses. We don't see them at work, restaurants or such - they cannot attend.