<p>Most of us on HSL have some sort of drive. Something that keeps us going, that inspires us.
Without that drive, we couldn't do a lot of stuff.</p>
<p>Recently, around my 16th birthday, I feel sort of... driveless. Like, I have no inner motor. There's nothing or no one to inspire me. I feel down and out. My confidence is gone. I don't know what it is... but it's gone.</p>
<p>How do you keep your drive, and if you ever did, how did you lose it?</p>
<p>You…are my drive.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>wow.</p>
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<p>I lost my drive because I had too many commitments. I took a break off from school for a day and revaluated what I wanted to do. I read through my diary and started afresh.</p>
<p>My friend had no drive and I gave her a song and she felt motivated again.</p>
<p>I suppose a lot of factors drive me, but there’s the inner drive that is always there, the knowledge of what I must do. When I feel in need of inspiration, I’ll look to the terrible things in the world, things that could be fixed, and make myself know that I must do all I can. I read the poetry and prose of Bobby Sands (in my book of his prison writings). I listen to music (be it Eddie Vedder in the Into the Wild soundtrack or Irish Rebel Music). I give passionate speeches, to train myself on how I must act. I look around me and see poverty, knowing personal struggles, and I see the injustice of the rich and the need for radical social change, and I dedicate my full self to this. I give myself room to back out by digging deep to know how far I’ll go, but death always seems to be among the lengths I’ll go (and trust me, I really don’t want to die). I have to ask myself how I could live without doing what I must, and I know I couldn’t (if I could, I’d probably shoot for astronomer, astronaut, professor, or something else, instead of revolutionary for the poor). Other things have driven me before, but never could any live up to this.</p>
<p>Search for your passion and pursue it. I thought mine was academics, where I excel, but then I found my passion for social justice. What’s yours?</p>
<p>taking over this world</p>
<p>I have no drive. May I borrow yours?</p>
<p>Well I basically have a bunch of short term goals. Like first, since I’m going to be a senior, my dream is to attend MIT (which judging by your username, you would like too 
) so I know what I need to do to try to make that a reality.</p>
<p>Then, (even if that doesn’t happen) I know my next goal is to go to medical school and become (for now) an anesthesiologist so I’ll have another thing to keep me motivated through undergrad.</p>
<p>Then my next goal would be to become a practicing anesthesiologist and make a lot of money so I could:
a) basically pay my parents back for all their help and support by allowing them to retire early and not have to worry about debt or money problems
b) finally have the means to help others who need it
c) travel the world</p>
<p>There’s a lot of long term goals but by having short term ones, I don’t feel overwhelmed and it’s easier to focus on something that’s in the near future rather than far away.</p>
<p>Just think about what you want to accomplish in life and then think of what you need to do to get there It doesn’t have to be about academics or a career, but really anything you really want!</p>
<p>My drive is knowing that doing what I do is going to get me into a good school and away from home. Homelife = Insane</p>
<p>To learn. That never dies.</p>
<p>I don’t have a drive. I just do what makes me happy. Actually, that is a drive :)</p>
<p>I do whatever interests me. When it’s not fun, I don’t do it anymore. Although I do accept some things as obligations that I need to do whether I want to or not.</p>
<p>I also want to try everything and excel at what I do. Which means I go out of my way to seek new things while at the same time concentrating on a few specific fields I think are worth pursuing.</p>
<p>I am in the midst of a personal crisis as well, OP. I feel your pain. :(</p>
<p>Usually, I obsess over something for a period of time (but usually for no more than two years). During this time, I become insanely knowledgeable about whatever topic I am excited about.</p>
<p>Then, I drop my interest like a hot potato and move on to the next phase of my life. Lately, I’ve been dropping a lot of potatoes. Unfortunately, my hands are now empty. :(</p>
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<p>But this is where the problem begins. How do we know what we should choose to want? How do we know if we should follow what we think we want? How do we know we think what we think we think? Why should we bother? Aren’t we going to die anyway?</p>
<p>My friends keep my drive going by making sure I don’t take life too seriously. I have a drive as long as I don’t get burnt out- and they make sure I don’t do that :).</p>
<p>My drive consists of chomping down comfort food on Friday and Saturday nights while miserably contemplating my pathetic existence.</p>
<p>Lol. I’m jk. My drive for reading has been in me since I was five… I just pick up books and read. I read the first Harry Potter book in kindergarten haha. Earlier on, it was basically just novels, but now I’m more into history and non-fiction.</p>
<p>You don’t need a drive though. Really, most people don’t have one. And this whole concept of needing a drive so you can be passionate and succeed in life is false, in terms of both money and happiness. Just be comfortable with yourself; if a drive comes along, follow it.</p>
<p>Lol, can’t believe I’m being so serious about all this. o_O</p>
<p>I plan to Double Major and the majors correspond to one of my life goals:
Astronomy - to discover more truths (about the universe, origins, and existence itself)
Government - to advocate for what I believe to be justice</p>
<p>I would love triple major but that’s just suicide. If it is physically possible I would major in Math as well because I believe reason, logic, and quantitative reasoning should be more emphasized in decisions that people make.</p>
<p>My drive, inline with the theories of Sigmund Freud, is for the BEST. SEX. EVER.</p>
<p>JK, it’s mainly my curiosity of the world around me. And how amazing our civilization, world, everything is. Math and science are beautiful.</p>
<p>Sorry, still don’t know how to quote,lol:</p>
<p>“But this is where the problem begins. How do we know what we should choose to want? How do we know if we should follow what we think we want? How do we know we think what we think we think? Why should we bother? Aren’t we going to die anyway?”</p>
<p>This conversation is getting to be too much like my TOK class but I find the “I’m going to die anyway” excuse (not trying to be mean here) to be weak. The threat of death shouldn’t impede you from accomplishing what you truly want to do or feel passionate about. We have such a short time on this earth that we ought to use it well. Yeah we all have dreams and yes they may not all come true, but if we don’t at least try then what is the purpose of life?! I don’t plan on letting my 80+ years of life passively go by; I’m going to make something of it :)</p>
<p>As B.O.B. said “Everyone here gonna die one day, So while im here ima find my way, Thats my forte,
thats why im here” 
Haha sorry but I love that dude :)</p>
<p>And as for not knowing what you want, that’s perfectly normal. Some (especially people our age) cannot always know what they want and it may take years to find out what it is you truly desire (not always money or material objects, but maybe just happiness). You may have to go down a few stray paths (i.e. working for something and then realizing you never really wanted it) but that’s life and those experiences will help you get closer to finding what you really want.</p>
<p>For America and The Lord, my God. And this one girl.</p>
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<p>To do that, you type:
[noparse]
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