01-17-2018, 04:38 PM
(01-17-2018, 05:42 AM)Naomi Wrote: This is something I really struggle with. In Acceptance and Commitment therapy the therapist keeps asking a similar question and my response has been "what if it's nothing?". I feel like I remember have hobbies and interests and now I just float through life existing. Only getting out of bed (on the days I do) to work to make money to pay bills. I'm really trying to find that thing that makes me happy, that I look forward to, get out of bed for - but currently I don't know what that could be.
Hi Naomi,
Sometimes people really do not know what is it that motivates them to continue living, but it is always something. It can be difficult to get in touch with what it is. Dr Claire Weekes, who was probably the best psychotherapist who ever lived, used to teach that life is just a person jumping from one simple motivator to the next. The motivators could be as small as looking forward to their next meal, or to playing with their dog. A persons mind knows what it has lined up that it is looking forward to, even if you don't know it on the conscious level. In fact, right now as you are reading this, your mind is looking forward to something. That is what gives you the ability to move forward. Can you think of what it might be? Food, sleep, a phone call, something involving a significant other? It doesn't have to be something huge. As Dr Weekes was trying to say, it is usually a string of simple pleasures that gets a person through. Check back and lets see what others post. Thanks for contributing and I hope you will be able to get in touch with some of your overlooked motivators. Please post them, if you do, and if you care to share. Have a great day. RM