What keeps you going every day?

I, like most of us on Lemmy, live a better life than almost the entirety of the rest of human history.
Life is full of wonders and joy and there's so much more to enjoy!
- Gratitude is essential to happiness, studies show and also just duh.
  And there really is good reason for it - e.g. all the literal wars fought in the past so that we could have such wonders as we do.
  Happiness isn't entirely just a choice, but it is partially one. 💞
  Oh, and also chocolate, definitely chocolate.
- I, like most of us on Lemmy, live a better life than almost the entirety of the rest of human history.
  I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the world and by extension you have been so kind to me and I turned out to be just this worthless waste of oxygen, my existence a net negative of epic proportions and yet I'm too cowardly to at least end this miserable experiment.
  Life is full of wonders and joy and there's so much more to enjoy!
  Life is full of putting on a face and smiling and playing a well-adjusted individual and I'm so tired.
  Welcome to depression-ville, population way too fucking many.
- What do you enjoy? Need some tips on what to do outside of work. :)
  
  I'm not sure how applicable mine are but here goes:
  About a decade ago, I got back into soccer as an adult. I played as a kid so it wasn't as bad but my fitness took a couple years to get back up to snuff and I had a bunch of pulled muscles the first couple years. Now though, it's my favourite thing and I play 3 times a week (which is admittedly, too many times) and for those three hours, I don't think about the world, work, politics, life or anything, all that matters is keeping a ball out of our net. (And of course I've made some great friends along the way.)
  As part of the getting back into shape, I've really dug swimming. It's easy on these old man muscles and you can feel the improvement. (the hot tub afterwards is pretty nice too.)
  I also got back into reading non fiction. I hadn't looked for anything really new or interesting since the mid 00s, and reddit for all its faults had some really interesting suggestions in r/fantasy and r/sciencefiction which were a blast to read!
  During the pandemic, I tried video games. Not really for me but some folks love them.
  There's an independent theatre down the street and I love just popping in and seeing what weird and wild stuff they have. Sure, at home is cheap but there's something amazing about the big screen especially for a slower movie that would be way too tempting to bust out a phone for. I would never have made it through Lawrence of Arabia, the Good the Bad and the Ugly or Skinamarink without busting out a phone if I hadn't been in a theatre.
  There are some great little indie music venues in my city, there's something refreshing about watching a young garage band that'll go nowhere but is having a blast.
  Some of my buddies are really into board games, which are fun. Not quite my thing but I fully get it.
  I dunno, maybe some of those appeal? But really, I think the question is what are you interested in? What makes you smile? Or what has made you smile in the past?
  
  Playing an instrument, regularly going to a sports club and regularly doing cardio is great for me
  
  I like making stuff. The point is that you do something where you can see something grow over time into something more than just the sum of your effort. It can be anything.
  I own a house, so most stuff I make are extensions or improvements on the house. Last year I build a chicken coupe. This year I remodelled the unused hallway.
  If you don't own a house you could try volunteering somewhere. I recently started volunteer work with the theatre group my daughter is a member of.
  Or maybe gardening, rent a plot at a community garden.
  Even working out at the gym can have the same effect.
- This is how I like to think about it. There’s so many cool things I haven’t gotten to experience, both natural and man-made. Giving up would mean I never get to see them and appreciate them.

Pure stubborness and a fear of death.
- Best motivation.

Basically nothing. But like I'm gonna die eventually, why try to rush to the finish line?
- But what is the point of living a slow life, if it means you'll die and it'll all amount to nothing anyways?
  
  There is no point to life. It's not an fps adventure game, it's a sandbox.
  
  What's the point of life at all? Its been slow the first 25 years, the rest being slow doesn't bother me much anymore. I'm tired, but I'm too lazy to go out quick.
  
  Why does it need to "amount" to something? Do you know anything about most of the people who have lived? Do you expect that of everyone around you? Enjoy yourself, enjoy being alive and embodied while you are, maybe you accomplish something for someone else, maybe you don't, no big deal. Just being here is an incredible thing to have.

My continued existence pisses off fascists.
I'm vegan, non-binary (with dyed hair), car-free, a member of a linguistic minority, poor, and many other things that make conservatives think the world would be better off without me. I strive to survive mostly to spite these fuckers.
- If it helps, I'd quite likely be your friend if we knew eachother.
- You’re beautiful! You have every right to be here! Show those fascists indifference and live your life to the fullest!

Legs.

Adenosine triphosphate

My wife. I love spending time with her. She's my whole world.

Curious what I might see next.

Nicotine and spite.
- Caffeine and anger.

Coffee and cigarettes 😁
- Scotch and chocolate.
  
  Business idea: scotcholate

Surprise. Fear and surprise. And ruthless efficiency.
- And an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope!
  
  I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition!

Caffeine these days.

Coffee. Scary amounts of it.

games, anime, programming, music and lemmy

My pets. They deserve the best. They're all so spoiled.
- "My pets aren't spoiled. They are compensated fairly for the services they provide."

If nothing else, my family. I don't have a good sense of the future or life goals, so I keep myself moving by setting small goals. Plans to bake something, working on a painting, just little things around the home.
- Hello fellow non life goal setter! Having that life goal mentality fucked me up for years, went to therapy and learned to live in the present while trying not to obsess about the future. So now little things are what keeps me going: Getting to yoga class, fixing a nice plate of food if I feel like it, petting my dogs, crocheting so I feel thr burden of the stuff that has to get done a little less.

Because this is the only ride in town, might as well buy a ticket.
- You never bought a ticket, you were born on the train.

A lack of alternatives. The only option is to get up and go to work.

Music, dog.
- Yeah! Like, singing your favorites to the dog but changing the words to be about their floppy ears or their Frito paws.
  
  You know what's up
- I was about to say my dog. But i feel like he's about to die.

Nicotine, pain killers, a laughable disability payment...
...and a furious, blinding rage at the inequity of modern terminal stage capitalism that has doomed our planet to ecocide and most of its inhabitants into petty, self-centered, egotistical and ignorant caricatures of human beings...
...which has mostly congealed and calcified into some kind of mixture of contempt and spite that is either the basis of, or what I can erroneously yet convincingly present to myself and others as the basis of my identity, self-worth and sense of humor, concluding that merely surviving as long as I can, and pursuing that which I enjoy which requires next to 0 monetary expenditure, is the meek and feeble yet largest middle finger I can personally raise toward all who pursue wealth accumulation, or enable those who do.

Dietary fiber.

I’m too wimpy to kill myself.
- Ditto. Effing survival instinct.

Two types of insulin and a bunch of related medical supplies that are delivered in a shit ton of plastic waste

Spite of all the people who want me dead or want to see me fail
I'm not even being sarcastic

Pure spite towards my depression

Metabolism mostly. Kinda glommed into a listlessness of not knowing what I'm doing with my life in a professional sense.

Whenever I habe to ask myself that question I remind myself I'm doing the best I can considering the circumstances of my upbringing. And that I already did a lot of good even though it often damaged myself.

Life can be rough but by all measures I have a good one.
Zooming out and realizing the value of what I have is important, even when I'm dealing with mental health, dying loved ones, finances, etc.

The processes by which my body produces energy and keeps going haven't stopped functioning yet.

Food and water.

Landlord demands rent so I have to keep working to pay it

The people I have chosen to spend my days with. My spouse, my child, a few friends. And also daydreaming about vacation...specifically vacationing with all of those people. That would be incredible.

I guess I don't have anything better to do?

Caffeine and revolution /s
In all seriousness its art, history, and books. Human expression is all very fascinating to me and I am excited to continue learning about it

No serious health problems and make enough money to not be homeless and have minor luxuries.
As soon as I get cancer or some serious health issue, or about to be homeless, c'est la vie and good fucking riddance.

Humanity has limitless stories to tell, and a lifetime of stories to experience already. There's a lot I want to hear about~

The incredible happiness of exchanging the time I was given on earth for money so I can pay my bills. Highly recommended, 10/10.

Family (including my cats), curiosity, caffeine, food, my living instinct.

Inertia, stopping everything and giving up would require slightly more emotional labor than the status quo.

I really like learning things and every day I'm here, I have the opportunity to learn more.

Not asking that question

Lisa needs braces.
- Dental plan!

The orphan crushing machine

The next chapter of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
Edit
On any other day:
When a new chapter gets released:

Just good ass coffee
- This guy ass brews

Waiting for the day we finally and collectively eat the rich.

Mornings are pretty nice.
- Wtf?!?!
  
  It was a quote that I read on lemmy. Someone was talking about dealing with suicidal thoughts and he asked his friend why he shouldn’t kill himself. His friend thought for a minute and then looked at him and said “Mornings are pretty nice.”
  It was at that point he realised he shouldn’t be looking for some great reason for some great reason for life and instead just be.
  
  I have never read anything that made me so angry.

what keeps the water going while it makes its journey from the Alps to the sea?
- Gravity?
- Me, but it's a lot of work.

I've started blogging about videogames. So I'm just enjoying writing about stuff and looking forward to my posts on Wednesdays. No one reads it but it's nice to write my thoughts down about games that I play.

Figuratively: my family Literally: caffeine and sugar

I like reading books, having meals with my spouse, seeing friends, listening to music, dabbling with my hobbies, and petting our cat.
Oh; and drugs

I'm too fucking lazy to kill myself, that's what.

Video games, tbh. Absolutely love it when a new, good FPS drops.

Sheer fucking will? A night of sleep? LSD? I dunno.

My lucid dreams are unspeakably realistic, comprehensively and indistinguishable from reality. It's like waking up each night into a horrible dystopia.
In my nightmares, there's a global autocracy, a kind of maximalism of pain which forces people into mass slavery, but it's not even according to their whims, it's simply a price for existing.
I'd go on but it's too spooky and sad.
The rest of the time life's pretty good.
- Well if you're lucid, can't you just like fly out of there or something?
  
  I mean, don't all the dream characters die when you wake up? Seems kinda
  Not good