Motivation & Junk

by **Mavet** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 3:57 am

I was thinking about this because it's getting late.

A friend of mine is getting his PhD. Smart guy.

How in the world does someone have motivation like that? Or the willingness to do ONE thing for that long? Does anyone know how a person is able to keep themselves from derailing when things require that big of a commitment?

Many people with HPD might ask the same question. Not because HPD's are not intelligent...they frequently are of average to above average intelligence, but seemingly have problems with diligence and inner focus, at least when they are unaware and actively living within the disorder.

I've taken some grad courses and was about to plunge in after the M.A. but the timing wasn't right for me. I would guess that at least three of the ingredients for completing a PhD are
(1) You have to really like and be interested in your graduate topic...so be careful what you submit to your thesis committee

(2) You have to have a lot of available energy flowing through your life. Few to no intra-psychic conflicts, problems with relationships, booze, drugs, money, marital discord, etc.
(3) You have to have the will to do it.Intangible, but no other way to say it.

Maybe some people who are HPD but pulled off degrees and other accomplishments can contribute...

by **jmJMjm** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:46 am

Mavet wrote:I was thinking about this because it's getting late.

A friend of mine is getting his PhD. Smart guy.

How in the world does someone have motivation like that? Or the willingness to do ONE thing for that long? Does anyone know how a person is able to keep themselves from derailing when things require that big of a commitment?

It is a journey of a thousand miles that you complete step by step.

Anyone can do anything in bite size chunks.

Sometimes things do derail: Financial aide issues, moving and roomate issues, and a lot of crazy things can set you back. Yet you get up and take another step, rinse and repeat.

by **orion13213** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 6:49 pm

This segueways nicely into the subject of self realization, support, professional help, therapy, and recovery, whatever a person's mental health and emo problems might be.

Yes getting a PhD is big, but recovering from an addiction or a PD is in no way small.
The world smiles big at the PhD or MBA but sometimes I think the other, quieter personal victories are far more important.

Agree? Disagree?

by **Fallen_Angel73** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:04 pm

orion8591 wrote:Yes getting a PhD is big, but recovering from an addiction or a PD is in no way small.
The world smiles big at the PhD or MBA but sometimes I think the other, quieter personal victories are far more important.

And this, my friend, is what I call narcissistic ethics. I refuse to learn them. (In short: I agree.)

I'm a dropout and I'm fricking proud of it.

by **Greatem** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:07 pm

orion8591 wrote:This segueways nicely into the subject of self realization, support, professional help, therapy, and recovery, whatever a person's mental health and emo problems might be.

Yes getting a PhD is big, but recovering from an addiction or a PD is in no way small.
The world smiles big at the PhD or MBA but sometimes I think the other, quieter personal victories are far more important.

Agree? Disagree?

Agree

by **Mavet** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 12:21 am

My ambition doesn't match my mindset. I want to do all of these amazing things because I feel that it'd suit my ego but at the same time I'm like '...meh.'

by **yYyYy** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 12:23 am

ma wasted talent

by **xdude** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:31 am

Some people push through via pure will power, but often people live through because on some level they really enjoy what they are doing. The rewards are a nice bonus, but there is some truth to the idea that if you find something you love, you'll never have to work another day in your life.

Perhaps for someone with HPD there is so much focus on the reward (i.e., the prestige, fame, wealth), all of which are leverage-able assets towards gaining approval/attention from others, that they miss out on the simple enjoyment of learning, at becoming better at something one loves to do?

by **masquerade** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:54 am

You know, sometimes we can all be too hard on ourselves, PD or not. Very often, we feel a compulsion to reach the final destination and feel a sense of failure if we don't get there. By focusing too much on the final destination, we can miss out on all the beautiful parts of the journey on the way. Success isn't always determined by achieving the final goal. The small stepping stones on the way can be equally important.

Perhaps the biggest success of all is to achieve a sense of awareness, personal integrity and a knowledge that someone did their best.

Motivation & Junk

Motivation & Junk

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