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Hey there, I've had several years struggling with poor motivation, fatigue, depression (that resisted medication), but I'm now in solid recovery. Please belie

Hey there, I've had several years struggling with poor motivation, fatigue, depression (that resisted medication), but I'm now in solid recovery. Please believe me when I say it can get so much better. But there are some important things you need to do. Somehow you need to figure out what your "inner self" (by which I mean, the part of you that is stopping you from progressing towards your goals) really wants to do with its life, then find a way to work towards that a little bit every day. After trying all sorts of different things to get well and get motivated, that's what ended up working for me. I learned that the reason I wasn't able to find the motivation to do anything was that none of the things I was "supposed" to be doing were things that I cared about or could see great value in. At the same time, the goals I really wanted to work on were so huge and scary that I became paralysed with fear and unable to progress at all. If the case is similar for you, which I suspect it may be, the next step is to find a way through the middle of those extremes. You have a starting point in that you love the idea of working at a company like SpaceX or Tesla. That says to me you want to do something that has a huge impact on the future of the world, and anything else seems pointless. But equally you might be scared of what's involved in actually progressing into that kind of role. I know what it's like to feel that way, and it was much the same for me. And after a long time working at it day after day after day, I now am working on multiple projects that are starting to have a major impact on the world and are continuing to show solid growth. Bit by bit I'm more productive and less afraid as each day passes. But you need to do a lot of contemplation and perhaps a lot of talking to different people to figure out what the goal is and what steps you need to take. I've found it very beneficial to do a lot of emotional exercises to better understand what my "inner self" is thinking and how to overcome the barriers between where I'm at and where I want to be. I'd be very happy for you to contact me directly if you'd like to talk further. My email address is in my bio. I might even be able to introduce you to someone in Tesla's Autopilot team. Either way, lots of love and good wishes to you.

throw45745 10y ago
Believing there is one true self and you need to find it brings even more suffering and burden if you are not able to. One needs to preoccupy themselves with activities and interests with small expectations and appreciate all the things they do have. For example I am always happy that I am still alive, I consider it a victory.
- tomhoward 10y ago
  Thanks for pointing this out. I don't think there's 'one true self' - I reworded it to "inner self" (by which I mean, the part of you that is stopping you from progressing towards your goals). I've certainly learned that we all have multiple different parts to us pulling us in all different directions. But I've also learned that the path out of paralysis is to connect with and listen to the part of you that is screaming "no" and stopping you from doing things, and that this can lead to a process of bringing our different parts into alignment so we can start progressing. But I certainly understand it can be difficult and slow - it has been for me. And I also certainly agree that gratitude for the small things and appreciation for small wins and simple pleasures are fundamental.

throw45745 10y ago

Believing there is one true self and you need to find it brings even more suffering and burden if you are not able to. One needs to preoccupy themselves with activities and interests with small expectations and appreciate all the things they do have. For example I am always happy that I am still alive, I consider it a victory.

tomhoward 10y ago
Thanks for pointing this out. I don't think there's 'one true self' - I reworded it to "inner self" (by which I mean, the part of you that is stopping you from progressing towards your goals). I've certainly learned that we all have multiple different parts to us pulling us in all different directions. But I've also learned that the path out of paralysis is to connect with and listen to the part of you that is screaming "no" and stopping you from doing things, and that this can lead to a process of bringing our different parts into alignment so we can start progressing. But I certainly understand it can be difficult and slow - it has been for me. And I also certainly agree that gratitude for the small things and appreciation for small wins and simple pleasures are fundamental.