I've always been criticized by my parents, my teachers, and my therapist for being too harsh on myself, but looking upwards seems more optimistic.
Yeah, I know the feeling. I'm pretty sure that no matter what I ever do or accomplish, I'll never be truly "happy" for any long period of time, or ever feel any real sense of contentment. I am always burning with this drive to do more, accomplish more, see more, feel more, whatever. And I am an optimistic person, and my sense of self-efficacy is off the charts... but I also know that there will most likely always be something missing.
Of course, getting into reading a lot of evolutionary psychology, finally truly embracing my atheism (and not hiding behind the term "agnostic"), etc., have taken some of the mystery and romance out of the world as well... I have a hard time not believing in a strictly deterministic, mechanical universe sometimes, and that seems to take some of the joy out of things....
But I keep ploughing on, and telling myself that it's the journey that matters. :~)
Yeah, I know the feeling. I'm pretty sure that no matter what I ever do or accomplish, I'll never be truly "happy" for any long period of time, or ever feel any real sense of contentment. I am always burning with this drive to do more, accomplish more, see more, feel more, whatever. And I am an optimistic person, and my sense of self-efficacy is off the charts... but I also know that there will most likely always be something missing.
Of course, getting into reading a lot of evolutionary psychology, finally truly embracing my atheism (and not hiding behind the term "agnostic"), etc., have taken some of the mystery and romance out of the world as well... I have a hard time not believing in a strictly deterministic, mechanical universe sometimes, and that seems to take some of the joy out of things....
But I keep ploughing on, and telling myself that it's the journey that matters. :~)