Is it our unfulfilled desires that drive us on?

Question

What drives you on to do anything in life? Desires not yet fulfilled? Doesn't everything we do stem from some kind of desire towards or away from something?

Ps) I'm saying desires in themselves are a bad thing. Just curious as to what motivates ppl do move towards anything in life. and what happens when we finally get what we want? What then?

Thanks☺

correction: I meant to say desires in themselves are NOT a bad thing.

Answer 1

I believe it is the hope that someday these unfulfilled desires will get fulfilled that keep us going even if in the back of our mind we know that how ever close we feel to certain dreams or desires.........they are too good to come true.
But then it is all the more difficult to make tiny little heart understand the logic so we start wishing on stars :)
As for those unfulfilled desires that can be achieved or yet to give us any outcome, again the hope that we can reach higher , we can touch the sky, we can do it......all these make us move forward, motivates us till we find an answer .
What if we get what we desire for ? hm mmm.... If we get what we desire for then it makes us happy & makes us plan or dream our life accordingly in a new way giving rise to a whole new set of desires and a whole new hope that yes dreams come true, we just have to wake up & work for them.

Answer 2

Good question. I think that desire is exactly what drives us both on a material and spiritual level.
The thing about being human is that we will never get everything that we want. Once we attain our goals we find more things that we desire. I think this is both good and bad. A person with no desire is a person with no direction and therefore no spiritual growth. Of course a problem arises when we begin to desire things that are destructive, these types of desires have the opposite affect and result in self destruction rather than personal growth.
Personally I think as human beings we need desire as much as we need food or water to exist with out we we cannot survive and we would have died out as a species long ago.

Answer 3

I think this question begs a variety of answers, depending on the person being asked. I can't speak for others, but I know that unfullfilled desires are motivational for a number of people. They once were more important for me than they currently are. But try asking this to someone who is told they are dying... or someone who is very happy and at peace with who they are.
Desire = want for self. But, once somebody is satisfied with all they have (and they realize more would not make them happier)... perhaps they are more concerned for the needs of others. So then, would the helping of others become a "desire"? Not in my opinion. In my opinion the joy of helping others is not a desire... but still a joy and a reason to go forward.

Answer 4

I wouldn't use the word "desire" although, I have no problem with the word. I believe we live to thrive, as does a plant that has no "desires" or even "goals" (I think!) I also don't think it's motivation as much as it is the serendipity of living. Nor is there anything "wrong" about wanting, except that most people who want, always want more. Do they ever get "what they want?" No. I move "forward" because that is my life, like calendar pages flipping (quite merrily, I must add) in the wind.

Answer 5

I don't think that the desire that we're moving toward necessarily has to be unfulfilled. Whatever else our goals give us, we must assume that they'll give us happiness of some kind once we've achieved them. That's why we've made them our goals. A career goal, goal in relationships with friends, family, or lovers, extracurricular goal, or material goal is intended to either remove a source of unhappiness or create a source of happiness for us.

However, once a goal is achieved (depending on the type of goal it is), there is no reason why it can't continue bringing happiness for an extended period of time. For example, if you are pursuing a career that you love, once you get that career you can enjoy it for the rest of your working life. Only people who are so goal-oriented that they don't know how to be happy BEING in a situation, and only know how to be happy TRYING to get to a situation, would have to find a new goal once they've achieved their old one. We will always have new goals because new needs will always be presenting themselves throughout our lives, but once we've caught hold of a source of happiness for us, we can continue to gain happiness from it for as long as we choose (or as long as the source lasts).

Answer 6

There is instinct and culture. Instinct drives us to survive (eat and drink) and procreate. Culture teaches us that there is some value to success, education, work, etc... so that society is maintained.

People have so much free time that they being to desire things which is where the 4 Noble Truths come in. I think that if we were busy surviving and had no upper and lower classes, desire would be greatly reduced.

Answer 7

there is so much to do in this life, and as we age the things we want to do change as well, so when we reach each new stage of life, a new set of wants and desires goes with that stage, sometimes we leave behind old desires that werent fulfilled. but we create desires for ourselves so that there is a reason to life. with out desires, ones life would seem pointless. but then again in buddism, the path to enlightenment incompasses the leaving behind of ALL desires, so perhaps we dont need desires to live on. but then again they are trying to acheive enlightenment, so i suppose they do have a goal. hmmm im talking to myself over here lol.

Answer 8

Of course it is our unfulfilled desires that drive us, No one seeks more when content. Once your desires have been desired, you sleep, ask any guy!

Answer 9

The mind is quick. The mind acts on impulses. The soul takes a different root and pulls the mind back to it.

Answer 10

yes.
i was unfortunate enough to see what happens when a person bases his entire existence on only one goal/desire. when he reached that goal, he collapsed, lost and without any reason to do anything anymore.