The expectations of my friends and family.

Honestly, this might go against most of the advice that is given in an average (Ask)Reddit thread, and it might not be the solution to life-long happiness. But what really got me going was the feeling of being a failure in the eyes of those people I care about.

Three years ago, I wasn't doing very well. I was failing most of my college courses, felt completely bored with everything and didn't really know what to do with my life. I had no real interest in my subject matter, went out with friends to bars just to kill time, rather than to enjoy it, and would spend as much time as I could at home playing video games while I was trying to avoid doing any coursework (or cleaning, cooking, for that matter).

Now, I felt like a failure quite often, and I would feel bad about that. But changing is hard, and I didn't have a real incentive. But at some point when I went through another typical post-puberty guy cycle of feeling worthless, unloved, then not caring about it and repeat, I wondered what some of my friends would think. My friends are all pretty clever and good looking, and I felt they had a lot going for them. But always when I would talk to them, they would always tell me that they really admired my knowledge (I am really good at pretending to know a lot and bluff my way through conversation). So I naturally felt really shitty when I compared the view they had of me to my real situation.

So that's when I got the drive to actually do something. I felt that at some point they would see through and call my bluff, and then I would have nothing left to offer. So I tried to become a person who I myself would admire. I studied harder (still lazy though .. but all bits help!), read more, started to like and appreciate my subject matter more, and applied for some very competitive internships which took me abroad and provided to be invaluable experiences. I even took a lot better care of my health by going to the gym and watching my food patterns, but to be perfectly honest I mostly did that to impress a girl (which failed, but in the end I'm super happy I did it).

So whenever I feel a bit bored, or tired from the long hours, I think back to who I used to be, and how people would judge me if I was that person. And that keeps me going. Perhaps it is better to get to such a point by 'being yourself', 'ignoring the haters' or whatever buzz people like to talk about nowadays. But for me, changing my behaviour based on what I thought other people thought of me has drastically improved my life. And I wouldn't have it any other way.