Comments on: Existential Crisis

By: » Va..Va.. Sigh Mothers of Brothers: All about life with boys…and life in general

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:35:35 +0000

[...] Twitter at @GKAguirre. Knowing that I often ponder the deepest thoughts one can think, engage in existential crises on a regular basis, and truly want to foster more meaning in my life, he sent me to a site where [...]

By: Aidan Donnelley Rowley @ Ivy League Insecurities

Aidan Donnelley Rowley @ Ivy League Insecurities — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:02:57 +0000

Oooooooh. I love this post and I am sorry I am late to comment. I fancy myself an existential crisis specialist too. I love the word “existential.” Just had a mini argument with my editor because I want that word on the back of my forthcoming novel because, hey, the book is about one girl’s existential tumult.

I am a hybrid. I go back and forth between doing something and doing nothing with such rapidity that I guess it probably appears to the outsider that I am all do something. I do have moments though where I am paralyzed and in need of pause. I oddly relish those moments, gray in hue, because though tough they often birth new ideas and directions.

I hope you write more about existential crises here because this is important stuff that is relevant for all of us, the doers and the non-doers alike.

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:39:49 +0000

I think it’s definitely possible to make “doing something” an inactive process. I think it would look something like spinning your wheels: you’re doing something, but your motivation might me skewed. Maybe you’re just doing something for the sake of doing something, to say, “Look, I’m being active!” In my humble opinion, I don’t think a passive-aggressive personality type has much to do with it, but if someone else feels differently, please pipe in!

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:36:13 +0000

Jen, I think desserts are perfectly suited to existential crises!

By: Daddo

Daddo — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:06:11 +0000

If one can, “make doing ‘nothing’ an active process,” can one make doing “something” an inactive process? Into which one of these two possibilites would passive-aggressive personality types best fit? Inquiring minds need to know!

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:34:26 +0000

Oh, the big questions. I tackle them by doing nothing sometimes. Or submerging myself in books or recipes, often dessert recipes.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:06:47 +0000

I eat.
And then, I pray.

This is hands down my favorite topic you have tackled. Hands down!

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:10:03 +0000

Whether you do nothing, do something, or do nothing in an active way, do what feels RIGHT! You can almost never go wrong when you listen to your gut.

By: Kristen @ Motherese

Kristen @ Motherese — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:20:29 +0000

Fascinating questions and observations, Elizabeth. I too fall into the “Just do it” camp, especially when I am feeling existentially sluggish. But I find that I often gain forward movement simply by stopping for a moment and thinking. I love your idea of existential exhaustion – I imagine that many of us can relate to it quite well.

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:08:43 +0000

Clearly you know all about me and what I am doing — but I do appreciate the permission — from you — to do nothing. I trust your judgement so if you suggest that doing “nothing” is valuable (and I think it is) then I am going for that.