Every server in VC:MP that depends on a team goes through this, Vice War aint special. It burns us all out and my time has come.
Yes, indeed. Been there dude, a bunch of times. Burnout is a tough one.
It'd be nice to have a long chat about this sometime, but I know that the likelihood of that happening is tiny, so let me voice a few of my thoughts here instead.
What you said about taking on a shitload of projects, only being able to rely on yourself for their true success, and people only seeing the end product without understanding the process that got it there resonates with me completely. I found myself to be in identical situations time and time again during my heydays here in VC:MP.
Here's the thing. What you're talking about isn't confined to this community and the way it works. It is how the world works, and it is how you work. Nobody made you take on all those projects, you chose to do it yourself. So, too, will you start taking on more and more projects in real life, perhaps starting huge ventures of your own, because that's just the kind of person you are. And they will take you through the exact same process, where you feel as though you're the only one who can truly do the work well, who can meet deadlines, and who appreciates the work that's been put in. If one person isn't doing their job right, you'll learn how to do it, and do it yourself, better. But you can't do that forever, the workload and associated stress will simply become too much.
We're lucky because VC:MP is a huge simulator for this process, we can learn to navigate it before there are any significant real life stakes. Everyone finds a different way to navigate it, everyone draws different lessons, but one common thread, for any reasonable approach, is to avoid burnout at all costs. Avoiding burnout has to take priority over all else: it's one thing putting out a product that isn't up to your standards, it's a whole other thing putting yourself in a position where you can no longer put out products.
Identify the behaviours and attitudes that have led to burnout this time and adjust them. It might mean taking on one less task than you normally would, it might mean putting out a product or completing a project in a way that doesn't match your vision 100%. Or it might mean ceding responsibility to others, and appreciating their work, even if it's not the way you would have done it. Sacrifices and compromises
must be made, otherwise people will always disappoint you. It might take months, it might take years, but if you shoulder yourself with the stress of living with unmet expectations then burnout is inevitable. This is your choice, you will truly have only yourself to blame.
Regarding VC:MP, the temptation to take on new projects might not be there immediately, but it will return. I see work and projects as an addiction, I personally have to fight against my desire to step into VC:MP and start something up again. Likewise, there are projects in my real life that I have to stop myself from doing, because I know there are more important things that I ought to be spending my time on. Ultimately it will be up to you to decide if you want to become a player like me, who comes in once in a blue moon, lurks on the forums, and leaves his main contributions to VC:MP in the past. Or, whether you want to do one or two small things every now and then. Ironically, I think you'd probably end up finding those small things much more rewarding than the big projects you've been working on up to this point.
Now regarding you specifically, your contribution to VU and to VC:MP, I could write for days. I'll save everyone the reading time and just say that you're a very special person, who I'm eternally grateful for having met. Beyond what you've done here, I know that you're going to do some amazing things for people in this world, dude. You embody exactly what I always wanted all VUs to be, friendly, humble, determined, capable, intelligent, forward-thinking, just, humorous and creative. And you take time to pass on all those traits to the people around you. Keep at it man, keep sharing your talents with the world, because bit by bit you're making it a better place.
tl;dr: Burnout is a choice, avoid it. Gangsta is awesome.
Topic: Retiring (Read 3927 times)