Dealing with Burnout.
I will tell you how much of a big deal I think Burnout is. I capitalised it and used full punctuation in my title, something I don’t usually do unless it’s a question because its seen as aggressive. Yes, I am the type of person that does research into seeing how text sounds because I care. Someone has to.
This leads me to the first point about Burnout, it comes from caring too much not too little. That is the first thing you have to know. The second? Well, it’s common. It’s so common that I just stole this handy infographic to talk about it.
So they put it into phases which I will explain but then I am going to disagree and explain why
Honeymoon phase (very energised, high commitment, very creative)
The onset of Stress (Optimism starts to wane)
Chronic Stress (The hobby now stresses you)
Burnout (Difficulty to even paint, assemble and so on)
Habitual Burnout (You can never gain energy to hobby)
So here is my problem. If you look at Burnout like this it becomes what another person did.
A series of stages leading to Burnout and that is wrong dead wrong 100% wrong. Do you want to know why? Because It says it’s inevitable and it’s not, it is the most pessimistic world view possible, imagine if people viewed love this way… That would be extremely depressing.
However, it is something we can learn from.
Hobby is usually an escape from reality however, it can sometimes seem like a burden. Because it depends how you hobby. Look at the way I use the word as a verb, see hobby is something we do, it is not static. But it is dynamic in other ways from different hobby activities. Our hobby can be broken down into 6 different categories.
Causal Play
Competitive Play
Assembly/Conversion
Diorama/physical story crafting
Lore Junkie/Literary Storytelling
Painting
It is important to know the reason you hobby, because if you don’t then you could be spending effort somewhere which doesn’t make you love your hobby.
As an example let’s say you are a casual or competitive player, you only paint your models so that you can play the game. Don’t paint. I am serious don’t paint. Look here is this guy who will do it for you! Sure you have to pay him but you don’t have to waste your time on painting, you won’t burn out on it. Because you don’t want to do it, it was never your goal. In the same way, if your hobby energy is focused elsewhere on something you don’t enjoy, don’t focus on it. It is as simple as that. Let’s say you play Dungeons and Dragons and the storytelling is a drag and you just want to fight monsters with your dude, miniature wargaming sounds to be more your jam.
The all-important question when it comes to hobbying that no one asks.
Are you okay?
Seriously. Are you alright? It’s a question that isn’t asked nearly enough and when it comes to hobby, this is usually the answer when it comes to Burnout. Is something going on in your life which is making you miserable? Is your misses or mister giving you grief? Is your job making you upset? Can you not find joy in normal things anymore?
If the answer is yes to the last one seek help. And I don’t just mean find someone to give 100 to 300 dollars to speak to for an hour. I mean eat greens, vegetables and lean meats, exercise moderately for at least 30 minutes to an hour for at least four days a week. Take your shirt off and get some sun on your skin for at least ten minutes a day. Speak with people who love and care about you. Treat yourself like someone you love be it your pet or your love or your family. If you don’t give yourself a chance in these ways you're going to find yourself in deep shit. For regular readers you know how little I swear but it’s warranted. Listen to me now…
You matter
You do, and don’t let anything make you feel otherwise.
So let’s make a new paradigm shift instead of Burnout as the inevitable course of one’s passions instead let’s see how we can approach it with a more healthy and healing mentality
Identify
Identify the problem, what is leading to this stressor? Why are you feeling Burnout? Is it because of the hobby activity? Is it because of an outside stressor, love, life, work or family?
2. Focus and Fix
Focus and come up with potential fixes for the problem. This will vary with every problem and everything is individual to you. So find fixes that would work for you, not general solutions.
3. Act
ACT! Do something don’t let things fester. Do something even if it’s not the right thing at first. You are acting to solve your problem and your mind will reward you for it, even if you have setbacks. Doing something is the most important thing because if you do, you can find solutions and maybe even if there isn’t a solution to your problem maybe it isn’t the problem you saw it as. But doing things is the most important thing, your mind will reward you. Remember to give yourself a chance and treat yourself like a real person.
Until next time friends…
Keep those brushes wet