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I am burned out while still in learning phase

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Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#71

Post by zaphar »

I read your story there and one thing immediately leaped out to me. Isolation. You isolated yourself from your family and your friends. You removed your emotional support structure and then went full burn in a high stress endeavor for an extended period of time.

Nobody not even extreme introverts can survive emotionally without a social support structure. You're feeling the aftermath now. The good news is it looks like you've reconnected with that support structure. You aren't going to start feeling better overnight though. Give it some time and learn from this experience. You need your family and friends support and you need to go at a pace that your health can support.

Right now you need to heal and that might takes months. Don't despair when it looks like the healing is going slowly. You will heal and then you can try the entrepreneur thing again once you've recovered.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#72

Post by abledon »

paborden wrote: post #49

Having gone through many burn-out and plateau periods, here's what I'd suggest: - Get regular acupuncture. There's a reason it's first on my list. Yes, I realize it's hippy dippy. Yes, I realize it might not be proven. But regular acupuncture and chinese herbal medicine is life changing. - Do something silly and out of the norm. Go lay on a beach for a week. Visit somewhere new. Forget your goals. Changing things up…

I had to create an account for this because it was too funny. This is some of the best advice on the thread, and it is being downvoted.

I suspect since traditional Chinese medicine is over 2500 years old, and doesn't have the quantifiable street cred modern science needs, it is tossed into the advice garbage can. Shame! Under the tcm umbrella, Kungfu/QiGong/TaiChi are great exercise routines to combat OP's burnout symptoms, and can be practiced safely until you die (unlike hard sports --->Hockey/Marathons etc..)

goodluck, keep an open mind to all the possible paths in life!

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#73

Post by sogen »

My humble suggestion: Go another route. Switch careers.

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I've done it and it will do WONDERS to your wellbeing. It helped me with depression A LOT. Also having a routine, I watched a comedy exactly after dinner, have a routine, that helps a lot too because even if you don't feel like doint it, you still do it, and it helps you in the long run.

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And I agree 1000% on what others have said: Turn OFF the computer. Exercise. Read Zero news. (Yes, Facebook counts too). Exercise.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#74

Post by sillysaurus3 »

mkaziz wrote: post #64
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You will not change the world with a web app. No one changes the world with a web app. Or an android app. Or an iPhone app. There's no need to lie. The advice is otherwise good. The world is vast and has many places that need smart people. Find those places, adapt to what they need and start solving problems in the way you can The world is built to exploit smart people. I personally think they should focus on themsel…

Smart people exploit the world, not the other way around

Heh. Cunning people exploit the world. Smart people wind up working for cunning people.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#75

Post by r00fus »

bigd wrote: post #55
onion2k wrote: post #8

Like you, I also have "world changing" ideas to make people's lives easier and healthier I hear that a lot in the startup scene where I live. It's bullshit. First and foremost, an idea is never world-changing. It's the execution of the idea that changes things. Until it has been executed successfully and actually changed the world , all it is is an idea. The impact can only be assessed later. Secondly, most people do…

I'm not sure I agree with this: "First and foremost, an idea is never world-changing. It's the execution of the idea that changes things. Until it has been executed successfully and actually changed the world, all it is is an idea. The impact can only be assessed later." Frankly, I believe ideas can be quite impactful. Think of any math concept. Weren't they ideas? Where's the execution? Or more philosophical terms,…

Feel free to disagree, but think of it this way: ideas are possibilities. Until they are attempted, sometimes repeatedly, they are in-flux.

It's the same as the concept of "desire" vs. "intention" vs. "goal" vs. "reality". Ideas without work put into their execution are still in the "intention" phase. Yes, they are boundless, but practically aren't worth anything until they are actualized... that takes a lot of hard work.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#77

Post by 10098 »

You're 22. You're not going to change the world. You know almost nothing and have almost no experience. You must first acquire knowledge and experience. Either finish school or find a real job. Stop believing in the "20-year old dropout entrepreneur" bullshit. These things don't happen. Sorry if this is a bit harsh, but since you asked for advice, I'm giving it.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#79

Post by Joeri »

10098 wrote: post #77

You're 22. You're not going to change the world. You know almost nothing and have almost no experience. You must first acquire knowledge and experience. Either finish school or find a real job. Stop believing in the "20-year old dropout entrepreneur" bullshit. These things don't happen. Sorry if this is a bit harsh, but since you asked for advice, I'm giving it.

Well, they do happen, but they are like a lottery. You cannot decide to be the next mark zuckerberg, you have to luck into it (and have good connections, and be in new york or silicon valley). You're right that the odds of a lone developer without a deep social network into the tech sphere supporting him and living in the right geographical location will not become that entrepreneur.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#80

Post by araes »

onion2k wrote: post #62
bigd wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I agree with this: "First and foremost, an idea is never world-changing. It's the execution of the idea that changes things. Until it has been executed successfully and actually changed the world, all it is is an idea. The impact can only be assessed later." Frankly, I believe ideas can be quite impactful. Think of any math concept. Weren't they ideas? Where's the execution? Or more philosophical terms,…

I very nearly added a caveat about ideas in philosophy, politics, etc. The reason I didn't is because, really, those ideas don't actually change the world. People acting on them is how the world changes. In maths the discovery of something leads people to work on further discoveries - standing on the shoulders of giants as it were - so again it's the work that changes things. Ideas can definitely be a catalyst, but o…

And even in math, its not as if the idea is all there is, and then boom, done. New math concepts take a significant amount of work as well, and the execution can be a significant factor as to whether the idea lays in obscurity, or is picked up and used by the wider body of the math community. There have been plenty of groundbreaking math concepts that were thought of, but nobody followed through to see whether they worked, what the implication were, or how they could be applied.
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