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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

#91

You're burning out because you're thinking the world works the same way that you experience it through lenses like Hacker News, tech blogs and the like. Stop reading them. Seriously, they are damaging your world view - ESPECIALLY HACKER NEWS. If you can't read these things with a critical eye, you will end up in a death spiral where you feel constantly inadaquate. I speak from some personal experience here... Turn of…

I concur with this comment. Few years ago I was in a similar situation. I was not in a mission to change the world, though. All I wanted was to be a programmer, good enough to earn enough money. Along the way, I burned out. I have not achieved any of my set goals.

But it was easier for me to move on - or, my situation forced me to move on. You see, I have a wife and 2 kids. I need to continue to work. I didn't become a programmer, but life goes on.

I have other goals I wanted to pursue. Damn, I failed to reach those goals again. And life goes on again.

I want to get better and I fail each time I try. But, I am a better person after every failure. I become a better person because of my failures.

Life is not that complicated if you know when to pick up the pieces and move on.

Fail often. Then move on.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#92
Yes. This happens. I am 35 and have a similar background to you; the identical thing has happened to me five times that I can count offhand and probably more. (Dropped out of CS, shut down a startup and laid off 2 employees including someone who is now BIG in the open source PHP community...)

The core life lesson I have learned (repeatedly): If what you're doing isn't working, change what you're doing. The HN world calls this "pivoting" ... it's not just a business term, it's something that you should constantly do as a technologist and a member of the generation you were born to.

You have done the following things that are not healthy:

- You have isolated yourself.

- You have given up on achieving something.

- You have apparently given up attempting to maintain good hygiene habits; hygiene is not just taking a shower and brushing your teeth.

As a result, you are suffering from depression and burnout. In an effort to get over the physical symptoms of burnout, you are consuming excessive amounts of stimulants, which help in the short term, but after the stimulants burn out, you're lower than you were before. You're actually burning yourself at both ends.

Fun fact: The physical/mental symptoms, like memory loss, inability to focus, dependence on stimulants to make up for cognitive deficits, and lack of ambitions are similar to what athletes (specifically, NFL football players) experience after repeated head traumas. You are literally beating your head against a brick wall.

Thankfully, you can probably recover from this. At least, I've managed it five times and counting, so that seems to be reasonable.

1. The first thing you have to do is quit your startup idea. Just drop it. Admit you've failed (at least for now), drop the mic, flip the table, and go in a different direction.

2. The second thing you should do is make arrangements to start taking college classes again. If you can, take classes at community college that will count towards ("transfer") a bachelor's degree. Don't go back towards computer science, though. Study a different engineering discipline if you can hack the math. I couldn't, so I headed for a business school and got a degree in operations -- we studied business logistics, supply chain, and industrial distribution among other things. (Go read "The Goal" by Eliyahu Goldratt. If it appeals to you, you belong in that discipline.) This is an example of fixing failing to achieve something by going a different direction. You're pivoting to being a student.

3. The third thing you should do is start keeping good personal hygiene. That means going to sleep at a set time every night (sleep hygiene). That means going for walks in the sun (fitness hygiene). Leave your cell phone at home. You don't have to go out at night, and you don't have to stop learning about web technologies, but you should make time to do other things with other people and with things that are physically present. (I have a dog, so we walk several miles twice a week and go to dog parks.) Role Playing Games (pen and paper kind) are excellent for this purpose. Clean the hell out of your personal space (apartment or whatever) and then keep it spotless -- this will ease your mind to an incredible degree. Start telling the truth to your girlfriend and parents. Admit, to yourself and everyone else, that you screwed up, but that you're going to make good on it. Ask for their support. Communicate with them; answer email even if you don't want to. Just don't lie to them or shade the truth.

(Hint: Your parents probably already know you're lying to them, and they're just waiting for you to come around.)

FTR - I'm a failed starter-upper, failed CS student, I've failed at being a boyfriend more times than I have fingers and toes to count on, I've failed to renovate a house, I've failed at my job a couple times, I've had a few scary mental experiences when I left myself alone too long with me, and I was failing at being a fiancée until a few months ago when I realized it was time for a change. New city, new place to live, new ways to spend my time, and suddenly I'm able to knock out my tasks for a week.

I am a Sysadmin/DevOps guy and an IT Generalist (I don't know it, but I can learn it), I am getting married this year, and I am buying a new house in a nicer city this year. I have three wonderful dogs and a fiancée I don't deserve. I would not have or be any of these things unless I had failed as many times as I did.

I wish you the best. Take a turn at the next intersection and see where it takes you.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#93
post #55
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,…

The proof would be the execution. Einstein (and those testing his theories) had to perform a lot of work before his ideas were accepted.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#94
post #79
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.

Weird. When I think of young world changers I think of people like Newton, not that guy who helped the mindless masses spew whatever nonsense they feel like spewing in front of a large audience.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#96

From your text it's clear to me that you're not "burned out", you are depressed. Social isolation triggered it, and now you feel like a failure because your thinking habits are diseased. Usually when we fail at something we make excuses such as "I wasn't prepared for this" or "I just needed more time". Most of the time these excuses are reasonable, other times they are delusional. No matter the validity, excuses prot…

I'm still working on getting myself out of a similar hole, but what you've said resonates with me.

It is difficult to see how isolation can have a negative impact on your life, given (in my case) that the social isolation was part of the plan to control all the variables.

Anyway it was only obvious to me in retrospect that I was doing myself a disservice by refusing invitations to hang out and seeing long calls with my friends and family something that were "taking away" from my precious time.

Stoic literature might also be of interest to the OP if you are reading this still.

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