The Monstrous Consumer of all Creativity… Build Burnout
Your idea was blossoming into existence, rising from the ground. Houses forming at the left, a fortress at the right, mountains all around, rivers flowing through tree-filled forests populating pretty textured rock cliffs and protrusions sky-high. Ships floating through the air, others sailing into the docks. People ready to move in. Just a bit more left to build. A bit left to make. A bit more-
A bit… more…
Your pace becomes sluggish. Wearing thin. Struggling to muster the energy for the next step. Failing to pull off the finishing touches. It feels… pointless. You’ve done so much already. You’ve given it your all. Your motivation withers away.
Build burnout has struck.
You are the victim.
What now?
Relax, and Prepare Yourself – Get Calm and Cosy
Like any trouble of the mind, build burnout always has a cause – and like any problem, it isn’t easy to figure out why.
Before we take a dive into what might have you upset, beware it can be really hard to face your problems head on. If you want to overcome the build burnout and pull through on the other end successfully, you need to confront what’s dragging you down.
For that, relax, put on some calming music, ideally without any distracting words – the less vocals the better, entirely instrumental is best – and focus on your thoughts. It’s time for some you time.
Identify the cause!
You can’t tidy up without knowing what’s messy, so step one is figuring out what built this new rut.
Start by asking yourself questions. Remember, the answer might not just be a single problem. Think about it as open-mindedly as you can. If you think something might be the answer, it probably is! It’s your mind that’s overwhelmed. Don’t be afraid to take a guess.
Still, that’s easier said than done. Try asking the following questions – just be wary, again: This can get sad. Try taking notes about it, and thinking inside your head. You can do it!
Are you confident about the build? Do you like how it’s turning out? Is the project not going how you like? Is it tougher than you expected? Does it feel like it should already have been completed hours ago? Are you unsure why you’re building?
Are you feeling sad? Did something recently throw you off? Have you gotten into arguments, or fallen out with anyone? Did someone say something that hurt? Are you feeling lonely? Do you have anyone to share your feelings with?
Are you alright, physically? Have you had enough sleep? Are you taking care of yourself? Are you ill? Do you feel a bit devoid of energy? Is it hard to walk?
Keep wondering. It hurts to face our inner thoughts, but if we don’t face them, who will?
Don’t Face Your Burdens Alone
If there’s a chance, always try to ask someone else for help. Maybe just to give you a pat on the back and tell you you’re doing well, remind you you’re not the only one there, or offer a suggestion for self-care?
A helping hand can do a lot for lifting us out of build burnout.
Apart, we are capable – but together, we can be unstoppable. If a lone pillar falls, the roof collapses. With two, it can still hold itself up while the other pillar gets back up. A reliable friend, family member, loved one or therapist can be a life changing saviour to your mental health.
Atlas carried the world on his back, knees bent, but two could have stood up straight and smiled with the world held between them. Burdens are lighter as a team.
Projects which once seemed unimaginable can be blitzed through with them at your side, and they too with you. Build burnout is toughest when you have to work on it all alone. With someone else, you might struggle while they’re up and ready to offer support – or they might need you, while you can help. A mutual support pillar changes lives.
But if you Have to Face it Alone…
Write it out.
I mentioned notes earlier – seriously: Write it out.
Writing gives you a chance to organise everything that’s inside your head in a clear, visible medium. Allowing you to reread it and check twice. Think of it like a diary entry.
It’s incredibly mature and respectable to care about your emotions enough to write a diary. The most knowledgeable, kept together people go over their thoughts regularly, often every day. Consider it like practicing a skill. Internal happiness and stability is a skill; the diary is the practice.
Whenever something sets you back in your day to day life, take to the diary and write about it. Talk about how it threw you off. Talk about why it bothered you. Talk about how you can overcome it. Talk about what makes you happy, in spite of it. Motivate yourself. Remind yourself of the values in your life, because happiness can be found in the darkest of places, if only one remembers to turn on the light.
There’s always room to find a smile.
But if it hurts, never be afraid to cry. Tears are mature. They show you are in touch with your emotions. It releases the stress, accepting your feelings are genuine. If you’re hurting within, don’t fight back against it and suppress it; let it hurt, embrace your feelings, and be there for yourself. Give the self-love you need to know you were heard – even if it’s by you.
This all helps with building…?
Yes. Build burnout is entirely a mental slump. It means either you’re struggling with indecision, or something’s really heavily worrying you, one way or another. Whether it be the build, or something about life. Like recent stress, an illness, or self-care.
Our creativity comes from within, and our productivity depends on our confidence and motivation. To build without worries, we must first face our problems head on and grow as people.
We are the paintbrush. A withering paintbrush we haven’t taken care of isn’t able to do as well as one well looked after, is it?
Sometimes the withering paintbrush can create amazing results with a stroke of luck and a hint of brilliance, but the well looked after one is stabler. It’s more consistent. More reliable. You know it will do what you want it to, because you’ve made sure it can.
We are the paintbrush. Take care of the paintbrush, and build burnout cannot exist. No burnout can, in fact. All burnout is from a struggling paintbrush. Take care, and success will follow.
So, Figure out what’s wrong, Ask for help, Write diary entries, and Look after myself?
Yes!
Remember, even if you’re unsure whether you deserve any of this self-respect, or worry about other people judging your methods, self-respect is one of the most important signs of growth.
To reach greater heights with a smile and truly make the best of your life, it’s important to be happy enough to want to.
Celebrate what you’ve created, be proud of your skills and successes, remind yourself every step forward you take is one step closer to a higher skill, every challenge you overcome adds up, every self-reflection you go over is effort to be a better person.
Every time you do something good for another is a kind deed to be happy for, every moment someone looks out for you is assistance to appreciate and be thankful for, and every second of life you live is your own.
We only see life from our perspectives, so try to keep it a happy one, alright?
Build burnout falls apart when we’re happy enough to understand and accept our problems. Moving forwards, facing what brought us down, ready to get back up and try again.
You Can Do It!
We all can.
There’s no such thing as someone who isn’t capable.
Even if you feel you didn’t get much natural talent to think or create, there’s always a lot of room to grow. Believe in yourself, and the rest comes easier.
Perhaps now you’re ready again to tackle that huge project, eh?
I suggest looking to Powerful Build Planning to make sure you go into it with confidence and a sense of direction. Knowing what you’re doing speeds up the entire process and makes sure you set a scalable, manageable goal.
Check out Achieve Your Goals; it’s Easy! for more on measuring your time and plans to begin with! Don’t give up hope.
We’re all capable, and the more we try, taking care of ourselves, the better we will get.
Sometimes we just need that pick me up to push us forward.