Getting to Zero - Notes on A burnout

I spent 15 years working in the videogame industry, and had lots of success in the field, but in 2021...

I Burnt Out...Hard

So I'm starting again from zero, picking up the pieces and following my instincts to rebuild a more intentional life.

Even as a newbie to the industry, I knew that my career wouldn't be sustainable forever. It's no secret that working in the games industry can be pretty unhealthy.

During late 2020 into 2021 this became clearer as I started to burnout in my day job. Maybe games were helping many connect and escape the anxiety of the pandemic, but I had questions on my mind...

Difficult Questions:

In this day of smart phones, are we really improving people’s lives or just further fragmenting their attention?

Do we give people moments they truly love or mostly provide endless busywork and dopamine hits?

Does any company really need another billion or trillion dollars?

Why do many feel that one more career target will finally fill the hole they have been trying to fill their whole lives; whilst they spend longer and longer hours at work, neglecting their health and relationships?

Why strive for riches, the adoration of others or fame, more, more, more, at the expense of having any planet left for anyone to care one day?

Doesn’t it suck that millennials got so financially screwed that even rent is a challenge, let alone saving the planet like we were all told we would do?

Enough!

Then one day, during a walk outside; I realised the answer to all of these questions could be quite simple. Very few people stop to define what "enough" would mean for them and how that affects the world around us.

How could you have enough?

How could you be enough?

How could you do enough?

If these are the questions you are interested in answering too; I started writing my blog again to connect with people just like you! To share what "enough" means for me and how I am getting there.

Rick and Morty Season 5: "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion"

Distraction

Ever feel like we spend most of our lives these days working, rushing, struggling, unfocused? If we stop, we soon feel compelled to hustle, scroll or binge. Anything to distract ourselves from what we have left unanswered in our lives.

It’s easier (and more profitable for others) if we go where the wind blows, or follow the consumerist climb to where we think we might find the answer, than to listen to the voice inside us.

Often, we can do better for ourselves (and the planet) by stopping to ask what we are doing it all for. What is Enough? If not, then we face a life driven by someone else's interests, someone else's algorithms, someone else's agenda.

“I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's."

William Blake, Jerusalem: The Emanation of Great Albion

What's Next?

I'm not claiming to have all the answers, but am keen to share what I learn as I try to shape a healthier, and more free, life for myself.

Fitness, Food, Finance and even Fashion; everything plays a part in creating a fulfilling, empowering life that supports our individual and collective health. This stuff matters.

I'm not here to preach to anyone, but I will share what I discover. Our relationship with food, money, people and “stuff” can help stop the planet, and all of us, from burning out.

If we can reduce consumption, increase life satisfaction and shape new sustainable tech and economics along the way, we might just build a brighter future. I believe our lives can be much healthier for us emotionally, physically and mentally, if we stop trying to patch the holes with more stuff and more distraction. The future can, and should be, exciting!

As for the videogame and tech industry I have left behind, I believe initiatives like The Center of Humane Technology are doing some of the most important work of our time to turn the ship around. Go check them out and support them!

"None of us can single-handedly overthrow a society dedicated to limitless productivity, distraction and speed. But right here, right now, you can stop buying into the delusion that any of that is ever going to bring satisfaction"

Oliver Burkeman - Four Thousand Weeks