Back To The Basics; A Case Of Lost Addiction And A Big Apology
It's not so much about how you start but how you finish. - Unknown
There are times in life when times and seasons change. There's always so much we can do, not to stop these things from happening, but to be better prepared for them. Many times, while we struggle to keep up with life, we move from phase to phase and these changes go unnoticed.
When I first discovered Steemit, I had no idea the impact it was going to have on me. I certainly didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. It was to be another platform for me to share my poetry and ramblings from time to time. Maybe if I had opened my eyes more, I'd have been better prepared.
Instead of being another platform, Steemit became the platform for me. Two things had me screaming out "I'm sold!"; the prospect of earnings, and then the community. Nine times out of ten, I'd pick Steemit over any free alternative because I love money.
Publishing on Steemit didn't bring the results I had expected (not like I had any expectations like that though). I was a budding poet and was downcast to have to accept the sad reality that Steemit didn't want to read my poetry.
As a creative being, I sort out other ways I could be useful to the community. Yay, long form writing! So I picked that up and with almost nothing meaningful to say, I began to write.
Right now it feels like all I did and have done has been to find what works here. This in itself isn't a bad tactic. I was hooked on this new drug called steemit. I could barely do anything else and like an hungry lion, I kept devouring every part of Steemit I could find.
I was addicted.
Today (the day I began writing this), I realized I had gone almost the entire day without bothering to check in on Steemit or get myself worked up because I'm yet to drop a post for the day compared to a few weeks ago.
This is day 3 since I began writing this post.
Come for the money, stay for the community. - Steemit
This has been our mantra as Steemians for a long time but it looks like I took the opposite route. I always claimed I didn't come here for the money (which is totally true) but in as much as I didn't come for the money, I definitely drifted well into that lane, maybe unconsciously.
It's said that you don't know what you have till you lose it, so I guess you also don't know what you're missing till you taste it.
I thought the money was secondary till I had a taste of big payouts. It became a goal; how could I make that on a consistent basis? I basically took my eyes off the path that brought the payout and focused on the payout itself. I became so overwhelmed with replicating my success.
Then the inevitable began to happen; the ones that always voted on my posts started to withdraw slowly. As usual, I didn't catch this early until it was late, and even when I noticed, I was too far gone on the wrong path to be able to retrace my steps and pinpoint where exactly I had gone wrong.
So the bouts of burnout began. I felt it was a case of me just needing to refuel but it was a lot more. The refuel probably brought back my senses and fueled me back to the basics.
A month ago, I felt setting aside 20 SBD daily towards my @steemfest dreams wouldn't be much of a big deal, because I could achieve that with about two posts a day and still have enough for other stuff. It became my goal and I'll wake every day with thoughts on how to just put out posts to meet my target.
I'm not sure I put out total shit posts but they surely had some degree of shit.
Changed Perspectives
Instead of chasing after the 20 SBD daily savings, I'd rather just take out of my SP (which I have began to power down for this purpose). I feel there's a form of calm that comes with me knowing that I've got SteemFest covered and this calm ultimately aids more creativity and a somewhat clearer mind.
I've always wanted to be at SteemFest since the day I heard of it, so if it's going to cost me half of my SP, I'm fine with it. After all, SP is just Steem that's been saved up for me. 😔
The doors and windows of my poetry villa have been dusted, washed, and open. No more suppression for the popular. It's funny how I've always talked about being yourself but I wasn't fully myself.
I came not for the money but gravitated towards the money. - Fi
Now that my head is clear, I guess I can get back to the basics and allow my creativity breathe again.
Thank you to all my followers and my sincere apologies to as many as I might have disappointed along the way. I'm currently crawling my way back and with time I believe I'd start running again (without forgetting the basics).
Beautiful post @fisteganos
Sometimes it could be discouraging but you still have to forge ahead.
The drive for extrinsic rewards such as money has a peculiar impact on creativity.
(I hope I just linked the right video, because I can't actually watch it to verify).
In general, extrinsic rewards cause us to narrow our focus on our target goals. This makes us perform better in straightforward, step by step tasks. However it results in poor performance in tasks which require creativity. To focus means to close off our minds to distraction, but creativity is served better by less focus, by a broader perspective.
The issues that result from extrinsic motivation are something that are a long term concern on Steem I think. However so far it has mostly worked out fine.
Wow. Thanks a lot for this. Yes it's the right video!
It's exactly what I had been going through. Creativity seems to not thrive in either a noisy environment or a confined one and as you said, focusing means we close our minds to other things which might distract us. This, in a way, is us putting ourselves in a box.
Excelling creatively requires a certain form of freedom; the opportunity to try out anything at anytime without restrictions.
I think for creatives, Steemit should be a place they come to, to show off (display) their works (finished products). There should always be time out for the art, where there are no restrictions.
What a way to start my day! Thank you so much.
I agree with what you say, but i'm not so sure that it applies to Steemit, since its creativity that reaps the rewards. Maybe it will actually nurture creativity.
The way I see it, creativity thrives (better) on freedom so if you have that freedom to do whatever without a certain target, you probably tend to do better. You can then come on Steemit to share whatever it is you've done. That's where the rewards come in.
That "time off" away from any confinement seems to be important.
The science I'm talking about shows that when you reward tasks which involve creativity, it reduces creativity and performance. I would expect it to very much apply.
I get what you are talking about..... it's psychology. I think it's similar to what @fisteganos is saying too. The mind is on the reward, which tends to be a distraction from optimum creativity because it's not free to roam, it's pivoted to the reward
I shall take this as a word of warning from the wise. It is appreciated.
I myself was lured here with the line "You write online. Why not make some money while doing so?" I was skeptical. Now I am simply more aware of the obstacles that need to be overcome.
Looking back, I do think that I was starting to get my eye off the ball... but maybe I never had a ball to begin with.
As your name implies, I'm sure you'll find a way 😊. Having an aim is as important as understanding what it takes to achieve it. There's a Yoruba proverb that says "There's no one entrance into the market". This simply means that what works for A wouldn't necessarily work for B.
This understanding, I think, makes all the difference between success and frustration.
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STOPReally its happening to me .
I did tell you some time ago to take it easy so as not to risk burnout. It's great that you've realized the errors before it was too late. I don't know how economical it is, but if you have decided to spend half of your SP just to get to SteemFest, then by all means. Personally, I'm still firmly on the boat of quality over quantity, but to each their own. Best of luck to you, my friend. I hope you reach your goal.
Blame it on the adrenaline and all. But yeah I think the best lessons are learned by experiencing them.
SteemFest has been a goal (hopefully one I don't later regret) and I'm using the SP as a soft landing in case other plans don't work out. And yes, it's still quality over quantity any day!
Thanks brother. I feel a lot better since the discovery.
As I told you before, I went through the same thing. I had wished for you to avoid that, but I guess you're right that experiencing it for yourself would be better. Personally, with my current state in Steemit, SteemFest is far from an option, but to each his own. I sincerely do hope that you don't regret that decision later, brother. Perhaps you would make tons of new acquaintances there which would lead to you getting tons more votes on your posts. That would be fantastic if it would be the case!
at some point i started feeling frustrated and angry at my self when i realized that people that joined steemit after me were doing were better than me, but when i told my friend @gbenga about it, he shared his experience with me about a friend that he introduced to steemit and he said to me that his friend is making more money than him and the reputation of that friend is even higher than his own. But despite all of this he is very happy for his friend and he feels so proud of himself that he could actually help someone achieve so much. He said to me, do not steem for the money but rather steem because you want your voice to be heard and that changed my mentality totally about steemit.
It's super easy to preach the "don't Steemit for the money" sermon, I do it, but then you just may (or may not) find yourself drifting towards that path. It's good to keep it at the back of your mind tho, as it's a lot better to have something to remind yourself of than having nothing.
the truth is if you keep doing it for the money and it's not rewarding then you get really sad and discouraged, for instance, i have been posting for some months now and i have no tangible monetary reward to show for it because it looks like no one knows that someone like me exist here, someone advised me sometime ago to drop comments that i will get followed or noticed but it seem after that comment or conversation, that is the end, they do not remember you anymore... so somehow taking my mind of the money for sometime at least helps to keep my sanity.