It's funny that you posted this now because i've been trying to figure out how to deal with stress from running Splinterlands. Like your story about feeling like you were going to throw up, I get physical symptoms immediately when there are issues with the game and i have hundreds of people angry at me. We're doing one of our biggest releases ever tomorrow and I expect I will feel ill during the whole process.
I really need to figure out how to handle these things or else it's going to be a problem for my health but i'm not sure what to do. Let me know if you have any advice!
Hang in there, Matt. You’ve created something awesome people passionately care about. That’s huge! It’s also just a game. If it goes away tomorrow and people’s gold legendary cards they are so proud of no longer function, you know what will change in terms of real life? Not much. Life will go on.
When our failed infrastructure migration brought me right to the point of throwing up because it looked like going back was going to be impossible, I was so concerned about the thousands of stores that put their trust in us. I was worried about their customers. I was worried about being a failure.
What I learned from that lesson is there is always another way. We truncated some log tables saving us gigs of data which enabled us to migrate back. When you feel helpless and hopeless and all is lost, there is always another way and a different approach.
Those people who are angry are expressing deep emotion because they care. You and aggroed built something that matters to them. That’s a beautiful thing! The next step is leveling up your consciousness to handle everything with ease. It’s to face your fears (all of them!) head on and through focused intention, start reprogramming your cells to respond differently than fight or flight. I recommend meditation, but ultimately it’s about finding what works for you personally. Something will work (hikes, swimming, breathing exercises, etc). The important part is listening and beginning the journey of discovery to better know yourself and what you uniquely need to flow like water through any situation.
Good luck!
Yaba, I see you doing A LOT for splinterlands... while that is a bit obvious and kinda goes without saying I just wanted to say THANKS for all the effort you, Aggy and the team put in. I know you've helped me out in the discord for example and I just wanted to say thanks and that your hard work doesn't go unnoticed! 👍
When I still had my IT business at some point I took on doctor's offices as clients. It was a great step up for me but they all wanted contracts with a 24h support build in.
I never felt so miserable even though the money was good. The constant worry of a potential phone call would be enough for me to not go and do things.
What helped was getting a good backup partner. Someone reliable. The feeling of responsibility was always there but it made the worry go away.
Good luck with the release today!
I remember getting text messages would cause me stress. Our infrastructure had so many issues that it would often be a server notification so I’d have to drop everything and rush to a computer. Not fun at all, but having my business partner there to help me was huge. I agree completely with the “don’t go it alone” approach.