Hydaelyn Role-Players
How do you deal with motivation? - Printable Version

+- Hydaelyn Role-Players (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18)
+-- Forum: Community (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18/forumdisplay.php?fid=8)
+--- Forum: RP Discussion (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18/forumdisplay.php?fid=13)
+--- Thread: How do you deal with motivation? (/showthread.php?tid=11720)

Pages: 1 2

How do you deal with motivation? - Maril - 05-21-2015

Motivation for me is seriously fleeting these days. It's caused me to ponderwonder a bit on it, and I'm curious as to how you guys deal with it when it's not there for you, when you find it lacking in the people you surround yourself with. There's always a hundred things I'd like to do, but I find that when I come across people that are as deflated as a birthday balloon after 2 weeks, it rubs right off on me. I always feel like wanting to try and help/inspire people to roleplay and do things but it's very difficult. Not to be confused with me wanting to force people into it.
I've heard from several places that a lot of people are in a pre-expansion slump, affecting FC's and what not. Is that something you guys can recognize in your own companies?

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - K'nahli - 05-21-2015

I almost always want to RP, but I often go through these writer's lulls that just makes it extra difficult for me to spew out anything remotely worthy of being read and that demotivates me a lot. If other people around me also appear disinterested then I also feel a little depressed for the fact and become further demotivated.

So how do I deal with it? Often times it seems like I don't ;   I just distract myself with other things while hoping for it to pass until it just reaches the point where I am procrastinating it merely out of the worry of stressing myself should I find I am still in such a slump.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Aaron - 05-21-2015

I don't motivate myself,  but I keep it flexible. 

If im OOC just fucking around and someone calls me IC or similar. I just hop IC and rp. 

If im about to burn out in rp I just make Aaron walk away abruptly like he always does. 

Motivation imo shouldn't be something forced, but inspired. . . Or flexible.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Maia - 05-21-2015

I think this is something that effects a lot of us from time to time! It can be especially daunting and high-pressure if you lead a guild, because all eyes look to you to provide unconditional content for said guild.

When I lose all motivation to do anything with FFXIV, be it RP or PvE, I usually call it "burn out." The flame of whatever inspired me before just isn't there, and I have to pick myself up and dust myself off within a reasonable amount of time, or the entire guild could suffer. Thankfully, I have a super great team of Officers, and we really try to support one another through these inevitable periods of "burn out." We're very open and honest in our Officer room if one of us is approaching (or in) this state of mind, and we really try our best to help each other out: either by picking up the RP slack, or just by posting positive strings of cat memes or discussing customized tea flavors.

I think that, overall, I might recommend two things (and I hope they will help!)

1.) Don't absorb the negativity! I know it's our human instinct to do this, and if you're in a leadership position a LOT of negativity gets tossed your way. It can feel grueling. Seek out positive things, and/or positive people who will help pick you up again, dust you off, and set you back on your feet. When people fling negativity your way, drop that like a bad habit and keep walking, preferably with swagger. If you need to, disconnect for a while and watch something funny, like a sitcom or stand-up comedian or anime that you like. I tend to watch my "stories" when I'm in a slump, or basically dive into a pile of cat pictures and videos until I forget what human beings even look like.

2.) Identify what motivates you. Just like how certain things motivate the characters we play, there are certain things that motivate us, too! I tend to work well when there's a reward at the end. Like if I manage to do Thing A, I'll take a trip to Smoothie King and throw a stupid amount of dollars for a banana and peanut butter smoothie.

Or sometimes, I can find inspiration in non-game-related things: like taking a walk outside or visiting somewhere new. Heck, even starting a new anime or video game can jump start those drained RP batteries. Occasionally, reading the work of others also helps, be it in books or posts. A movie I end up liking could also do the trick! Taking a break and just focusing on something else for a bit can pour ideas into your brain, as opposed to taking them out.

For me personally, the feeling of accomplishment is also a motivational factor. Producing something that I'm 100% satisfied with helps me build momentum to get back in the saddle again. This usually comes in the form of a post I've been putting off on our forum, or a flier I've been meaning to make, or something. Granted, it's very difficult to get the motivation to even START the thing I'm accomplishing, but I know that if I can just convince myself to get through it, I'll be in a better place. To motivate myself to even begin whatever project, I'll spend some time convincing myself things like "This will only take five minutes, it's not that big of a deal." or "If I can just write three paragraphs, I'll be good." or even just starting a draft/outline without overthinking it. I tend to get snagged up whenever I start to feel overwhelmed with the responsibilities on my plate, which is when I dread doing them.

Anyway, that's just my own take on it! Hopefully at least one of those things can be helpful to you, but also feel free to disregard. ^^

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Nebbs - 05-21-2015

Well I kind of had it too much with game stuff even though there are things to do. So I am RPing, making myself do that more. And also turning my thoughts to writing some scenarios.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Kellach Woods - 05-21-2015

Right now, my routine is :

1) Log in.
2) Get a level or two on a class I haven't 50d yet with Kell.
3) See if anyone I know wants to RP in a place where we can see what we're typing.
4) Log out 'cause number 3 ain't happening anytime soon unless it's planned (aka tomorrow night for me).
5) Play something else for a whole lot longer than I did FFXIV that day.

So yeah my motivation is complete garbage right now - Dunno if it's just the RP scene that bores me what with everyone having their plotlines for Heavensward or just my mood in general that's gone to shit, but yeah.

I dunno how to deal with it, and quite frankly if it's the second one there's not a lot I CAN do to deal with it. Like, I've allegedly recovered from a major depressive episode that I couldn't recognize because I've always been this way. So it might just be that, and if it is I'll need to accept that it's happening and that there's gonna be a lot more times where I'm completely fucked in the head temporarily.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Telluride - 05-21-2015

I've been in a slump like this for a few weeks now.

It's not that I don't want to do ANYTHING. I am trying to get a couple of alts leveled, keep amassing poetics to maximize my Ilvl before the expansion, and keep up little private RP sessions here and there.

But the things I think I OUGHT to be enthusiastic about - the Bard thing, songcrafting, writing up the three journal/story entries I've been meaning to write, helping to stir up some community RP - those things, I can't seem to force myself to do, even though time hasn't been a factor.

I'm still affected, but I got a few sparks in the right direction by catching new movies, trying new places and things to do in RL. Plus, the deadline pressure for the weekend's RP events has helped a little.

I think Maia has the right of it, and I agree with her thoughts, though there's one thing I can add:

I think SUCCESS can also lead to burnout. I've accomplished a LOT of the things I wanted Nathan to be able to do since January, and I still am awed by how well, for example, the Singing Telegram project worked. Sometimes, I imagine, we just need a Shiny New Project to turn Maintenance in Motivation.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Cliodhna Eoghan - 05-21-2015

honestly i've noticed that i need more encouragement in some end game stuff. (like finishing my crafting classes and other stuff) i've lately been passing it over for more rp which is really nice, particularly the fc rp i've been doing x3 buuut i still feel like i'm nowhere near ready for the expansion >n<;

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Aduu Avagnar - 05-21-2015

I'm happy where I am for the expansion, all my classes are max level, yeah sure my PLD isn't geared out (due to sub downtimes etc) but that doesn't matter to me as much.

However, my motivation dips generally in accordance with my depression. If I'm going through a low period I am just not up to doing much it shows, and I tend to just scroll tumblr for cat pics and funnies.

However, with a month to go (less for me, get in EA!) it's picking back up as I my hype for this is actually helping me get out of my slump Big Grin

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - allgivenover - 05-21-2015

Don't wait for or hang around with people who aren't really interested in roleplaying. It's alright for interest to wane now and then, after all no one activity can keep you entertained all the time, so it's ok for RP interest to wax and wane in cycles.

But if your circle loses all interest and it starts to rub off on you, move on.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Gone. - 05-21-2015

For me it's less my own motivation that I have to worry about and more the motivation of my roleplay partners. It's exceedingly rare that I'm ever able to hold onto someone for more than a few months; sometimes I'm lucky if I even get more than 1-2 sessions before either I or my characters are misjudged and subsequently dropped. Never really gets easier, either, especially not when there's a lull in a game's respective community as there is right now.

Honestly, if you're burnt out on the game itself by this point and lack in a circle of friends to begin with, it's probably time for a short break. Things always seem to turn around after a month or two, you know?

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Parvacake - 05-21-2015

I know those feels all too well lately. As of late I've found that it's best to take a few minutes to sit there with some nice music and think to yourself: "What do I want to do today? What do I not feel like doing the most?" Make a personal check list. Then try and see who is on the same page. Whisper someone you've never really talked too before! You might be surprised.

Pre-expac slump and RL have been hitting me hard and a lot of other people I know as well. It'll pick up hard core once HW releases but for now I'm riding it out.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Miko Shiroi - 05-22-2015

Being the fickle writer that I am, motivation slumps are also quite the predicament for me. Oftentimes I don't force myself to RP if I can sense that I'm going to have a tough time with it. However, if I'm seriously determined to interact more with a character, I usually try turning to drawing said character and listening to songs that remind me of them. There's a lot to be said about drawing inspiration from outside sources.

As far as motivating others around you (and in your FC goes), I'm not sure that's entirely possible. Whether it's the pre-expansion slump or whether they're all just kinda bummed in general, I'm sure they'll all come around eventually. If anything, the release of the expansion will have them back and kicking with even more umph!

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Kurt S. - 05-22-2015

Ehh I guess the fatigue of getting four separate characters to i120 and realizing none of them are even close to it. It's that demoralizing thing that's just putting me in a slump and it is kind of making me really just RP on appointment, like it's only with people can /tell for a session and take a small break. Like I don't actively reach out to be brushed aside as enthusiastically as I always do. 

Granted, no one's approached me with anything recently, cept for maybe Clio and the timing was sort of awful, so I'm not 100% on that.

Anyway, I'll be honest when I say I have like next to no motivation to gear anyone except Keil because my au ra is riding on it. That is my motivation, my soon to be au ra. 

I have no idea how to inspire people other than putting myself on their idle selves and dragging them out of the Quicksand. That's if they're IC to begin with. You know, like give some fresh idea, drag in some strangers. Involve people and stuff. It doesn't have to be a serious plot too, just some random shenanigans might work, because the serious stuff might just take more planning and coordination and that might run counter to the whole motivate thing....depends on the people I guess. 

Make some 'GET TO ISHGARD' plan so even if your company gives no shits about Ishgard just in case someone wants to go up their they have some blanket reason to utilize. RP it out, say they're in it for the supposed gil that's being shoveled out to adventurers culling the Dravanian population or maybe you're into raw material supply maybe some Dravanian scales to use for some random armorer. 

I'll shaddup with the ideas and ranting now.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Clover - 05-22-2015

It's simple to me. In my personal RPs, of others aren't motivated, then I simply don't want to RP with them. I'd only be carrying them like dead weights, which is not only draining but it also takes us nowhere. Others must find their own inspiration; it's fruitless if anyone else tries to inject it into them. That's not how inspiration works.

Likewise, if I'm not truly inspired about something, I'll let everyone know. For example, it's not a secret that the FFXIV RP has never been a big thing for me, unlike my RP from games I don't even play. I have a Spanish friend who joined FFXIV and hoped to create a huge story with me; from the very first day I warned her that the FFXIV lore doesn't really inspire me, but she ignored my warning and tried her best to inject her inspiration into me. It never worked the way she hoped, so she only got frustrated in the end.