Do People Just GIVE UP?

One of the ways I have long gauged the activity level in an online community — and I'm not just talking about Steemit, here — is by carefully looking at what's happening with my friends/following feed.

Maybe I just have a greater degree of "stick-to-it-iveness" than most people, but it always saddens me when it seems like there are longer and longer gaps between friends posting something new.

And some friends might keep posting, allright, but the nature of their content becomes more and more bland and automatic, almost like they are just "going through the motions."

When I think about this pattern, I can't help but wonder whether most of our interests and hobbies just have a natural lifespan that perhaps is tied to our individual personalities. Impulsive and tempestuous personalities often change what they do rather often, for example. On the whole, I am a somewhat "bookish" type of person who likes consistency... hence it takes a lot for me to just give up on something.

Anyway, I was noticing that several relatively long-term and frequent posting bloggers seem to have vanished from my Steemit feed. And it made me feel a bit sad. Both sad to not see their words anymore, as well as sad that they have gone missing at a time when it seems like Steem and the crypto world are actually heading in a more positive direction.

So what is the point at which people give up?

I know at least one of my long-time Steemit friends is deeply down inside developing a new business venture, and simply doesn't have time to post her content here, anymore. She's back to mainstream social media for the reason many people go that way: the sheer numbers of people you can put your name in front of. And that definitely matters when you are building a new business.

So that's an instance in which it's not really giving up, so much as changing interests.

My own point at which I have left ventures usually has had to do with mismanagement, more than anything.

If I see something I am involved with slowly fall apart — and I am without power or influence to change things in a better direction — with no indication that things will turn around... that's typically the time I decide to call it quits.

Historically, I have had a tendency to be "loyal to a fault" and have stayed with something — business or otherwise — long past it's "due date," in the vain hope that maybe something would change for the better.

Invariably, it hasn't. When the proverbial "writing is on the wall" it's best to believe it!

On the whole, though, I have not figured out why people who are actually — or so it would seem — doing quite well at something suddenly decide to quit without warning.

I suppose it could be because they set extremely high expectations for themselves, and regard what many of us would label as "success" as abject failure instead.

That's the thing, with life, isn't it? We can never truly be inside someone else's experience!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!

How about you? Do you have a good sense of where your "quitting point" is? Why do you think reasonably successful bloggers suddenly quit Steemit, never to be seen again? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2024.12.05 23:41 PST
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