[testingwaters4]

Do you have any hobbies outside of work? Are you pursuing or maintaining any strong relationships with friends and family? I think you're a little wrapped up in finding your sense of being and happiness and satisfaction in your career, and you should branch on to find other sources too. Don't get me wrong, your work can still be a source of all of that, you might just need more sources. With hobbies, you can find new challenges and problems and milestones and that provides direction, which takes the burden off your software/job for providing it all. Good to hear you're actively taking care of yourself.

[genmaicha123]

Nail on the head! I don't have much going on apart from work and a relationship.

Honestly moving to a new city just before covid ensured I have an excuse for not working on any of that. I'm trying to find a way to travel more, and do more things unrelated to work, but keep telling myself I need to move somewhere else first for a fresh start, and that causes a cycle with what I described in the post.

Thanks for the advice!

[carlgreene]

How do you then fight the dreaming about that hobby becoming your full time work? This happens to me every time and I end up getting competitive about it and losing the blissful enjoyment it once provided

[Gortal278]

You don't have to be a min-maxer, it's ok to do something because you enjoy it. You don't need to hustle-culture it into a job or monetize it.