or why I came back to Hive
Every time I burn out, Hive brings me back.
Maybe it’s not a platform — maybe it’s a ritual of resurrection.
Sooner or later, in every job, the flame inside me burns out.
That same flame that once made me burn with ideas, believe in a shared (or personal) mission, climb the ladder like it mattered. Usually it happens when a leader leaves, or when the company changes direction — and suddenly the paths that once led upward just vanish.
It’s not pain. It’s boredom.
A slow, heavy kind of boredom — operational, predictable — when you’re still doing your job but already mentally packing your bags.
I always go through the same stages.
First comes the “productivity phase”: I read the books I postponed, take those online courses, clean up the bureaucratic mess, fix what’s left of my teeth, start going to the gym.
Then comes apathy.
You open the App Store, download some random game... and ten minutes later you feel ashamed. You realize you’re wasting time — and you’re not twenty anymore. That sting of guilt hits: life is moving, but you’re standing still.
Then the brain tries to hack meaning:
you start trading stocks, checking crypto tickers, comparing deposit rates across ten banks — doing “useful things” that don’t actually change anything.
And every time, right there — Hive appears (or back then, Steemit).
It always does the same magic trick: it soothes my conscience.
Like it’s taken to a five-star hotel, given a full SPA treatment, fed with desserts and then tucked into bed. Because here, I feel alive again.
So, why I Came Back
New Knowledge
From the start, I chose topics that truly spark me — science, mythology, curious facts, the small wonders hidden in plain sight. Even preparing a short post pulls you deeper than you expected, and you return slightly changed.
Now I also have a small version of myself running around — he’s four and a half — asking the same kind of questions I once did, only louder and more honest.
Skills
English isn’t my native language. Yes, we have translators and ChatGPT now, and language barriers aren’t what they used to be — but your brain still shifts into another gear. Maybe I should try learning Korean now. Or Spanish. Who’s ruling Steemit these days anyway?
Reflection
Every author filters words through experience.
And no matter what you write about, you end up asking: “What do I really think about this — and why?”
In the daily grind, we rarely stop for that. Here, it happens naturally — between the lines.
Connection
Hive is one of those rare places where the comments themselves read like essays.
People from everywhere, with every kind of background — and somehow, conversations here still have depth.
You can hear the silence between the words.
Money (and Honesty)
Let’s not pretend. Of course it’s nice when your thoughts bring in rewards.
Back in 2017, I earned about $2,000 from posting here — traded it for 1.7 BTC and sold it the same day to pay off a credit card.
Today, that’s worth hundreds of thousands.
I still wonder — are there others like me here?
People who could have been crypto-rich, but instead chose to live a little?
Have you already made peace with that loss, or does it still sting sometimes?
As for me, i'm fine 😀
I’m happy to be here again.
I don’t know how much Hive has changed — and that’s exactly what makes it exciting.
Because maybe this is where the flame lights up again.
And if you’re reading this — it already has.
