I've never been afraid to share my mistakes here in these pages. I believe if I'm going to talk about the amazing things that happen in my life and in Eve Online, then I should be equally prepared to talk about the mistakes. We all make them. And when you play a game like Eve as often as I do - well, mistakes are part of the story. No one can be perfect all the time. Sometimes we lock the gate instead of the enemy. Sometimes I choose fights I shouldn't have. Sometimes the ancillary rep is empty. I could go on and on about the dumb things that happen. And I often do here in these pages.
I do so because so often people only share the good stuff. We see the impact of that on Social Media all the time, the aspirational bullshit that is being hammered into us by "influencers" who end up being negative influencers on large sections of people - simply because no one can live up to those fake standards. The same can often be true in our community. Some people only talk about the wins, only make videos that are amazing, and put themselves on a pedestal that no one else can hope to attain. I'm here to tall you that is all a lie. Sure, great things do happen. And some people are amazing pilots. But even they have bad days. We all do.
You will. I can promise you that. And the younger a player you are the more mistakes you'll make. But I'm also here to encourage you. Because we all try to learn from those mistakes and do better the next time. Being stupid, or dumb, or forgetting something important, or being afk once on a gate - is not the end of the world. In fact, quite the opposite. Have a good laugh at yourself and learn something from what just happened. File it away in the memory banks. Give yourself a break. It's only a game. A game made of pixels.
In the spirit of sharing I'll share a couple of recent examples so you can all laugh at me. Recently I wrote a piece on the Alliance Discord about baiting and how to behave when someone else is working on baiting an enemy ship. Essentially it was about being patient. Something I obviously need more of. Yesterday I was out and about in my Loki looking for high-value targets when I stumbled on a Gnosis ratting in a belt. What I should have done was wait for backup to arrive and then engage. I know that process like the back of my hand. It is ingrained in me. My Loki is not a solo ship. It isn't intended to be one. And yet, like a dork, I engaged the Gnosis on my own with back up jumps away. It was close, but I ended up losing my Loki. I deserved that. I was stupid.
The other day a Vexor jumped a gate while I was in my Arty Wolf and I pointed him so others could come and kill it. Which they did. But I was so busy giving out instructions and watching the fleet arrive that I let the Vexor get on top of me. Believe me, I felt like an idiot. And sure enough, boom goes the Wolf.
I could go on and on. And I could easily tell you 10 great stories for every single mistake story. Luckily for me I'm more likely to do smart stuff than be an idiot. Whew. That's good news. But the point remains - we all do dumb shit. It happens. Embrace it when it does. Give yourself a break. You are only human. And if you are playing this game and you love it as much as I do - you are going to fuck up.
We all do.