Hi there! Great topic choice.

I'm new to ponies and posted seeking advice about starting to collect a few weeks ago. (I originally joined to talk about dolls.) Preventing burn out is actually one of the topics that came up in our conversation on that thread, since I had mentioned I ran a young adult book blog for three years and ultimately closed that because it was starting to turn reading into a task. (Something I could not permit as a writer!)

While book blogging and MLP are very different things, I think that the topic of burn out in pretty much any hobby does have a few root causes. I will do my best to focus these toward ponies for your convenience.

1. Avoid Gotta Catch 'Em All Syndrome

Trying to get every single release of every single gen on a worldwide basis seems like a recipe for headaches and stress. One of the biggest and most important pieces of advice that I was given was to collect what I love. As someone at a starting point that just makes sense. But even for someone who is at a much further point than me I think this should be the core of collecting. If you don't love the pony, why have it? The point of a collection should be to look at it / play with it / spend time with it / etc. and enjoy every little bit of it.

2. Decide what you want from your collection and reassess this if you find yourself getting stressed or anxious.

The core of my collecting, currently, is G4 since I got into MLP from watching Friendship is Magic. However, I've discovered that I love certain ponies from each of the different generations. I'm not interested in collecting "every G1", but I would like Crumpet since I'm an avid tea drinker, Minty since she was my one remembered childhood pony, Baby Paws because I had a dog that looked like his symbol who passed away last year and the pink Sweet Talkin' Pony because Chatterbox was my nickname as a kid, and my bf and I met long distance (we like to think that the two people are like that; silly I know.)

My point is: if space and finances are a concern, pick your battles (err, ponies) wisely. I can't speak for everyone, but my philosophy is that I would rather have a small collection with ponies I passionately love then a large one filled with random ponies I have no connection to.

3. Know what skills you do / don't possess in relation to ponies.

I do not have amazing restorative skills. I know this. May or may not acquire these as time goes on. For now, though, this means that if I am buying older ponies, I do what I can to make sure they're going to come to me in a form that I will find presentable since I'm currently not capable of changing it. I'd rather get one nice pony that I really want and whom I can immediately enjoy, rather than 7 ponies I'm not really into who need work that I currently cannot do.

4. Ask Yourself WHY It's Not Fun Anymore

Be honest with yourself... why isn't the pony thing working for you anymore? (Stressing you / becoming too hard / etc.) Do you have bills or a family emergency that simply -needs- to come first. Is there another hobby or collection that has stolen your heart? Do your friends and loved ones view your hobby negatively and has that impacted your enjoyment? Are you spending too much energy lusting over a grail pony you cannot currently obtain and not enjoying the ponies you have? I'm not gonna go into solutions and strategies for all of these (we'd be here all day) but getting to the heart of the matter is the first and most crucial step to figuring out what you need to find a solution -for-.

5. Re-connect with your ponies / whatever made you start to love collecting in the first place.

Make a cup of tea and grab a snack. Sit at a table and relax for a few minutes. Think about what brought you to ponies to begin with. What made it fun for you in the first place? One of the most powerful ways to deal with any sort of burn out is to look at the then / now mentality and see if it can point out where things have gone off kilter.

6. Take a break if you need to.

Whether you need to back off from spending, store your ponies for a while or just put your heart into another hobby when online, sometimes some space is what is needed to help us clear our heads and reassess our priorities. The ponies will be ready and waiting when you come back.

***

We live in a crazy, fast moving world that can really let us get overwhelmed easily if we let it. It can be hard to separate our hobbies and passions from family obligations, job requirements, etc. The desire to be "the best", to "have more" and to "drive harder" are constant and unrelenting in many aspects of life. It's no wonder that people mistakenly let those kinds of pressure slip into their hobbies--if we're giving 110% to the things we -have- to give it to, how much do we really want to give to the things we actually -want- to do? But of course, that kind of energy corrodes over time and can wear out passion and joy if we are not careful with it. The vast majority of us got here because we love ponies and find collecting them fun. If something is blocking someone from saying "Yes!" to the question of whether collecting them is fun, that tells me they've got something blocking them and they need to figure out what it is.

I hope this is helpful. Have a great day!