Having witnessed the growth of countless engineers, including myself, it comes down a personality trait as far as I can tell. Some people make their code and t

Having witnessed the growth of countless engineers, including myself, it comes down a personality trait as far as I can tell. Some people make their code and their products a huge component of their identity and it becomes very difficult for them to separate from it and maintain a health work-life balance. Inevitably leads to burn-out, ill tempers, delusions, and/or depression. I call it the Curse of Passion. If a project is the majority of your identity, then it's hard to just "scale back" when you know their are issues that "nobody else would fix right" or "will make me look bad because it's my ultimate responsibility." Of course, the right thing to do is step away, recover, reflect, and come back, but it's easier said than done for some.