For some reason I feel compelled to try and play the game at the top end and I don't really think I could take the game at a casual pace. Especially with getting back into top end raiding with Legion, it felt exciting to gain ranks in the US throughout the raid tiers.
I mean we were racing for server first on Bleeding Hollow for Argus and if my guild had stuck together it would have happened and we would have been top 50 US or somewhere around there. I joined during Nighthold and we were US 131 after getting Gul'dan, so to me, I had this sense of progression with mythic raiding as we had jumped up in the ranks.
I don't think I could go back to just wanting to only do heroic mode as to me mythic always offered just that next step up in difficulty, even though it may feel like you're slamming your dick in a drawer.
I used to have that problem. It's something you have to exercise and train yourself not to do. It takes practise. It's like being glued to your phone while watching a movie or spending time with your partner or something. If you sit down and watch 1 hour of Netflix, often times that 1 hour is much more satisfying and fulfilling if you're not also glued to your phone at the same time. They're just bad habits that require practise. Sometimes I catch myself doing it in small ways like not reading quests. I have to slap myself and remind myself that I actually enjoy the game more when I slow down, read quests, and take my time.
Like everyone kept telling me "Go to Argus, go to Argus, you'll get better gear!" I didn't feel like going to Argus yet; I wanted to arrive there naturally. I was just going with the flow with my quests and such, doing whatever seemed most important in my log or whatever I thought would be the most fun. I like it that way. I just now got to Argus last night at ilvl 910 lol. I'd have gotten better gear and gotten it faster had I gone straight to Argus, but I also would have had less fun.
Try practising man, you'll thank yourself for it and you'll enjoy other MMO's you play more as well too. Start small, read a quest here and there. Obviously reading quests isn't necessary and is just one example, and you can still be casual and enjoy the game in a casual manner without reading quests, but it's an example of a learned behavior that you h ave to practise. If you still love the game and find it fulfilling and fun as a hardcore, than more power to you, keep doing what you're doing.
But if you're finding yourself getting burn out fast and often and you find yourself looking forward to finishing that raid or that daily so you can finally log out, you gotta change your attitude. Some people prefer to just go hard, get burned out, quit, come back, go hard, get burnt out, quit, and that's fine too. I like a slow burn myself. I never ever want to have that feeling where I can't wait to finish whatever I'm doing in game so I can be done with it already and log out. Ugh I'm too old for that shit now, and my time is too precious to be spending it "playing a game" that I'm not actually enjoying. I dedicate time to games for fun and relaxation - full stop. If the game isn't doing that, I won't spend my time on it - time is precious.