Tact
I'll be honest right here and now: I lack this trait as a person. There are times where I understand that I should say or do something about a difficult situation, so I do my best at applying tact, but most of the time I think it comes across as awkward. This post isn't about that though. It should be about my lens as a game developer, developing my TTRPG.
One of my core rules at any table is to leave the other life behind. That probably sounds a little harsh, but it is essentially the same as "leave your baggage at the door". When you come to a table of mine, I don't want you to bring those worries into that fictional world. The entire point of a game table is to get lost in another world, having fun with others while playing a game. If you're bringing a plethora of snags while trying to figure out the best course of action for something in-game, then maybe you should sit that one out.
I'm all for listening to people and their problems. Most of the time I won't remember them because I've got ADHD, but I do know that just having someone to talk to about life's worries is a great thing. Thankfully I've never had to address this kind of situation at a table. There were a few instances where a player exerted their main-character-syndrome onto the table, but I just called them out on it. I don't have time to beat around the bush for things like that. My players are adults and I expect them to act like one — so if they need to excuse themselves for a session or more, that's okay. I know that life isn't fair nor easy, and that it can get very hard pretty quickly.
Practice more tact. I know I need to, and I'm working on it slowly.
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