Working with Motivation and Inspiration
Published: 2022-09-12 00:13:50

I'll be honest, it wasn't a terribly productive week for me.  I got things done, sure, but it certainly lacked the vigor and intent.  It was simply going through the paces, if anything.

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So this weekend, today and yesterday, I did some reflection and sought out advice from the most reputable source of all...YouTube (entirely sarcastic).  I recently found an experienced programmer that streams on Twitch and releases videos on YouTube, ThePrimeagen (as is tradition, late to the party), and a video of his, ['Maintaining Motivation as a Software Engineer'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBayRA8o3yQ).

His [Twitch](twitch.tv/theprimeagen) and [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePrimeagen).

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Being so green in the programming realm, I had the misconception that everything was going to be (for the most part) endlessly exciting and novel, and the motivation will be endless simply due to having passion.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely naive, I know that everything isn't sunshine and rainbows.  However, I was a bit thrown off by apathy creeping in.

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So, what did I pick up from ThePrimeagen?  There is extrinsic motivation (bills, deadlines, job performance) and intrinsic motivation (passion, the desire to be good).  Extrinsic motivation isn't always the most enjoyable (though is often the most important) while intrinsic motivation can be seen as more enjoyable and more desired by most people.  He gives the example of not feeling up to stream or not wanting to record a video, but does so anyway and as time goes on he begins to break through the muck.  His hot take (his words, not mine) being that we shouldn't consider how we feel in the moment.

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I've never been one for extremes or binary conclusions.  Sure there exist matters that are, but I think most things come with nuance.  Either way, I understand what he's getting at by saying we shouldn't consider how we feel in the moment.  Of course there are moments where taking those feelings into consideration is required, even when those feelings are saying to be a couch potato for the day.  But in general, what ThePrimeagen is saying makes sense to me, to just start the work and see how things go.

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The separation of how I feel and what I need to get done is a difficult task, however I believe he has a point when he says that the feeling of novelty and excitement from 'natural motivation' doesn't last.  The first time doing something gives that 'wellspring of passion', but just for the first 20% because that kind of passion does not continue throughout the entire journey.

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He says his lesson is to 'pursue making how you feel align with reality, as opposed to letting reality be aligned to how you feel' because that constant, ever-present motivation and inspiration isn't realistic.  Again, to some degree I think listening to my feelings is needed, but my inner voice telling me to binge a bit of Netflix means less time invested into longer term progress.  A bit of relaxation is reasonable, arguably it's required to stay sane, but the key is for me to be more realistic and honest with myself.  Do I really need to be a couch potato?  Or do I just need to recognize that it's more important to get things done instead of acquiescing to what I'm feeling in the moment?

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Just to reiterate, I'm not saying that I'm going to flat out ignore all my feelings, nor am I encouraging anyone else to do so.  I'm just starting to learn that, for me, real passion and motivation shouldn't be found strictly in the moment.  Sometimes (mostly) it's more important to put my nose to the grindstone and get things done.  It isn't reasonable to rely on that shiny inspiration for the long term, especially in the world of programming where investing time, practice, and effort are the only ways to improve.

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It's perfectly reasonable to not always have that motivation that comes from novelty, but it's important to remember that while 'innate motivation' can be short lived, derive the long term motivation from a combination of inner desire and recognizing what needs to be done.