what works for you while self learning? What keeps the motivation? What stops you from giving up?

If I give up, what else am I going to do? I don't love everything about this job, but there isn't a lot else out there that pays you to build things. If you're not in a position where you are happy or interested in what you're building, you might be able to work towards your in a place where you can.

I wasn't always motivated by the work I was doing, but I got to the point where I was. And if I ever get too burnt out by what I'm currently doing, there's always an opportunity to take everything I've learned and apply it elsewhere.

I am a puzzle solver. Nothing beats the feeling of solving a good riddle. Early on in the 80ies, I played tons of video games. Now I solve programming puzzles at work and play RPGs in my spare time.

Learning new things is self rewarding for me.
I would "give up", when I am forced to do the same over and over again without any change or improvement.

I am enjoying it as long as I can.

OTOH, I wouldn't say "giving up". When you stop doing things, you are only changing pace and direction. 😉

Having a project to work on which either helps you understand something better, or just a general curiousity.

For example when I started using Go, I made a card Game which helped me better understand, and work with its concurrency model.
This is because the card game has an analyser, which checks the cards each player (1-4) has - in the background, and notifies them whether they can make a valid play. Kind of an assistant, which run in background but doesn't interrupt gameplay.

The second is a Rubik's cube, I'm still working on a bit just out of curiosity. As to how it would rotate, how it could be solved, how I would separate the concerns of its functionality, and more. Also I get to use TypeScript and Threejs which I really enjoy using.

The benefit of both projects, is that I get to problem solve and build something, outside of what I do everyday. And it's fun practice.

Also here is an implementation of the Sweep and Prune algorithm I made earlier this year, again out of pure curiosity written in ES6.

Hope that helps.

I write them in a place other can see. If I fail, not only am I failing myself but also failing a promise I made to everyone who read them. Simple? Yep. Silly? Probably. Effective? So far. :)

As others have said, come up with a project that you want to finish. This will give you some practical experience with whatever you are learning and make it more interesting. Having a concrete goal will help maintain interest. Ultimately you have to want to learn, and something that piques your interest will go a long way.

For me I wanted to learn nodejs from a web perspective (I had used it before to build a syncing system with kafka) so I built a fantasy football draft board for the leagues I am in. Using something like this teaches you so much more than a todo app or hello world.

Taking breaks and teaching others. I am a natural learner but I'll usually take a break from anything and reevaluate if I don't see immediate usage from a topic or skill. It's worked well for me and my personality type.

Long-term goals give quite some motivation.

The love of quality too (it's not perfectionism!). I expect quality work from others (not just in software development), so I cannot expect but the same from myself too.

If you feel losing your motivation, don't forget to ask yourself the question, what is your goal and what's the next necessary step to achieve it. Besides, you have to alter a bit what you do from time to time, to keep things interesting and also challenging.

Have a personal hero. It can be wonderwoman, it can be your father, your smart friend, maybe Aristotle. If you are about to give in, ask the question, what would X do in that situation!

Work in a sector you believe in

Purpose in life mostly. I firmly believe that if I'm not learning, earning money, or having fun, whatever I'm doing is just a waste of time.