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Mike CK
Mike CK

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What Motivates You as a Developer

My days are like this:

  • High motivation and fast results
  • No desire to open the computer at all
  • Trading simpler projects for complicated ones
  • Implementing end-to-end solutions without asking for a dime
  • Rewriting systems from scratch because one thing doesn't work
  • Mastering the difficult stuff
  • Feeling payment is undeserved

Swinging between these states had confused me for a long time, until I decided to focus on the why of doing anything at all. I mean, why am I even a developer? Can I do well in another field? Yes. Can I give up programming for good? Absolutely no.

I do programming because there is enjoyment in the process, and there is satisfaction in the results. The more difficult the process, the more fulfilling the results. It's a feel-good journey.

Oh so simple: enjoy learning, working and delivering results!

Enjoy the frustrations you get when you are stuck. Have fun with your 1 week breaks between coding. Dance to the tunes of abandoned projects. Sleep soundly while procrastinating. It's all part of the journey.


In December 2014, I made a simple website so I can start explaining tech to people. I was so certain it was my calling.

Two years later, I abandoned it so I can push a design and development business. I made a few projects that excited me. In all of them, there were moments of great triumph and moments of absolute chaos. Amid these chaos, I would contemplate telling the client to give the project to someone else.

Design projects too are frustrating. I would take a week, still do, sometimes to get inspiration on the most fitting logo design for a given company.


This short story expresses one thing: we are motivated by good results and fulfilling/exciting experiences.

Being a developer, just like any other profession, is a roller-coaster that doesn't end. It's okay to be wherever you are in the journey.

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