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Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

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Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#1
I have four and half years of professional programming experience. Two years ago, I was very passionate, always learning, coding etc.,

Slowly over the the past couple of years I have lost interest in everything I suppose. i am not speaking philosophy here, but I am feeling tired of everything.

I am just 25. I'm too young to say such things. Anyone else have been through this before and "came back with a bang" ?

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#2
dont worry about it most likely its you brain telling you that you need a bit more balance. Take up the guitar , go running, chill out, see more of your wife/girlfriend/family. Go with the flow , it never leaves you; sometimes you brain just wants to let all the information you fed it marinade. The funny thing is; if you do other stuff that interests you , it allows you to develop perspectives you might not otherwise have had. Take a break, you'll be a stronger programmer for it.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#3
Currently in the same position. I am only 22 and still studying in university about computers, but I have not touched to vim now for 3 months even though I used to write few hundred lines of code everyday as a hobby since i was 15 or something like that.

Most likely my dilemma is that I seem not to be able to decide where to specialize and programming alone has become quite boring. I kinda want to do everything and can not decide which is the most fun of games, web, mobile, desktop or security.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#4
I think every developer faces the same problem at one point. What helped me personally was actually working less and find new hobbies (that don't involve computers), and one thing in particular: running. It's hard to keep your enthusiasm at a high level if all you see is work - despite the fact that you might enjoy it. Go out, meet your friends, eat well and excersize.

EDIT: Recently I was attending a startup meeting and there was this video, where one developer said Sleeping and eating are overrated. What a load of crap - following this advice is the best way to burn out. We are not robots.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#5
I wanted to quit computers several times but always gravitate back to them eventually. I even did a whole masters program in economics to find something different. I personally am just the type to cycle between workaholism and hedonism. After putting too much into work I get really appalled by it and need to spend time travelling and just generally living life. Every time I spend 6 weeks not working I have a burning desire to do and learn again. Maybe you just did too much. The hardships of travelling are vital for me because at first everything is so great and you really need to do it until it isn't anymore. Eventually you will long to get back to your passion.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#6
Passion can be rekindled, but doubling down on the subject is not the right way to do it. You are probably a little burnt out and a little jaded. Pickup a hobby far away from programming and use that as your fun time for a few years. When you get back to programming as a fun thing, you will enjoy it far more.

Snowboarding has been my passion for about 10 years. I snowboard 50+ days a year, I moved out to Colorado for a time just to snowboard absolutely as much as possible. I race, I go into the park a lot, I jump off cliffs, I go into the backcountry, I worked at a ski shop, I read all the magazines, buy the DVDs, and I watch the weather forecast incessantly.

But I'm burnt out on it. I moved back to the east coast, the mountains and weather aren't as good, and I'm totally jaded. If its not fresh snow, steep trails, perfect weather I feel like I'm wasting time and money. Unless I live at the mountain, I can't get any better than I am now (whereas before I enjoyed the challenge of getting up the learning curve). So I just decided to stop.

I picked up surfing instead. I'm terrible at it, but the challenge is thrilling. Now I can enjoy the learning curve again and I don't need 'perfect' conditions. It's fun just to get out there and do something.

And I'm sure when I do go back to snowboarding in a few years, it will be far more interesting.

So for you, I would say make programming your job, and something else your passion/hobby. Take a couple years off from programming outside of work, and come back to it with renewed purpose.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#7
Take a break.

I had the same thing when I was 25. I ended up quitting my job and buying a one-way ticket to Europe. I didn't think I would ever write code again. I spent about three months backpacking Europe, then came back and spent a few more hanging around and doing odd jobs around town. Eventually, I started code in my free time again, and about a year later, came back into the profession refreshed.

Now I know what I need to do to prevent burnout again, and it's primarily that I keep other hobbies, and I have friends that aren't work-related. It lets me get away when I need to and still stay interested in what I do the rest of the time.

But that's more maintenance, sometimes you need to shotgun into that stage by cutting out everything for a lengthened period of time. If you really are a hacker at heart, and it sounds like you are, you'll start writing code again soon enough, and you'll know you're back.

You'll also have stories and other life experiences as well, which make you a better, more rounded person.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with losing interest in your passion?

#8
I went through this a lot later in life, and what worked for me was "going academic". I hit Lambda the Ultimate and started challenging myself to learn a lot of really advanced stuff. I'd pick out papers that were hard to understand and go through them step by step, as many times as necessary.

I'd also recommend learning to do something complicated in your personal life, like flying, or diving, or fixing cars. Complexity doesn't exist just in software; it's all around us. Embrace it in your personal life and it will balance what's in your professional life.

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