A question about motivation

Hi guys,

I've got a question about motivation, it's been troubling me for some time so I thought I would join and ask (hopefully I can keep this short).

So my dilemma revolves around my lack of motivation to learn in the I.T. field, a field I am still very interested in but have found that my lack of motivation to study and learn more has fizzed out some what (I use to be very Interested in the field, Went to College and completed my Degree) did a lot of self learning before the Degree, but find it very boring to just read hard textbooks (say on Programming - which I enjoy very much once I get over the initial motivation to start learning).

Some reasons for this I believe could be all/one/or another of the following:

turning a hobby into a career
being payed for a hobby
lack of confidence
perfectionism?
Pressures from work to do things that don't Interest me
Wanting to do things well, but not being allowed to due to work
Depression/Anxiety?
Lack of other hobbies (Job + Hobby = one in the same)
I need an application or a novel task to set myself as a goal?

Most comments I get are, "Just do something else for your job/hobby" but Computers (especially System Administration/Hardware Support) are pretty much all what I enjoy, But at the moment it's very much a love/hate relationship. I've always been very interested in Networks, started my CCNA once or thrice but never finished it. I'm not sure If I'm doubting my ability to do it, But when there is no pressure on to learn it I have no problems understand it and very advanced topics (am I trigger shy?, shy of making the commitment, scared of failure?, I question my knowledge alot).

I think a big problem is when I was at School I was the only person who was Interested in Computers so I got slogged with the "Computer Genius" title and since then I have got a lot of breaks from my knowledge, but never really felt like there is anytime I have done anything great to warrant that title. Could this of had a negative effect on my growth? Could I have rested on my laurels too much as I'm doing now? Do I need to knock it into myself that I'm really just average and I have a lot more to learn?

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Comments

instant000

This is in the Jobs and Degrees forum. Maybe if it was moved to the Off-Topic forum, it might make more sense.

Anyway, I'll look at your bulleted list:

turning a hobby into a career - SETTING THE SCENERY
being payed for a hobby - SOUNDS GREAT, AT LEAST
lack of confidence - NOT OK.
perfectionism? - DO YOU HAVE TIME TO BE PERFECT?
Pressures from work to do things that don't Interest me - IT'S WORK NOT HOBBY!
Wanting to do things well, but not being allowed to due to work - SEE PERFECTIONISM
Depression/Anxiety? - SEE PERFECTIONISM/SEE PRESSURES FROM WORK
Lack of other hobbies (Job + Hobby = one in the same) - NOT TRUE! YOU DON'T REALLY LIKE YOUR JOB THAT MUCH IF IT HAS YOU DOING THINGS THAT DON'T INTEREST YOU. SEE PRESSURES FROM WORK
I need an application or a novel task to set myself as a goal? - YES

So, I'll look at a few of these:
lack of confidence - NOT OK.
perfectionism? - DO YOU HAVE TIME TO BE PERFECT?
Pressures from work to do things that don't Interest me - IT'S WORK NOT HOBBY!
I need an application or a novel task to set myself as a goal? - YES

lack of confidence - NOT OK.
- One way to build confidence is to work at something, and have it be successful. Based on past success, you could be more confident in future endeavors. More on this later.

perfectionism? - DO YOU HAVE TIME TO BE PERFECT?
- I doubt you have time to be perfect, but you do have time to do your best in the time allotted. More on this later.

Pressures from work to do things that don't Interest me - IT'S WORK NOT HOBBY!
- You may think they are similar, but they are not. Your hobby is what you like to do. Your work is what you get paid to do. If your work was a hobby, you would only do jobs that you liked. You are not only doing jobs you like. You are doing some things you like, and some things you do not like. Maybe you had not realized this before, but it is what it is. Maybe seeing things as they are would give you a little less reason to be anxious and depressed, and more reason to realize how things really are, and now adjust from this point onwards.

I need an application or a novel task to set myself as a goal? - YES
- Now, I said that I would get back to the confidence building and perfectionism. This is where that will be addressed. With regards to confidence, I advised you to work on something, and be successful at it. This would be considered a goal. With regards to perfectionism, you can do better on things if you are more knowledgeable at them. This will build a feedback loop that will also increase your confidence. I would suggest that you get a focus, sketch out some realistic goals, and shoot for it. Short-term and Long-term. Start at the long-term, and work your way back. What key traits does that long-term view of yourself have that you need to sharpen? OK, then work out things you can do in stages, to build up those traits, and get you where you desire to be.

For example, if I had the goal of being a professional wrestler (not realistic for me, but humor me, regardless):

Target: Professional Wrestler
Key traits: acting, wrestling and fitness

building abilities:
acting: plays, drama clubs, speech
wrestling: amateur wrestling
fitness: hit the weights

Road to Wrestlemania:
High School: Join the Drama Club, Join the debate team, Join the Wrestling team, lift weights in off-season
College: Major in Theatre, Perform in plays, give speeches, wrestle at the collegiate level, lift weights in off-season. Secure a part-time job as a bouncer, and intern at WWE.
Post-Grad: Do toastmasters, Join the WWE roster, complete Master of Arts degree
Wrestlemania: Become the WWE Champion

Hope this helps.

P.S.: Haven't viewed wrestling in years, is it still called WWE?

Mishra

What are you doing now for work?

W Stewart

Find a hobby outside of IT. I'm currently in school and I love IT but I started to get burnt out after awhile because all I did at home or work was IT related stuff. I started lifting weights outside work and reading about nutrition and exercise during downtime at work. Eventually I regained my motivation and got back around to learning and I'm finding that I'm taking information in a lot better. I used to avoid reading detailed documentation and just looked for quick info on a particular technology but now I find it enjoyable to read things in depth. Maybe lifting weights took such a tole on me that I realized how good it was to be a nerd but I heard a long time ago that when you take a break from something and then come back, you're usually significantly better at it.