## Motivation -V- Why do we do the things we do? --- ### External motivation Carrot and stick; someone else sets our path. - activity feels meaningless - makes it easier to procrastinate - long-term: numbs our self-motivation --- ### Internal motivation We have our own target and we follow it. - progress feels more rewarding - brings good mood - engages creativity and learning --- ### Goal-based motivation We want to achieve something in the future. Two phases: 1. long displeasure from not reaching the goal 2. short rush of joy from reaching the goal - that quickly evaporates -V- #### Pros: It works!
#### Cons: It is harmful and not sustainable Joy fades over time, requiring more demanding goals. -V- ### Hedonic treadmill 🔗 > Humans quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events. The reward for finishing a major goal
is not worth a long struggle to get there. -V- ### My past goal > I'll build a cool website for generating artwork and sell the art and the code! 1. *Build it* - I built the website! - I enjoyed this part. 2. *Sell it* - I never managed to do any selling. - I hated this part. --- ### Journey-based motivation Joy is found in doing an activity, not finishing it. * We enjoy the activity itself * Unlocks the state of flow --- ### Flow State of deep immersion in an activity that... * is challenging * makes use of our strengths * matches our skills * is enjoyable. We tend to lose our sense of time, and it feels good. -V- ### You know the feeling of staying up late running compile just one last time with the help of a random forum post hoping it finally starts working. **Right?** --- ### Personal vision How we'd like to spend our limited time. Journey-based, internal motivation - activities we'd like to be doing - milestones we'd like to pass - supporting something meaningful --- ### Meaning is a subjective motivation. It goes beyond ourselves: - helping others / greater good, - creating a lasting legacy. -V- ### Group vision Cooperation of individual visions. > The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Both the group and its members achieve more
than lonely individuals. -V- ### Meaning for me I'm a fan of free and open source software: - Daily user: - OS & apps - fixes & features - documentation, tips, help - Contributor: - releasing code, fixes - sponsoring useful projects and individuals **Everyone benefits.** --- ### TOOL: Personal Vision -V- What gets out of bed in the morning? -V- #### How to build a Personal Vision? 1. Personal SWOT analysis 2. List your Achievements 3. Analyze motivating activities 4. Define a Beta-Vision 5. Final Personal Vision --- #### Step 1: ### Personal SWOT

S

Strengths

W

Weaknesses

O

Opportunities

T

Threats
-V- #### Strengths - skills, traits and qualities you have - using them supports flow - personal vision makes use of these as much as possible -V- #### My Strengths - life-long programming experience - perfectionist, love creating clean software - persevering problem solver (especially for mysteries in tech) - open-minded and attentive listener - ... -V- #### Weaknesses - qualities you lack; limitations and negative traits - using them retards flow - personal vision avoids them if possible These can be improved
but don't devote too much time to it. -V- #### My Weaknesses - introverted, social interactions are taxing - weak in group dynamics, not a "people person" - cautious in opinions, not an "influencer" I spent way too much time fighting my social skills. -V- #### Opportunities - possibilities today's world offers to you - using them supports flow - personal vision builds on them Only a few will be used. The rest needs to be rejected and banished: - to gain focus, clarity and mastery, - to avoid decision paralysis or regrets. -V- #### My Opportunities - switch jobs for better role / pay / tech stack - get back to distributed systems - build expertise on one specific topic - get exposure through knowledge sharing (talks) - ... I'll never be ruthless entrepreneur, but that's ok. -V- #### Threats - risks, possible negative impacts or scenarios - take them into account, be prepared - awareness helps with facing fears -V- #### My Threats - changed role or job: - boring / stressful / annoying tasks - toxic workplace - lower pay / long commute - having to use Windows - more exposure leading to personal attacks -V- #### My Observations - it felt misaligned with the current career
(coding vs. people management) - Threats already applied to the current situation Change was apparently needed & low risk. --- #### Step 2: ### Personal Achievements - things that brought you joy / you are proud of - provides specific evidence of your strengths - helps to gain confidence and think positively -V- ### My Achievements - finished college, wrote a cool master's thesis - became a team leader - self-hosting my services via VPS - extracted ERP legacy tax functionality via a strategy pattern - learned to type using the Workman layout - ... -V- #### My Observations - Nice! I did some cool things! - Very little of it was connected to people management --- #### Step 3: ### Analyzing motivating activities Find what drives you to strengthen your vision.
Categories: - bringing personal growth - creating legacy - building relationships - has deeper meaning
Look for synergies and groups. -V- ### My Activities - writing readable code, testing, refactoring - exploring new technologies and approaches - contributing to open source projects - learning through books and conferences - knowledge sharing through blog, mentoring, talks - working with colleagues - reviews, discussions - research of innovative solutions - solving problems, making software more useful ... -V- ### My Activities Grouped - collaborative software development (direct) - exchange of experience (learning & teaching) - research, experiments, investigation --- #### Step 4: ### Beta-Vision Finding a personal vision takes effort and time.
Finding a beta version is easier
therefore you won't procrastinate to start! -V- ### My Beta-Vision - coding useful software on a daily basis - publicly, open source - Kotlin, TypeScript - learning from others and sharing my knowledge - collaboration, discussions - blogging, talks, mentoring - specialize in one area --- #### Step 5: ### Final Personal Vision

A few paragraphs of what you want to be doing.

--- ### Act Now! Starting small is fine, as long as you start! *How can you incorporate your vision in your daily life?* -V- ### My First Steps 1. Coding refresher: - **Kotlin** Koans - **Go** by Example - Learn **Go** with Tests - Personal **React** project 2. Fixing defects in the Android apps that I use (in Kotlin). -V- ### My Findings - starting small & early was great: - for "prototyping" the vision - (e.g.: Go is not so great) - to experiment stress-free - to avoid overthinking it - I regularly experienced flow, improved my mood, raised my skills and really enjoyed doing it. - having a vision for your life is useless without taking action