The greatest way to fulfillment is through series of challenges. I’ve found that the greatest moments in my life have come out of being challenged to a point where I nearly gave up and I felt hopeless. I get bored pretty easily when it comes to working, hobbies, really doing anything because once it’s no longer a challenge I lose interest. When I’m not challenged I don’t get what I want out of a given task so I wind up being unfulfilled. I’ve come to realize this more and more lately. My trek down the path of becoming a full stack web developer has taught me just how much I really do love being challenged. It’s the thing that I really find excessive value in.
The moments where I have faced a great obstacle or didn’t quite grasp something how I would have liked are the moments where, when I got past them, I felt the most fulfilled. Each day I do a job that I have pretty much automated myself out of, there is little to no challenge anymore. I look forward to the days where I have a problem present itself that I’ve never ran into before because it means that I’m actually learning something new, my knowledge and skills are being put to the test. Much of my days at work go very unfulfilled but when I get home and I start going through course videos and then working on my own projects those are the parts of my days that fulfill me, they make the dull and uneventful day feel more meaningful.
There are few things that I have found that continually keep my mind busy and keep me challenged. There are even fewer things that I have found that really push me to a point where I never thought I could achieve and coding has really put me to that point. The best thing about it is that I love it. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment but I love smashing my head up against a wall facing a difficult problem because in that moment when your face is bloodied and deformed from the metaphorical brick wall, your neurons fire up and the fog clears to a brilliant bright clarity and you know the solution to the problem. That’s where I thrive, that’s the shit I love and that’s the shit I live for, I want the challenge and I need the challenge. The days I value the most in my past are the days I was faced with a great challenge and I managed to find a solution and make it through to the other side. After all, the obstacle is the way.