I am continually reading about programming, software engineering and project management, both on the net and in dead tree form, my latest dead tree being Effective C++ by Scott Meyers. This reading is out of a desire to be a better developer, and today I though: but why do I seek to be a better developer? A little bit of the drive to better myself comes from the usual suspects, monetary gain, respect from my peers and suchlike. But for the most part I want to feel like I am doing a good job at something that I love, that how well I perform is important to me for its own sake rather than from some external pressure.
This means that if I hate what I am working on or am unable to complete it to my own satisfaction I have to take care not to fall into a funk, professional pride has its drawbacks (though feel and hope are overwhelmed by its advantages). So to manage this what do I do? Well I am fortunate to have an innumerable number of hobbies that I can draw professional pride from, programming being a major one, cooking being another. And then I always have learning, the discovery of new techniques and coming to new understandings is often the best way to for me to create that feeling of self worth we all seek.