📘 Rediscovering the Joy of Learning — Even in the Grind

Recently, I was reconnecting with a friend, and we found ourselves deep in a conversation about learning — or more specifically, losing the passion for it.

My friend shared that they had reached a point where he no longer felt motivated to learn. That hit home for me, because I realized I had been on the edge of that same feeling not long ago. Life’s daily demands — work, routine, survival — can slowly dull the excitement we once had for chasing knowledge. Sometimes, you don’t even notice it happening.

With AI and automation tools increasingly doing the “thinking” for us, the joy of learning through struggle — of wrestling with a hard problem and growing from it — can start to slip away. These tools are amazing, no doubt. But if we’re not mindful, they can make us passive instead of curious.

For me, engineering was the domain where I rediscovered that joy. Tackling complex systems, iterating crude prototypes, and refining them over time made me feel alive again. But that journey wasn’t without its paradoxes. I often asked myself:

“How do I balance the pursuit of learning with the need to earn?”

They don’t always align. And in fact, the most meaningful learning often comes when you’re not optimizing for revenue, but for understanding. Still, to sustain that journey — especially in engineering — you need capital. And that’s where the blend of engineering and business comes in: solving meaningful problems while building something sustainable.

But even with all that, passion can still be blocked by daily monotony:
📌 A job you no longer enjoy
📌 Life pressures (visa issues, financial stress, etc.)
📌 The overwhelm of constant chores or shallow work

How do you reclaim focus and creativity in such conditions?
You have two options:

Externalize the chaos — write, journal, map your thoughts, systematize your life
Internalize it all — try to process and manage everything in your head (harder, often unsustainable)

I’ve done both. What I’ve learned is that the method doesn’t matter as much as your intent to find clarity. Along the way, tools, systems, and habits start to compound like interest — shaving 2% off here, 5% off there — and eventually, they buy back your time and attention.

You regain space for curiosity.

You start building again.

You learn because you want to — not because you’re forced to.

And sometimes, that spark is all it takes to start climbing out of the fog.

# አስገባ <መግባትመውጣት>
# include <iostream>

😂😂

Well... I wish I could join but that's not happening.

I have a confession to make.

About two years (almost) ago I started learning Spanish on Duolingo. I was so excited at first as everybody who learns language on the app. But that wasn't always true. I wasn't always excited to do a lesson. Most of those 650 days (probably 80% to 90% of it) I was just trying to do a lesson to extend my streak. Just to do one more. But the repetition, the consistency, the inadequate effort to just show up had real difference when I see the big picture now. I'm not saying am a pro in spanish now but I'm pouring the water into the glass slowly and I'm gonna keep doing it. No matter what.

This shows me the value of consistency. If you're consistent, you could fill the glass in a month or a year or even 5 but you're fillin it that's what matters the most.

I also started solving leetcode problems about a month ago (without considering the one month streak before starting this one) amd I was mostly doing 1 problem a day (the problem selection has some criterias tho 😊) But after a month I have a real difference than last month. I can see it. But most of the days was just to keep my streak... To be consistent.

What I want to say is consistency is the key to grow. When there are deadlines, when you should do things fast, when you fo things to prove your capabilities... that takes the fun out of the process.

Sorry if my writing feels cheesey 😁


#confession #consistency #keepPushing #dontStop

Man I really need to build something this month. Its been a long time since I've worked on my side projects.

Stay tuned!

#gotochurch #Churchሂዱ

@selfmadecoder

Huh😮

ደርድል 2025/05/06 8/8

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derdle.com

I thought it was cool to build an app for it... let's hold that for a bit...

🎊Solved 200 problems 🎊

Now I'm aiming for the hard ones 😊

We've hade some new subscribers join recently.
Sorry for the late welcome! I'm genuinely happy to see you all here. Thanks so much for joining