Has anyone ever been stuck in a rut when it comes to programming? In high school I had such a big drive for programming, would love programming. After high school my drive has just seem to gone down, and it worries me. I want to be a game programmer. And it makes me worry if i will succeed in my job. I love programming in general. My drive has just gone way down. I'm not sure why though. Anyone ever experience something like this?

Are you positive that's what you want to do, first of all? You know, you don't have to put all your eggs in that one basket.

That said, ruts happen. I don't know, maybe learn Lisp and enlighten your way out of it, or something.

Maybe you just need a break!

I'm pretty sure it's what i want to do. I really love programming, i have fun with it. I'm kind of stuck in a rut, but every time i go program it's like i get distracted or what i want to do seems too daunting. Maybe i should hone my skills more, and build my programming confidence.

Ebbs and flows. Not to be too cliche here, but I do think that a little time away makes the heart grow fonder, even when it comes to our hobbies. A nice break or a new train of thought or development usually cures my plateaus or lack of inspiration. Then again, maybe it's just not what interests you anymore.

I think most of us have had periods when we just didn't want to write code or atleast not write more code,my advice is to keep your personal projects small, staying motivated is far easier when the goal is clearly visible the whole time. (If the project is big, break it down into smaller chunks, if it is freeware release early and release often(allthough for a commercial game you could release a free development demo aswell), feedback is motivating)

Try to just work through it. Sometimes it can get a bit disheartening, especially if you've been working at one certain thing for a while. Once I get myself to work and finally fix whatever issue my game was having, I don't want to stop working! Just keep at it, I haven't been as happy working as I have been working on my games.