I absolutely agree. I was destroying myself over not meeting my own expectations as a developer. I've always had other interests but refused them. My thinking was that my discipline would pay off as I became a better programmer and applied more time to practicing.

Then, along came a great deal on a decent boat. $250 for motor, hull, interior, outdrive, and trailer. While it did have all of the components, it did require quite a bit of work. I also didn't know a thing about boats when I purchased it.

It's been 4 months that I've been working on it. I haven't kicked myself in the ass once for giving up the programming time I would had been able to apply to my skills otherwise. And I'm much more comfortable working in such a frustrating environment now that I don't rely so heavily on satisfaction from programming.

Two bonuses that also came from my purchase: - I know a bunch about boats - I'll be able to truly appreciate the free time that my job affords me when I launch for the first time tomorrow (assuming all of the kinks are worked out).