I can only say what worked for me. For as long as I can remember I was obsessed with video games. It’s all I thought about. I would play any genre, any platform, didn’t matter. However, I grew up in a very tech-fearing culture. Working on video games, let alone software engineering, was unknown and looked down upon.

I eventually made it into the software industry, but things never felt right. I would force myself to focus, changed jobs many times, and generally found it unrewarding.

I finally realized I should be doing what I already knew I was interested in and started making games. The hard part was peeling away the cultural brainwashing that prevented me from doing it in the first place.

Now I can’t believe I ever needed focus hacks. I can enter a flow state the moment I sit in front of the computer because it _matters_ (to me). There are still times when my inner dialogue starts to pester me with negativity, but I remind myself that in my heart of hearts I love what I do.

Do you have something deep down you know you want but avoid because it’s not “the proper thing”?