I Will Solve It
So I solve Project Euler problems sequentially. There are a few reasons for that, but I won't get into my whole philosophy here.
One thing it does, though, is it forces me to solve the current problem. No skipping ahead if I think it's too hard.
This is a good thing. It forces me to think. It forces me to be uncomfortable. If I only solved problems I found easy, I wouldn't improve.
It's been going well. 750+ solves. All good. Until… this problem. I won't say which problem it is, because I don't want to scare anyone away from attempting it.
But… this problem! I think(?) I'm so annoyingly close to solving it.
Okay, so maybe I wrote this post just to complain. But I also have another reason.
See, maybe this is just me, but I do genuinely get upset when I can't solve something. Like, not upset upset, but pretty close to it. It's like that itch you can't scratch.
It's easy to sink hours obsessing over a problem. That's fine when you have all summer. Not so good when you have responsibilities, and I am definitely not short of those!
So this is a reminder that I should really do my homework it's okay to be stuck. Admittedly, I haven't felt stuck like this for a long while, so it's good to be reminded.
I know I really want to complete Project Euler one day, but it can wait. No need to rush.
Surprisingly, the world will not collapse if I don't solve it today. Or this week. Or this month. Or this year.
But I know that I can solve it. Will solve it.
Maybe the inspiration comes when I'm in the shower, or when I'm on the bus, or waiting in the elevator. Who knows.
But I know that it's not impossible. It's not a matter of if I solve it, but when I solve it.
Because I can solve it. I will solve it.
Maybe not today. Not this week. Not this month. Not this year.
But I will solve it.
I will solve it.
I will solve it!
Please do your homework.
Update: Literally the next day after writing this, I solved it.
So there's 2 possibilities:
- This post was useful, and I should write more motivational posts for myself
- This post was useless, and I only solved it because I can't stop procrastinating
Either way, I need a well-deserved break from Project Euler.
I'm gonna go do my homework now. Promise.