4.2 Motivation

I cannot teach you how to become motivated, but this is an important ingredient of being a good engineer.

An engineer can be a good team player, professional, and even hard working. However, without motivation and enthusiasm, an engineer is just an engineer by occupation. A motivated engineer, however, is an engineer by nature.

The difference is subtle but important. A motivated engineer thinks about problems when he/she is off the job, whereas an unmotivated engineer leaves all the problems ``at work'' (or at school). I know you have other classes to worry about, and cannot spend every moment working on your Micromouse project. However, just by keeping a Micromouse problem in the back of your mind, you can find solutions when you are working on something else. Keep a list of problems that you need to solve, and review it once or twice daily. You'll be surprised by the effectiveness of your subconscious.

Your subconscious doesn't work when you have no motivation or interest in a problem.