When I first look at amount of weekly assignment and the difficulties of the puzzle-like excercises in Socrates, I was quite overwhelmed. Personally, I am really not a math person. So when it comes to solving the algorithm for leaping years or check whether or the length of three sides could form a triangle, it just seem to not be my thing.
Nevertheless, regardless of what I think, or whether or not I feel I could or I could not be a good programmer, I always tried to get these negativities off my yard. A lot of work? feeling the pressure to finish? stress? frustrate? couldn't figure out the problem? Of course, there are certain points when my heart is a head of my work. It wants things to be done. It wants to be able to figure out the problem NOW! It want to be good now! It fears of not being able to become a good programmer. And each time this attitude happens, it create a kind of dissonance between the reality and what I want from reality: dissatisfation. And these, I have to get them off my yard since when you are working with this kind of energy, you can feel you are somewhat always on edge. And your heart knows it is not the way to go about it.
And the way to go about it is simply just to do it without any expectations for yourself as well as your work. Just do it. (Nike got it right.) Lots of work? feeling the pressure to finish? Don't give yourself in to these emotions the springs from the desire to finish, just keep doing it! Couldn't figure out the problem? feeling like it's not for you? Don't! just keep doing it. These are merely mind obstables. Like a hurdle you have to keep jumping over each time it comes at you.
You know Mike Tyson once said,
"There is no room for emotions in this kind of sport"
which in our case would be...programming sport?? (haha sorry I am just being a little silly and off-topic but it's true!)