I like doing this

I just listened to an opinion on how having a “I like doing this” mindset frees you from looking for ways to escape uncomfortable situations. The context is a chess game, a World Championship game to be precise.
Gukesh Dommaraju, the challenger, was asked something along the lines of: “Why do you have such a fighting spirit?” His response: “I just like playing chess.” This allows him to endure what others might consider suffering. When you really realize you love playing chess, you want to play until the end; you don’t go looking for repetitions. Sometimes you make some risky decisions along the way, but with that mindset, you avoid feeling miserable looking for a draw. You avoid that miserable state of trying to get rid of the tension, avoid overworrying, and avoid overthinking.

I was wondering about this recently when facing a problem I was trying to solve, and nothing of what I tried worked. I honestly felt very discouraged after a few hours and just wanted to take a break and come back to it the next day. And sometimes that is what you have to do. But embracing this “This is a cool problem to solve” mindset allows you to keep pushing for a solution.

And if you can’t find it, at least you’re doing something you like.