It's not a conscience decision. People put the time in because they genuinely enjoy what they are doing.
My thing is bowling. I've been doing it since I was 6 (I'm 26 now). I went to the bowling alley as often as possible, I'd ride my bike down after school whenever I had money. In high school, I bought monthly memberships and would bowl 10-15 games a day, every day. I just couldn't get enough of it.
The past few years I've been averaging in the 220s, which is great, but not professional great yet. In the next few years, when I'm more financially stable, I'm going to try out the PBA Tour, if for nothing else but the experience.
I bowl so much that I developed bone spurs in my elbow that I had surgically removed a couple of weeks ago. I haven't bowled now for over 4 months, which is the longest break I've ever taken.
Moral of the story is, you don't decide to practice something, you do it because you can't imagine not doing it.
I wonder if there are any particular initial conditions that led you to genuinely enjoy it.
For example, a lucky streak or parental encouragement might have led you to make "I'm awesome at bowling" part of your identity, creating a virtuous circle of getting better and being proud and wanting to get even better.
If you had a friend or older brothre that had been doing it for 6 months that was with you when you first tried bowling, you might have decided that you simply weren't any good at it, and therefore why waste your time practising something you're clearly no good at?
I wonder how much of what we all decide to dedicate our lives to is simply down to random initial conditions.
With programming, it was a combination of boredom and having copious amounts of free time after school and on summer breaks. Not having much of a social life and poor self-esteem also helped. Add in a good amount of social anxiety and well... there is your answer.
Can't say it wasn't fun, and it definitely pays the bills now. But I would trade it all to be in a mediocre rock band that plays crappy hole-in-the-wall clubs in tiny godforsaken midwest US towns on Tuesday with a midnight time slot. But I was never good at guitar.
Many people I know have talked the talk but then never really had the motivation to walk the walk and put in the effort.
Any ideas on what gives people the internal motivation and strength to follow through with practice in the first place?