At the beginning, when you first start something, it's fun. You could be taking up golf or acupuncture or piloting a plane to doing chemistry - doesn't matter; it's interesting, and you get plenty of good feedback from the people around you. Over the next few days and weeks, the rapid learning you experience keeps you going. Whatever your new thing is, it's easy to stay engaged in it. And then the Dip happens. The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery.