> So now I've found myself much more likely to build personal projects because I know I can get past things that in the past felt a bit like quicksand to me.

I'm the opposite of you (my strength is in voodoo) but my experience is the same. Whereas before I'd spend 2-3 weekends getting bogged down on elements that aren't my strengths and never complete, now I can easily whip up a mostly functioning web app (just for me) in just a few hours.