Wanting to do something for one's self helps me. I got a second degree online over the course of about 6-7 years, just taking one or two classes at a time. Try something, experiment?

Thinking about something before one has tried it, there are bound to be misperceptions about it because one is trying to look at the whole thing at once. I use to have a lot of trouble in the beginning of a semester, looking at a class, because I could not imagine knowing or doing what was at the end of the class.

I gradually taught myself to just stay where I "was", on "this" assignment and not let my imagination go much further. It's like starting 3rd grade and learning you will be doing multiplication and worrying about the division you will be learning in 4th and how will you ever learn that???!!