From Wikipedia:
A gumption trap is an event or mindset that can cause a person to lose enthusiasm and become discouraged from starting or continuing a project.
I learned this term recently and it really resonated with me. I’ve started dozens (hundreds?) of projects over the years only to abandon them eventually. Often times because I eventually realize it wasn’t really a good idea over perhaps because it was more difficult than I originally estimated.
Flipping it around though, it is helpful to remember the users of our tools/products and figure out how they might get stuck and give up. If you work on a developer tool, does it need better docs, real world examples, better defaults, or a simplified API? If it is something for a non-technical user, are there steps that need to be removed, buttons made bolder for those with poor eyesight, do the docs need to be made simpler with clearer instructions?