Those of us in the technical world are not the only ones who struggle with activation energy in projects. Artists do too. Steven Pressfield wrote a book called The War of Art. In it, he calls it The Resistance, almost like an anti-muse.
Artists are trying to make a career of the big projects but they often talk about The Resistance that makes them want to go and organize their closet rather than start to write a book. They also talk about the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction when they push through the resistance.
For us technical types, when we push through our resistance and work on big, meaningful projects we also feel accomplishment and satisfaction. We are also less stressed and tired after a day of work. This type of work can be energizing.