When I first took the decision to learn to code, I suffered from major indecision issues. One day I would want to learn java, another day I'd be convinced Python or Ruby was the best bet. This got me frustrated as I would eventually download a book, read the first 20 pages and somehow be convinced it's a mistake and then download another book and start over.

Worst part of it all is that at the back of my mind I was worried that time was slowly passing by and I needed to get my act together. Looking back, I can now see some of the things that made me indecisive, which new programmers should avoid in my opinion, they include:

1. Frequently going online to check what languages are in high demand and pay best: Guys trust me, DONT DO THIS. Learn to code, enjoy coding, and explore the language to its full capacity. Eventually you will get so good and your skills will be recognized. Do not let your choice of language be based on demand or Financials. It's not a bad thing to research top skills o, but in my experience it almost forced me to learn a language I hated and had no passion for.

2. Following the crowd: When you check programming forums you may be tempted to simply pick up a language that so many people seem to be buzzing about. E.g. on Nairaland people really seem to love python. Try as much as possible to not let this influence you. In my case, I started out with javascript based on its recommendations, but I quickly got overwhelmed with all the frameworks that seemed to be coming out every two seconds, vue, angular, react, meteor etc.... It's scary for a newbie.

3. Paying too much attention to what you see recruiters list as skills needed for a job: This is good but also bad. Good because it gives you an idea what some of the skills you need to be hired are but also bad because half the time these recruiters aren't tech people's themselves so they probably don't know what they are saying. If you pick a language and explore it to its full potential, then chances are you have a shot at the job regardless of whatever is listed on a job posting.

So in conclusion, how do you go about selecting a language? Truth is, there is no strategy to it. Currently I code in C# and dot net core. I found myself loving it when I decided what I wanted was a language I could use for Web, mobile and desktop apps. If in your case you decide to specialize in one of the three, simply get an ebook, dive into it and shut out the noise. You won't regret it. A good resource for ebooks is smtebooks.com Good luck!

If you haven't behaved as the OP outlined in his post, you haven't developed passion to learn programming.

Caseless:
If you haven't behaved as the OP outlined in his post, you haven't developed passion to learn programming.

Lol..
Not everything he listed. Paying attention to the largeness of the community of developers using a particular language helps too. You get solutions faster when faced with blockers