How do you people get over the times like this when you just honestly suck
What do you mean... ah, never mind.
40 minutes isn't really sucking, that's par for the course. Every programmer knows the pain of spending hours on a simple syntax error, sometimes only discovering the simple keystroke resolution after re-writing substantial blocks of code (And then you stop using Notepad++ and use a real IDE).
Programming is a little bit like having a teacher that either gives you an A+ or an F. The A grade isn't always apparent, sometimes for days at a time, and that's normal
What keeps you guys happy about this stuff.
I don't know, maybe there's masochism involved on some level. Sometimes, you spend most of your time losing, but that just makes the glory of a functioning product so much better. Programming isn't necessarily a rational dream, especially from "the outside". I have yet to hear "programmer" amongst the astronaut, fire fighter and doctor dreams of young children's pursuits. It's an addiction that grows on you over time, like gambling or Dark Souls.
What are your highs and lows.
A few of my friends have been construction workers over the years (Office Space was so cosmically accurate it kinda freaked me out. The "two chicks at the same time guy". Yeah, knew him. Anyway...) and I realized, after a while, there was a reason. We both like building things. We like to point to things and say "I did that". Brain children. They keep you up at night, you love showing them off to people, but they don't eat all your savings or the food in your pantry.
The lows? It's not the trial and error process, anymore, I'm numb to that. It's that everything has a lifespan. Most of my work is irrelevant. Most of it. That's something you don't have to deal with for a few years into your career, but then it suddenly becomes profound; it has a way of trivializing your accomplishments.
Inevitably, you get a "treadmill" feeling. Everything you build gets replaced and torn down eventually. That same pride of creation and addiction to recognition also brings you way down when you're left with nothing to speak for, no matter how cutting edge your work was when it launched.
Your career lives and dies by the links you provide as evidence of your relevance. Perpetual obsolesce is the big Indiana Jones boulder chasing you down the endless tunnel, and everyone eventually wonders if it's worth it; or better yet, how you're going to gracefully escape. It seems every other form of artistic expression has the potential to become iconic, except for websites.
Sorry, that was quite a bit heavier than the "banging your head on your desk" moment to moment frustration... but that, to me, is the low.
I need some advice.
Take breaks. Not reddit breaks, outside breaks. That sounds a little trite, but there's a reason almost every programmer will say that. Programmers have a tendency to get absorbed into their world while life passes them by. It becomes astonishingly refreshing to feed your brain information that doesn't come from a glowing rectangle.
Also socialize as much as possible, especially if you suck at it. 99% of the people you encounter will have no idea how to evaluate your competence as a programmer, so they'll make those assessments in the only ways they know how, by judging your appearance of general intelligence and likability. Don't become a "you people" to non-programmers.