>>seanmc+(OP)
I used to be like that when I was younger and in earlier stages of my career. As time passed, the pride of achieving the status worn off, as did the novelty of problems I was solving. Many problems turned out to be reoccurring, so I moved on to harder and less mundane problems. I keep doing that to this day - moving away from mundane work to something new and/or more difficult.
At the same time, as I grew older, my social life improved, and I learned to understand humans, so that part became easier.