Writing "clean code" is in actuality a simple endeavor with high euphoric rewards. All you're doing when writing "clean code" is following conventions and modularizing your code. It feels good to organize your room just like it feels good to organize your code, but organizing your room is not an intellectual feat just like how writing clean code isn't either. Think about it, cleaning up your own code is really, really easy. To have it function as the pillar of your intellectual self esteem is a weakness.