Author: Layla Shaikley
In the future, you will either regret caring about the little things, or you will miss them, or both.
Our brains crave anticipation more than the actual enjoyment of getting what you want (See Edging)
Success isn’t exciting, it’s brutally repetitive. You're not supposed to feel something every time. You're supposed to keep going even when you don't.
Transformation happens in boredom
Our attention is valuable but everything is out to try and take it from you
How do make peace with monotony? Always working each day to better yourself in the way that you desire?
Growth often happens in silence, because silence fosters a clear mind
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Research:
The most satisfying experiences often come from overcoming challenges through repetitive practice, not from passive entertainment or constant novelty.
Being raised to handle boredom prepares you for success. A stressful household prepares you to always be scanning for threats, making it hard to relax.
Every interaction is an investment or debt in another
Your capacity to endure boredom directly correlates with your capacity for success.
- Commit to the boring middle. Understand that the middle—the long stretch between exciting beginning and rewarding end — is where success is actually built.
- Lower your emotional bar for action. Don’t wait to feel ready or motivated. The action comes first; the feeling follows.
- Design for consistency, not intensity. A sustainable 80% effort that you can maintain for years will outperform an unsustainable 100% that burns you out in months.
- Find meaning in monotony. Reframe repetitive tasks not as drudgery but as deliberate practice and the price of admission to excellence.
- Track the invisible progress. Celebrate the small, cumulative wins that others don’t see but that compound over time.
It's about finding work worth being bored for.
So the next time you feel that creeping sense of boredom with your project, relationship, or goal, remember: You’re not burnt out. You’re not unmotivated. You’re exactly where transformation happens.