Nobody likes boredom, and nobody likes the initial implication that we need to fall in love with it. I am sure you’re all thinking, uh excuse me, aren’t we supposed to be ATTRACTED to the things we fall in love with? Boredom, I am sure, is not attractive to many at all.

But there is a very powerful underlying message here: 

We are more likely to become masters at something in life if we can achieve the love of boredom.

The truth is, boring times are always to be expected, regardless of what you choose to do in life. 

Passion is a great word. But perhaps an even more powerful word is ‘tenacity’, which implies showing up even when many would turn away. 

If we listen to Machiavelli, we realise that it doesn’t matter who you are, whether you do well or not, we tend to view the grass greener on the other side of change; this kind of thinking may restrain our capability to love what we are doing right now. 

There are advantages to falling in love with boredom:

  • Boredom can allow us to notice the things currently in our presence, which are currently good.
  • Boredom is sometimes a place of healing; think of when you are ill, or injured. One must become comfortable with a pause in the action, in order to strengthen.
  • To become a master, one must first master the basic skills of something. This often means revisiting very basic tools over and over again, which might mean paying boredom a visit.
  • Firstly, become companionable with boredom, knowing that deliberate practice will move you to the place of mastery and away from the desire to give up.
  • Secondly, we must become endlessly fascinated and seek to create manageable formulas to get through our journey. Delve into the question of, how can I do this differently to create growth?

A comforting thought to remember on those days when you don’t feel like being boredoms lover, is that it really is normal for things to lose their passion or spark – everything does for a period of time. Every person, no matter how successful, can resonate with this. But we must push on, knowing the passion returns with growth.      

proverb

There is a beautiful Chinese proverb that is based around the work of a rice farmer. It says,  “no one who can rise before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich”.
This proverb sums up the pricelessness of tenacity in the face of trial and monotonous work. Through pushing on and continuing to do a practice with intentional actions, we shall come to reap its rewards.

What do you need to get comfortable being bored in? 
Is it possible that this is a factor that separates the masters from those who simply achieve? 


– Gabriella Ivey 

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