Picture a professional athlete, a pro swimmer. Maybe Michael Phelps comes to your mind. What do you see when you picture him? Maybe you envision the challenge, the exertion, the gold medals? But do you see the boredom too?
One of the least discussed themes when it comes to peak performance is ‘embrace boredom’. This is something that James Clear covers in his book ‘Atomic Habits’, and is a fundamental aspect to high levels of performance.
In this article, we will explore why boredom is a fundamental aspect of the high performer journey and how you can best manage boredom and not let it hinder your performance!
High Performance Journey
Here’s the journey of a high performer:
Discover your calling, mission, purpose & vision
Explore - try out a bunch of different things and strategies
Find the secret sauce: what works best and gives you the results!
Put in the reps! Take consistent action to yield the on-going results
Tweak, and readjust when necessary and based on feedback
Embrace boredom!
And… Repeat!
That’s the gist of it. Of course, it includes a few obstacles along the way, such as dealing with self-doubt, inner critic, mastering your time & energy, stepping out of scarcity mindset…
But you know and learn about these. You learn about procrastination and what to do about it. Or about self-doubt and how to overcome it. Or dealing with that inner critic.
This is what always comes up in different resources, podcasts, books, articles… But what about boredom?
What about Michael Phelps who is yet (again!) at the pool at 7am? What about the business founder who is running the same workshop for the 20th time? What about the writer who is sitting down again at 8am to write her daily word quota?
No, we don’t talk about boredom.
Here’s why:
We think that all high performers are purely driven by passion and their mission, and therefore never feel bored in that routine.
This is a myth. It’s not that they never feel the boredom of going once more to the swimming pool, business meeting, or writing. It’s that they don’t resist that boredom and have learned to dance with it!
Dancing with Boredom
If you are a highly rebellious person, you will struggle most with putitng in the reps. You will find your flow, what gives you the best results, and then take action until… you can’t be bothered anymore, you have a different idea, you want to do something else.
At that moment, you have a choice. Either you can continue your activity in spite of ‘boredom’, ‘shiny object syndrome’, ‘resistance’. Or, you can give up, pivot and do something else.
The more often you give up, the harder you will find it to stick at things. Because you will have developped a pattern of ‘Once I am bored, I switch my actions and strategy.’
This doesn’t mean to say that it isn’t important to innovate and to try new methods. But not, just because you are bored. Only if it isn’t working, and you change it slightly. This might seem like a subtle difference but it is an important difference nonetheless! You don’t shift just to get a kick out of it. You shift because the business (or field you are in) requires a new approach.
So how do you dance with boredom?
The top elite performers have found ways to overcome that resistance and to embrace the boredom. Here are some of the key strategies you can put in place as a high performer:
Rythmn: You find a rythmn that works for you and stick at it, even when you don’t feel like it. And you have learned, that once you start, you will get into flow. Most of the time, the hardest part is to get started.
Anticipate: You anticipate that boredom will probably show up on the journey so you think of different tools and strategies you can put in place to overcome it!
Vision: When feeling resistance, you tune into their vision to get excited about it all over again.
Impact: You know that each action has consequences and you remember the impact of all your actions.
Spice it up: Sometimes you spice things around. Maybe you put on some fun music, do things in a different order, work in collaboration with others or put a twist on it!
Support: As a high performer, you work with a coach and mentor. You know that your motivation can come and go, and you want the extra dose of accountability to keep you on track.
The Power of Expertise, Flow & Streak
All of the methods above can enable you to continue to push through in spite of the boredom, or resistance you feel. Yet, there are also three core components that are a true game changer when it comes to ‘embracing boredom’.
Expertise
As James Clear explains in his article: ‘How to fall in love with boredom’, the more you become an expert in an area, the more enjoyable it becomes. Putting in the reps in the beginning can feel gruelling, but as you see the progress, and push past the plateau of latent potential, it becomes a lot more enjoyable!Flow
Directly correlated to this area of expertise is the notion of ‘flow’. Once you know that when you begin, you will get into flow, then it’s only a matter of self-discipline for a few moments before you are flying in the sky in flow, and loving the process!
Streak
As simple as this may sound, this has been one of the most powerful tools for me. ‘Don’t break the streak’. I have over four years of weekly podcasting, and over 1000 days of continuous meditation. If ever I feel discouraged, bored or resistant, the streak keeps me accountable. For this to work, you need to really think what are one or two things you never want to skip. Having too many streaks isn’t realistic and can be counter-productive.
High Performer Identity
The reason why Michael Phelps was able to swim day in, day out; or that Tim Ferris publishes on-going podcast episodes, it’s because it is who they have become.
Consistency is hardest at the beginning because you have no proof that it will pay off. You don’t know if it is worth the effort, and you don’t know if you have it in you.
The more you push through, the more it is part of who you are. It is who you’ve become. And as Tony says…
“The greatest force in the universe is the need to remain consistent with our identity.” (Tony Robbins')
So once it is your identity, it becomes a must, and then you know how to push through the boredom…
Ultimately, embracing boredom gives you the competitive advantage. When the rest of the world gives up after twenty episodes on the podcast, you still publish weekly for years. When all the others stop because they are bored, impatient or discouraged, you continue.
Focus, Patience & Perseverance are what will set you apart.
One step at a time.
One day at a time.
One struggle at a time.
Keep it up!
Enjoy the journey,
Thank you for reading,
Katie