Hi Guys
Hope you have had a good week!
This past week I got together with some friends to celebrate mid-autumn festival.
One topic that came up during our dinner was the idea of boredom - i.e. a lack of excitement in a day job, motivation to do things for the sake of simply doing them and ultimately, the fear of ending up in a position where you are not in a state of health to fully enjoy the rewards of what you have traded so much of your time for.
Each of us sitting at the table has worked for a number of years since graduation, and so being bored, dissatisfied, insecure, unsure, etc. is a topic I’m finding that crops up more and more between us.
In particular, one of my friends stated that she was SO bored in her current role, that she could not see where her impact was being felt in her organisation and that her creative, expressive self was not allowed to be highlighted.
Hearing her say this, it reminded me of an expression phrase that another friend came up with during a (super relaxed beer-influenced) conversation we had several months back:
I’ve always felt like I was a closet creative.
Unleashing his “closet creative” was my friend’s reason for jumping into the startup world from the corporate life.
What a simple but powerful expression!
How many of us out there have not allowed ourselves to show our work outside of the 9-to-5 day job?
🙋🏻♂️
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit and working from home became mainstream for the past year and a half, I’ve had plenty of time alone at home and yes, I have been VERY bored at times.
Whenever I’m in this state I often take inspiration from my Dad. Dad works as a doctor and says that in his job, he is often bored.
The boredom for him comes from seeing patient after patient presenting similar symptoms, travelling to and from work day after day doing along the same roads and working at the same practice for nearly as long as I’ve been alive, just to give a few examples.
However, whenever Dad feels that boredom is getting the better of him he reframes boredom as a privilege that he is able to enjoy, and not a burden that he has to deal with.
And just like that, life is actually pretty great.
Dad’s patients change from merely people that he HAS to treat, to individuals that have given up their own time to travel to him specifically and whom he GETS to treat. The traffic-jam-filled journeys to and from work become opportunities to keep his mind active by playing internal math games using the car number plate in front of him. The surgery premises, worn down as it may be after many years of use, has taken very good care of him and for which he has much to be grateful for the lifestyle it has allowed him to lead.
So my takeaway from Dad’s approach and the tool that I’m using nowadays when dealing with boredom is to say to myself:
IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO BE BORED
In moments where I catch myself saying “I have to do this” or “I have to do that”, I am now able to more easily say “I GET to do this” and “I GET to do that”.
Almost like magic, my energy levels lift and I’m able to tackle the task in front of me and get over humps whether from lack of motivation, fear of being judged or otherwise.
Boredom is a privilege that I am lucky to enjoy.
Thanks Dad!
If you enjoyed reading the above…
…please consider checking out my podcast which I’ve just made a start on!
Just saying hello (with a lot of ums and ahs) and talking about my “rich life” which I wrote about in this previous newsletter issue.
Quote of the week
And to finish today’s newsletter, I’ll leave you with a quote that Austin Kleon includes in his book (which I highly recommend!) Show Your Work:
The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life
- Jessica Hische
Have a great rest of your weekend and week ahead! Go forth and be bored!
David
Hi David,
The topic of boredom is such a good one to reflect on as I emerge from over a hundred days of lockdown in Sydney.
Like you, I’ve also grown to appreciate boredom. Boredom can be a good friend in disguise. It taps us on our shoulder that it’s time to solve a problem.
During the pandemic, baking sour dough turned into a global passion, games were sold out and going for walks became a lockdown sports.
As for myself, I made the following choices.
1. I binged on You Tube videos and quickly became an addict. Say no more.
2. I went online shopping for clothes, shoes, rugs and golf aids that promised to improve my appearance, my home and my golf. Sadly, none of them worked. I’m too old to not know this already but when there was so little excitement on offer that shopping became irresistible.
3. I bought a sewing machine and got as far as reading the instruction manual. Did you know that there were two threads involved? I didn’t. This was probably when the lockdown started to bite.
4. I took on a home improvement project to put lawn in the concrete backyard. Having no prior experience, I watched them grow strand by strand very slowly. I think I’ll have a brown backyard for a very long time.
5. I cooked all my meals and baked for entertainment. That was good. What started as a necessity turned out to be a lot of fun. I loved the moment when food changed state and transformed into something else. Magic!
6. Last but not least, every now and then, I did absolutely nothing and didn’t feel guilty. The pressure to be busy waned over an extended lock down. There were no appointments, no schedules, no plans and no obligations. I let go of the idea to be productive and found freedom in just being with myself. It’s a bit like meeting up with an old friend again.
The obstacle is the way. What impedes you propels you - Marcus Aurelius.
The dissatisfaction of boredom propelled us to create, develop and to re-invent.
It is indeed a privilege.