Why do Boring People Succeed?

How to master Boredom to succeed.

Like everyone else I love sleeping in, it’s cold out here in England and I live near a beach so, the mornings feel colder than they are, and still, I wake up at 3:00 AM to study.

Waking up at three in the cold is uncomfortable but getting up to study is mixing discomfort with boredom to make a very bland cocktail. Everyone has a weird, uncomfortable habit that makes them tick. Have you ever noticed how most successful people chase discomfort?

What Success seems Like.

Discomfort means doing stuff that most people aren’t willing to do, and if you’re willing to do boring shit, you’ll succeed. What’s boring? Repetition is the most boring thing ever.

Trying something new is exciting, and it feels productive, you can talk about all the cool new stuff you’re doing at parties and people will like it, you’ll become instantly popular. I used to be one of those people, but, whilst it sounds cool to be the trendy, productive guy, in reality, you’re bouncing from one activity to the next, without achieving anything meaningful.

Bouncing from one activity to another is like driving a Lamborghini, you’re going from street to street at high speed in a loud, purple sports car. The issue is, life is a highway, and Lamborghini’s give a low average. They also breakdown a lot. It may feel cool to be a Lamborghini guy, but eventually, you’ll get bored of going from street to street at high speeds.

Life has traffic lights, and there will come a time when you won’t be able to stop, guess what, you’ll crash. Fixing a Lamborghini is expensive, and I don’t think many people know how to fix a Lambo.

In real life, Lamborghini is valued at $11 billion, to put that in perspective, Bill Gates, who is the personification of boredom is worth $112.8 billion.

What Success is.

Success is like driving a Mercedes pickup truck down life’s highway. No one’s going to notice you, and you’re not going to be the coolest guy on the highway but, you won’t break down, nor will you get bored because a Mercedes has a lot of features.

Additionally, you’ll be pretty comfortable in a Mercedes, plus a pickup truck is slow, so the probability of crashing will be less when compared to a Lamborghini.

In real life, Mercedes-Benz is valued at $21.35 billion, $10 billion more than Lamborghini.

Everyone looks at good grades, but, from my experience, no one looks at the person who gets up early to study. Success happens in boredom and silence. Every day that I study, I become a minimum of 1% smarter, and in a year, I am around 37.78% smarter.

The Graph of Continous Improvement.

This graph reiterates my earlier point. It is not cool to make a good decision daily, and you’re not going to get an Oscar for deciding not to eat a doughnut and eating a pear instead. Everyone who wants to play in the NBA wants to be like Kobe Bryant or Lebron James.

Every college going student wants to get good grades and do some Earth-shattering shit. At the start of the term, there wasn’t any difference between the smart kid and the not so smart kids.

There’s still isn’t any visible difference after a month or even 6 weeks, but, during the exam, why does the smart kid get distinctions and why does the unsmart kid barely pass or even fail?

I’m not trying to put anyone down, but, I’m just curious, why?

Over 6 weeks, the efforts of the smart kid compounds, he becomes a bit more knowledgeable, and he practices a bit more, so he slowly goes ahead of everyone in his class.

If success is all about continuous improvement and boredom, how do you fall in love with boredom?

Do More of The Stuff that Works.

James Clear came up with a very common-sense idea. It’s not that hard to think about, successful students, study, successful athletes, train, and good people, do good.

These are just a few small behaviours that compound over time. If you brush twice, every day, you’ll have healthier teeth if you reflect daily, you’ll solve internal problems quicker, and therefore become a better person.

Look for the Small Wins and Cut your Losses.

Successful investors generally have fewer losses than unsuccessful investors, I’ve been stripping away the unnecessary stuff in my life, and I’m improving. For example, I’ve stopped watching my Favourite show Archer each episode is about 20 minutes long but, I end up watching three episodes and waste an hour away.

It’s a small change, and I don’t deserve an award for deciding not to watch Archer, but, I have more time to edit and finish my essays. It’s a small win, and the best thing about small wins is that they don’t need to be celebrated, so you’re not becoming complacent.

People who do less stupid shit, are more successful, doing the right thing is boring and it’s not going to add up immediately, but at least it’s not stupid.

Level up a Little.

My trainer has a rule, and it’s simple, you have to level up a little every week. So if I deadlifted 35kgs last week, this week I should lift 40kgs. I’ve only increased the weight by 5kgs, but in about a month, I should be able to lift more than 50kgs.

This flips the idea of doing less stupid by doing smarter stuff. It would be stupid to lift 70kgs, sure it would be a “gain” but, it would not be meaningful it would be risky. 5kgs is a small challenge, it is a small improvement, and it’s all that counts.

You don’t have to be glamorous, flashy or loud. You can work in silence, you can be boring, repetitive, predictable, and reliable. Those type of people is the ones who succeed. If you’re willing to be boring in silence, you’ll have the opportunity to rejoice in loud, sweet achievement.