Giving Boredom a BIG HUG!

We are all perpetual students in the school of life. Perfection? Never heard of it. It's all about the journey of continuous growth.

In life, we've got control over just two things: our attitude and our effort. A big chunk of growing up is figuring out where we stand in these two departments and making sure we're always moving in the right direction.

Let’s face it - we all want to win!  Winning is exciting. Society rewards those that win.

Excellence, though, is pretty boring. And while winning is a moment in time, excellence is a habit that must be developed over time. It requires discipline choices, repeated day in and day out. Aristotle once said, “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” [emphasis mine]

In fact, research in the area of brain plasticity shows that the connectivity between neurons begins to change as we have new experiences. The neural networks in our brains can actually grow through the actions we choose to take. 

So, the boring repetitive nature of excellence literally grows into new neural network pathways.

Our ability to win is a direct result of our ability to endure the mundane, repetitive, boring parts of excellence. As a young trumpet player who had a desire to be great, I had to endure hours of practice routines that included the same exercises. Exercises that focused on long, sustained notes. Exercises that focused on developing flexibility and dexterity. And scale. So. Many. SCALES! But it was in the intentional execution of those regular routines that I began to grow and mature as a musician.

We can experience the same thing in the gym. Or on the golf course. Or in the office. Or even at home. 

Success is the natural result of aligning intention, effort, and execution. Becoming the best version of yourself means embracing the daily stuff that doesn’t yield immediate results. If you want to win, you have to choose to go through excellence. Accepting and embracing the boring is necessary to get to the excitement of winning.

So, if you want to win, learn to love excellence. Embrace the boredom. Fall in love with repetition. Let your mind move from “have to” to GET TO! That is the attitude we can control to move from excellence to success. That is the area of our minds that needs the most attention.