Think Bucket: On Motivation and Boredom

AN IDEA FROM ME

Lately, my mind has been preoccupied with one constant thought: How can I be more interesting? It’s not a particularly troublesome thought when had in moderation, like everything else in life. But it enters dangerous territory when it starts making you fidgety and fickle-minded; when you just can’t stick with one thing because it starts getting boring pretty quickly.

Sound familiar?

That’s because we as humans are very prone to addictions. And getting addicted to novelty, it turns out, is quite easy. Mostly because it is linked to the release of dopamine and serotonin in our brains – two hormones that regulate feelings of happiness and satisfaction.

Whenever we have a pleasurable new stimulus in the environment, it triggers our dopamine response and we gravitate towards the novelty. But the issue is that it soon becomes run of the mill and interacting with it no longer gives us the same pleasure, so we seek out newer, better things.

Has this ever happened to you? You have a new hobby you picked up and you’re super excited to get involved in it. Then suddenly, after you’ve been doing it for a short period, you lose interest?

AN INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT

We all strive to achieve certain goals and dreams. But if we only want to do the work when it is either convenient or exciting, we’ll never have enough consistency to achieve remarkable results.

In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield says

The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.

While he specifically mentions art, this principle applies to everything in life. Most of the time, the person who shows up achieves better and faster than someone with better talents but who is not consistent. Whenever we start something new, there are going to be days when we don’t feel like showing up, but soldiering ahead when it’s irritating and draining is what makes all the difference. ⁠

A QUESTION FOR YOU

What is one habit you’ve been trying to stick to? Until next week,

Adete.

Want to chat? Write to me at adete@adetedahiya.com