Is it worth doing if it's not boring?

maybe not

George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. "When a man's single he lives at his ease" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1745 - 1865.

Hello and welcome to another issue of this newsletter.

It has been months since I wrote here -sorry, trying to jump-start a career in finance.¹

During that interval, I started another newsletter; more financial markets and macro-focused.

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Let’s get into today’s post.

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I: Easy & Simple

What is the opposite of easy?

What is the opposite of simple?

btw; easy is not simple, and hard does not mean complex.

II: Are you not getting paid?

I had a call with my uncle sometime ago, and after the usual salutations and how are you doings, his first son - my cousin - asked how I was doing too. I replied, ”Not bad” or something that insinuated I wasn’t doing that well.

And to my surprise, he contested, “Why? But you are getting a salary? Shouldn’t you be fine?”

While I was attempting to explain that salary wasn’t the silver bullet to all my problems, he got shushed off the phone. His dad and I laughed about the naivety of his question. I hope I remember to inquire about this from him when he gets older. 😂

I later realised from this conversation with my cousin that things we see and take for granted were made possible by the sweat and tears of others.

….Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it… Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again…. -Steve Jobs

When you see that and begin to appreciate it, the second realisation hits you.

That to make those things possible, it takes an insane amount of mundanity. It is boring. The day-to-day activities that make things happen are so boring we don’t even want to try it.

The idea of the thing (the holiday, a well-written article, the steaming hot body, the amazing relationship, the nice car, house or whatever you can think of) is always more appealing than the work it takes to get it. And it is the idea of the thing we all want -the results.

Unfortunately, the idea of the thing and the thing itself are two different things. To get the thing, you’d have to do the required, most likely boring activities to get there.

III: Results are outcomes of Boring Actions

Results and efforts are worlds apart. Seeing the result and not the work done to get the result makes us think if we do this one action, then we’d get the result.

You see a middle-aged person with a fit body, a nice car, a corner office and so on. The question to ask is, what did the person do to get there? What was the journey to the results I’m seeing?

The answer is a series of boring, repetitive actions to get there.

Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat. - James Clear

I used to think like my cousin, once I got money, then I’d be Y.

But becoming Y involves boring repetitive tasks like, not comparing yourself to others, making money, spending less than you make, having an emergency fund, investing (the difference between what you earn and spend) over a long period, sleeping early, exercising, studying, practising and exploring for decades.

Doing these, month in, month out is not fancy, nothing pops. Like eating vegetables, not so much flavour for the taste buds. It’s mostly bland.

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This blandness makes it difficult for most to see it through. They start then stop, only to start again and stop.

Staying consistent is the only way.

IV: Boredom can serve as a moat.

The fact that boredom makes it difficult to do the needed actions over a long period is a moat.

What is a moat?

A moat (in the olden days) serves as a protection for a castle. The water surrounding the castle, for example, makes it impenetrable to enemies. Essentially, a moat is a fortification for a thing (castle) against intruders.

So boredom serves as a moat; filter -seems more appropriate- to see if you are serious about the thing and what it takes to get it or just wishful about it.

Here is where it gets interesting, once you get into the thick of boredom, it starts to lift and around the same time it becomes a habit. While you still might not enjoy it, it becomes less mechanical, and you ease into it. You just do it because you’ve built the muscle memory.

At this same time, the results of the action you’ve taken begin to yield results. This becomes positive feedback and further enhances the loop.

In essence, things that take long to build, and are built to last, take time to build. To build for a long time means doing the mundane, sitting with the boredom, and getting over it. Because once the boredom threshold is crossed, it becomes a much easier task to do. And you’ve got the results to show for it.

The hidden agenda is that for this to work, now has to be patient with the results -as they take time before they begin to manifest- while being impatient with the action needed to generate the results.

side note: Why do we say as simple as ABC and not as easy as ABC?

I started going to bed a bit earlier than I’ve managed to do in a long time and to be honest, it is boring compared to the alternative of staying up an hour or two on social media. I am getting used to it now, not 100%, but I’ve gone to bed on or before 10 pm more this week than the previous two combined.

Have a great week ahead✨✨

1. don’t worry I’m just below 6ft, not a trust fund kid, but very demure, very mindful anyway.