On his way to school, Larry Bird would shoot 200 free throws every morning.
Boring!
Yoyo Ma is quoted as saying that he practices the cello for 5-6 hours every day.
Boring!
Stephen King writes 2000 words every single day and has done for years.
Boring!
To some people, the almost endless repetition of such activities is both daunting and pointless.
But there’s a method to the madness.
What may seem as boring is in reality the focused, deliberate, disciplined honing of skills that enables the elite to separate themselves from the ordinary.
Do you want to become world-class in your field of endeavour?
Practice the mundane until they become the automatic.
For days, weeks, months, years, even decades.
It won’t always be fun, it’s never sexy, you may think that it’s boring.
But boring is under-rated.
What boring thing do you need to be doing every day?
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April 5, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Inese Poga Art Gallery
Good thing is that we don’t consider the same stuff to be boring. Some people are never bored, but they may be tired, and some are so lazy that they are instantly bored. I suppose, this depends on what one prefers. I can do my medical research or painting for many hours a day, and I never get bored. Some other people may think that’s the most tedious thing on the globe.
Nulla dies sine linea: not a day without a line is a good principle and keeps in a good shape; however, I assume that pressurizing myself may not result in any real achievements. There is such a site where artists post their paintings almost daily, or try to do this daily. Very few drawings/paintings are really good, almost 100% are tiny and very small, so one has to ask whether it’s worth to engage in creation of tiny and insignificant stuff and dilute him/herself? I suppose, keeping balance between daily practising and serious creation is important. I mean, why to do something at any means when you can do it in the most optimal moments?
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April 5, 2014 at 8:36 pm
Darren Poke
Thanks for sharing. You’re right, when you do something that you love, it never gets boring.
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