Mastering Monotony: Why It Matters

You ever have those mornings where you open your eyes and, as soon as your consciousness realizes it’s awake, the immediate second thought is some sort of dread?

“I don't want to go to work.”
“I don't want to go on this run.”
“I have so much to do today.”

It’s crazy to me that for so many of us, the literal first coherent thought we have to start the day is inherently negative. Why is this such a natural reflex for most of us?

Regardless of what Instagram tries to tell us, for the vast majority of people, most of normal life is, well, normal. It’s not filled with 15-step morning routines or weekend getaways to tropical islands or ski resorts.

It’s filled with taking out the trash, doing the dishes, going to work, or waking up early to run, because we promised ourselves we would. This monotony of normal life tends to build a negative outlook on our day-to-day, and as a result, our focus immediately shifts to that negativity.

Because who gets excited to go spend eight hours at a job they hate? Unfortunately, for the vast majority of people, that is the reality.

We get so accustomed to the daily monotony that it’s almost like we’re just living on autopilot.

We do what is expected of us, rarely giving much thought to whether it’s actually what we want. This status quo becomes so sticky, so comfortable, that we forget every dream we used to have.

This monotony becomes our reality — and our subconscious hates it, leading to that constant negative feedback loop.

But what if we knew that this monotony was actually building the life we’ve always wanted?

What if we embraced the monotony and looked at it as laying the bricks of our foundation?

Well, it starts with understanding whether we’re living a life that’s true to us. What would you do if failure wasn’t possible? If money wasn’t needed?

I get it — this isn’t the reality for most of us. We have obligations and people counting on us.

But we don’t build the life we want in one day. We build it one day at a time — by making small shifts in that daily monotony, from things that don’t serve us to things that do.

If we have to be at work by 9, we’ll wake up early enough to be there on time every day.
But if we say we’re going to wake up to work out, go on a run, or spend time on a side hustle, we so quickly hit the snooze button to sleep a bit more.

We constantly prove to ourselves that we are more comfortable in the negative status quo of monotony than in switching that monotony into bricks that will build the life we’ve always wanted.

If you look into any individual who has gone on to live a remarkable life, they all credit it to the same thing:

Consistently showing up and doing the thing — whatever that thing is — for an extraordinary amount of time. Regardless of reward or how they felt that day.

So you can look at it this way:

Whether you’re building the life you’ve always wanted or gritting through a life you hate, the monotony is certain.

So why not harness that monotony to build yourself — and your life — into one you’re actually excited to wake up to?

The choice is up to you.

Have a great week!

GTY