Episode 4 - Getting Bored Easily
Smart people often get accused of doing too many things, not 'sticking with it', lacking follow through.
But is that really too? Or is their brain just bored quickly?
In this Episode, I dive into the boredom, and why it may actually be a good things.
Could getting be bored quickly be one of your greatest assets?
Find out in this week's episode!
Resources
Full Episode Transcript
Welcome to the managing your smart mind podcast with me, Else Kramer, a.k.a. Coach Kramer.
Today I’m talking about getting bored easily.
As I mentioned in Episode 1, this is one of the defining characteristics of people with smart minds.
As soon as they’ve figured something out they’re ready for the next thing.
You may recognise this: you’re excited to start a new project, job, subject - but once you figure out how it works, you lose interest.
Now people tend to perceive this as a bad thing, a character fault even.
I can’t count the number of people who have told me ‘you can’t do that many different things in life, you’ll have to make a choice and stick with it - life isn’t some sort of playground.’
And that may be true for some people. That it’s better for them to make a choice and stick with it.
But why make it a rule for all of us?
Some brains crave variety and constant challenges. Like mine.
I have studied countless subjects, had dozens of jobs - and that has never been a problem until I DECIDED TO MAKE IT ONE.
Because I bought into the story that other people were selling me, that I was somehow wrong for wanting, doing so many things.
Are you telling yourself the same story?
Do you think you are fickle, bad at follow through, unreliable?
Then I would invite you to challenge those thoughts.
You just have a smart mind - which means you’re bored easily.
Your brain needs new problems to solve, new things to learn.
It’s always hungry for new challenges.
Why on earth would that be a BAD thing?
It’s totally neutral - depending on how you manage it.
Yes, with a mismanaged mind you may end up starting a million things and never finishing anything and being massively frustrated.
But with a managed smart mind you can, for example, challenge the status quo, make massive improvements to a process or product, innovate by connecting things that to other humans were worlds apart.
You can be a changemaker, inventor, thought leader.
BECAUSE you get bored by what you already know.
Will this get you a standing ovation?
Nope. Not everybody likes change - in fact, a lot of people don’t.
But it’s an essential ingredient for long-term growth.
Organizations need innovators.
The world needs people who think differently.
People who get bored easily.
So stop buying into the story that there’s something wrong with you because you constantly want to learn or do new things.
And, if you have bought into this story, do a quickscan of your life.
Do the people around you hate change?
Then your natural state of being probably won’t sit well with them.
And they may feel obliged to point that out to you (how nice of them).
So these are your options.
You listen to them, start feeling bad about yourself, try to suppress your need for change and end up in bore-out or burnout.
You don’t buy into their story and keep doing what you’re doing whilst trying to make the change tornado that you are a little less scary for them.
You decide that this is probably not the right environment for someone with a brain like yours, and start looking for a place where you can thrive.
I don’t need to tell you that number one is not the best way to go.
It works for a while - you may even feel good about yourself because you’re being such a ‘good boy/girl’, because you’re persisting and not giving up.
But in the end, something’s gotta give, and that something will probably be you.
Number two - not buying into the story and trying to understand why they’re scared and meeting them where they’re at whilst remaining true to your authentic self can actually be a nice new challenge in itself.
Especially if you can find some like-brained allies within your organization.
And for some people, it turns out number 3, finding different soil that nurtures that, is the best option.
Whichever it is for you, instead of beating yourself up for getting bored easily, start asking some smart questions. Like:
How can I turn this into my superpower?
How can I revel in my curiosity and creativity instead of pushing against it?
How can I design my life and work so that my getting bored easily actually works FOR me, instead of against me?
If that is something you’d like to change in your life, I can help you. Together we create the perfect owner’s manual for your brain and redesign your life so you can thrive.
Reach out to me via my website, coachkramer.org, or send me a message on LinkedIn for a free exploratory consult.
If there is a specific topic you’d love to see covered on this podcast, or someone you’d love to see interviewed, please let me know on: podcast@elsekramer.com.
And if you liked this episode I’d love for you to leave a review so more people can find the podcast and learn to manage their smart mind.