One of the daily challenges we have is coping with boredom. We make lofty resolutions to go on a diet to get rid of the lockdown weight or studying for our Advanced Tax exams but after a few days, we get bored and look for something more exciting. Many Olympic athletes insist boredom is the greatest obstacle to success.

We look for perpetual stimulation in our lives, When we eat, we expect to have the TV on, on the trains we read or when working out we listen to music. With small screens available everywhere, we constantly avoid being bored for even a minute and our minds are swimming in a lake of stimuli. Any gap or absence makes us uncomfortable.

If there are a few seconds of silence in a conversation, we feel the irresistible urge to fill it with conversation or if our Wi-Fi signal drops, we panic. Our mind jumps into daydreams or the past. We get anxious about the future and we have the irresistible urge to look for some entertainment.

To be successful, we must learn to live in the boredom, in the relentless monotony of doing the same thing day after day, week after week. Sit down at your desk and open up your tax book and give it all your undivided attention. That is how you will pass your exams. If you want to lose weight, you have to get used to the boredom of eating healthy foods and avoid sugary high calorie exciting foods.

There are two kinds of boredom-hot boredom and cool boredom. Hot boredom is the uncomfortable feeling what pushes us to seek entertainment. It is like being locked in a padded cell and makes us irritated and miserable. Once you learn to cope with hot boredom, it transforms into cool boredom.

Cool boredom does not feel confined but is spacious. When you stay with cool boredom, a space opens up and you get into the flow of peak performance.

 So, the next time you get bored, just stay with it, and avoid distractions or restlessness. Soon, your mind will crave the stillness and simplicity of the moment and it will be easier to develop those habits which will yield the results you are looking for. What feels uncomfortable will become more comfortable.