On Dedication (or, what to do if you get bored easily…)

We live in an age of “infinite browsing,” Pete Davis argues in the book Dedicated. If you’ve ever spent a night browsing Netflix for the best movie . . . only to find that it’s too late to even start, you know this is true. From our relationships to our Netflix to job hopping, we are always looking for something better.

And dedication is arguably harder than moving on to the next thing. And I’m (obviously) invested in people changing jobs. It’s what I do. But I have noticed a growing trend that concerns me — we aren’t willing to stick out the boring times and the hard times that every job will have.

In fact, I think our ability (or lack thereof) to be bored is one of the main threats to deep work—and even true success—in our careers. We mistake boredom for a red flag. We think, “If I were really passionate about this, I wouldn’t feel bored,” but that’s false.

It is in the “messy middle,” when the adrenaline and novelty have worn off, that growth actually happens.

I told my kids the other day that it was good they were bored (cue gasps of shock & awe!). I explained that boredom is where creativity begins. It’s also where resilience is built. The same is true in our professional lives.

The reality is, every job—even the dream ones—has seasons of monotony, when the work feels routine. Times when growth isn’t obvious. But it’s in those moments, when you choose to lean in rather than opt out, that depth is formed. Mastery, influence, trust—none of those come from bouncing around. They come from showing up, staying put, and digging deeper.

To be clear, I’m not saying never change jobs. Some moves are absolutely necessary and healthy. But if we always equate discomfort or boredom with misalignment, we may miss out on the very growth we’re craving.

In Dedicated, Pete Davis references the Benedictine monks as a countercultural example of long-term commitment. When someone decides to join a Benedictine monastery, they take what's called a “vow of stability.” It means they commit to staying in one community for the rest of their life. Can you imagine? But these monks believe that true transformation happens when you stay rooted, even when it’s uncomfortable or unglamorous.

So perhaps we can reframe boredom as a signal—not that it’s time to leave—but that it might be time to press in.

In both our relationships and our roles, the real magic happens after the honeymoon phase. When the novelty fades, and we begin to know the less-than-perfect parts—and we choose to stay.

Sometimes the next right thing is to stay.