Roleplaying to make boring things fun

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Why is “work” so boring?

Work tends to be boring for many because it requires us to do things we don’t want to do. Why? Because often we prefer to do things we find more interesting or “fun”.

Because of this “work” at times tends to have a negative connotation due to the fact it lacks elements of instant gratification.

What challenges does this pose?

Things we often consider fun have elements that are instantly gratifying so to our mind it is clear why we should do various fun activities… because they feel good!

The challenge is the things that feel good in the short term often distract us from things that we would like to achieve in the long term.

Why does this matter?

The work we should be doing (that at times we would rather avoid) typically contains the crucial activities that will take us towards the best version of ourselves. 

On top of that, when we try and do things that are fun all the time, we end up setting ourselves up for regret, guilt, and shame as time passes us by!

It’s also not all about us! Every time we choose to stay in our own little status quo, there lies a missed opportunity to inspire someone just like ourselves who need guidance.

How Alex makes boring things more fun?

As time was passing Alex faster than the blink of an eye, he had a decision to make. Will I keep waking up everyday, falling into the same bad habits because they are fun in the moment? Or will I choose to start doing activities that will reward me 10X in the long run but will be boring initially?

The good news is Alex chose the latter. Not only has he successfully achieved new levels of happiness, health, and prosperity… but along the way he found a way to make the boring things he didn’t want to do more entertaining!

Here are some tips from our second episode with Alex, all about how to make boring things more fun:

1) Role-play your favorite characters – That’s right! Alex has a list of characters that inspire him from movies, video games, or in real life. He will summon different characters based on the scenario or task at hand.

For example, when cleaning he will act like he is a famous captain manning his ship or when working out, he will think of his favorite warrior training for combat!

2) Do small things that take you slowly towards your goal – Alex at the beginning would make tiny achievable goals and set them as his targets.

Want to read a book a week? Start with reading just a page a day and slowly build! Want to eat healthier? Have 2 pieces of raw broccoli a day and slowly build

3) Embrace your laughable small wins – While you ramp up your output and increase your abilities, celebrate your seemingly nominal successes early on.

For example, Alex couldn’t even do 1 push-up at one point in his life. When he finally did one push-up, rather than thinking “whatever it’s only one push-up”, he celebrated and was as happy as if he did 100!

4) Find strength in the present through remembering prior successes – When you are going through a tough time, thinking about the times you overcame things that were difficult for you gives you strength to push through the tough times in the present moment!

5) Act like your life is a video game – If you could make certain parts of your life a video game, what would it be?  What would your avatar look like? What attributes would you track? Based on this you can make little milestones and goals for your character, and when you hit them in real life – level up!