Week Three — When Change Gets Boring
This is the part no one talks about.
The part where change isn’t exciting anymore.
Not hard.
Not dramatic.
Just… ordinary.
The early momentum fades.
The visible progress slows.
The routines no longer feel like proof — they just feel like something you do.
This is where boredom shows up. And boredom is dangerous — not because it means failure, but because we misread it.
Progress can be boring. Staying in the rhythm can feel like routine instead of adventure. You start to wonder: Am I just showing up to show up?
Is this still making a difference?
This is where hidden progress lives. This is where you choose to stay present — or slowly fade out, only to ask “why?” a few weeks later and say, I’ll try that again next year.
I’ve been on this change journey every year. Sometimes the shifts are small — changing how I take notes, adding a “change” element to my inbox, not eating ice cream late at night.
We all have weaknesses. We all have that tiny voice telling us change is bad… or boring. But our bodies are always in a state of change. The question is whether we guide it — or drift with it.
Lately, I’ve been running without music. Yes, that’s new. Now I hear my breathing. My thoughts. The world around me. I have to be the motivation engine — not the music in my ears. I also noticed I went from working out two or three days a week… to five.
Why?
Because the routine stopped being about intensity. It became about identity. Boring means the habit no longer needs excitement to survive. It’s moved from effort… to who you are. Most people quit here — not because it’s too hard, but because it’s no longer interesting.
But the quiet middle is where change locks in. The better question isn’t: How do I make this exciting again?
It’s: Am I willing to let this be ordinary long enough to become permanent?
Where in your life has progress become so routine that you’ve stopped noticing it?
Continue the Change Series
This post is part of an ongoing reflection on how real change actually unfolds, not in dramatic moments, but in the quiet shifts that shape identity over time.
If you missed the earlier reflections:
Week 1 — Change Is Already Happening
Recognizing that change often begins long before we consciously decide to start.
https://www.michaelearls.com/change/week-one-change-is-already-happening/
Week 2 — When Change Gets Quiet
The phase where effort softens into rhythm and habits begin to feel like home.
https://www.michaelearls.com/change/week-two-when-change-gets-quiet/
Explore the full Change series:
https://www.michaelearls.com/change/