June 15, 2025
The ability to pay attention is a superpower; however, this was not always the case. I recall growing up in rural Romania in the 90s. Looking back, my upbringing was drastically different from that of kids growing up today.
Boredom was an ever-present weight. If I turned on the TV, I had access to three channels, one of which I could not understand, as it was in Bulgarian. Most of the daytime shows were boring, so that was a no-go.
The second-easiest source of stimulation was looking through my grandparents' books, but even though I was able to read them, I was far too young to understand or appreciate their contents. Greek myths who? I wanted fun.
The only real source of stimulation was playing outside, usually with other kids. Riding my one-speed communist-era bicycle down a hill as fast as possible, often nearly into incoming traffic, falling off it and getting hurt, all of it was done to abate boredom.
As time passed, I grew a bit older and discovered that books were great fun. Even though social media was starting to emerge, I had already passed the point where it could completely take over my life.
Fast-forward to today. I am in my early 30s, and I have a superpower. Unlike many others, I can sit down and read a book without it feeling torturous. I often go on three or four-hour walks, and I spend the entire time either inside my head, thinking, or meditating, and clearing my mind.
I don't listen to music or even audiobooks when on walks. Instead, I do my best to exist in the moment. The more people I interact with, the more I understand how rare this is.
Not looking at my phone constantly and not requiring instant stimulation all the time enables me to sit down and focus on something for an extended period. Recently, I decided to take learning programming seriously and make significant progress.
I joined boot.dev, and within a few days, I blitzed through a good portion of the material, often going at it for multiple hours at a time. Not many people can do this, so I strive to develop this skill.
I do my best to stay away from easy stimulation. I don't scroll through social media, I don't mindlessly watch YouTube, I rarely listen to music, and I seldom play any video games.
Instead, I go for long walks, train my body, practice physical flexibility, read, learn, and mindfully consume content that is good for me.
This may seem boring from the outside, as if I'm missing out on things. On the contrary, I am finally starting to live my life to the fullest.