True. Plenty of shitty competition. Boredom is completely underrated as well. It's part of life. In prolonged stretches of boredom I feel like I've found the perspective and motivation to work toward goals that otherwise seemed elusive. Embracing boredom as a necessary part of life makes the bright spots brighter and successes sweeter as well as making the tough stretches more tolerable.

As a middle school teacher, I'm finding it progressively difficult to expect that my students will perform long stretches of routine practice. Having students work for even fifteen or twenty uninterrupted minutes in class leaves too many students reacting as if I expecting them to get a tooth pulled. Students, and unfortunately too many parents, are behaving very "Disney-like" in their expectations that educators are responsible for making all aspects of education fun and exciting.

Within this is great opportunity. Great opportunity for those parents who expect and reinforce self-discipline, hard work, and sacrifice (even if it means getting their kid off of facebook for two or three nights a week). My very best and brightest students, without exception, are the ones that realize being able to "grin and bear it" through tough work will lead to their greatest successes. Yep. The competition right now is asleep at the wheel.