--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You are what you do. If you do boring…" description: "\"You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid and monotonous. Work is a much better explanati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/bob-black-24650_boring_you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stu_1899800.jpg" --- # You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid monotonous… ![“You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid and monotonous. Work is a much better explanation for the creeping cretinization all around us than even such significant moronizing mechanisms as television and education.” quote by Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/bob-black-24650_boring_you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stu_1899800.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/bob-black-24650_boring_you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stu_1899800.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/bob-black-24650_boring_you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stu_1899800.jpg) > “You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid and monotonous. Work is a much better explanation for the creeping cretinization all around us than even such significant moronizing mechanisms as television and education.” [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that one's identity is shaped by actions, and monotonous work leads to a dull, unfulfilling life, more than media or education. **In simple terms:** Work defines you; boring work makes you boring. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful, varied activities. Themes identity work society Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - education reform - personal development - social critique Key Concepts existentialism labor theory Questions to Reflect On - What activities give your life meaning? - Can society thrive without traditional work structures? A Different Perspective Changing work alone may not address deeper societal issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid, monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid, and monotonous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stupid-monotonous-work-chances/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [“In the long run, We Realize that life without one gender,would end up boring”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurys-gaucho/in-the-long-run-we-realize-that-life-without-one-gender-would-end-up/) Maurys Gaucho > [It can get me down when people say that I'm boring or stupid or I don't have much personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-port/it-can-get-me-down-when-people-say-that-i-m-boring-or-stupid-or-i-don/) [Whitney Port](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-port/) > [Most people are boring and stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/most-people-are-boring-and-stupid/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/if-you-end-up-with-a-boring-miserable-life-because-you-listened-to-2/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/a-painting-requires-a-little-mystery-some-vagueness-and-some-fantasy/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [I'm harsh on myself. But let's be honest: I'm not as harsh as the online one-star critic who says, 'This book is boring and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/i-m-harsh-on-myself-but-let-s-be-honest-i-m-not-as-harsh-as-the/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [I always work better when I do not reason, when no question of right or wrong enter in,-when my pulse quickens to the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-always-work-better-when-i-do-not-reason-when-no-question-of-right/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I believe that if you eat well, you work even better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/i-believe-that-if-you-eat-well-you-work-even-better/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [The more people that are out of work, the better for the Democrat Party. I know you might snicker at that, but it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-more-people-that-are-out-of-work-the-better-for-the-democrat/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Defense was one thing I was really able to work at and get better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-pippen/defense-was-one-thing-i-was-really-able-to-work-at-and-get-better/) [Scottie Pippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-pippen/) > [I have nothing but sympathy for the people who are forced to work with me. I'm better now at picking out those that want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/i-have-nothing-but-sympathy-for-the-people-who-are-forced-to-work/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [The idea that the harder you work, the better you're going to be is just garbage. The greatest improvement is made by the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/the-idea-that-the-harder-you-work-the-better-you-re-going-to-be-is/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [Some people were born to work for others. Not in a mindless, servile-way--rather they simply work better in a set regimen of daily tasks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/some-people-were-born-to-work-for-others-not-in-a-mindless-servile/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [As films are a mass medium, if more people love your work, it is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditi-rao-hydari/as-films-are-a-mass-medium-if-more-people-love-your-work-it-is-better/) [Aditi Rao Hydari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditi-rao-hydari/) ## More by Bob Black > [You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid, monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid, and monotonous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stupid-monotonous-work-chances/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/i-call-for-a-collective-adventure-in-generalized-joy-and-freely/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [People aren't as stupid as the politicians think. More and more of us are laughing off our 'civic duty' to vote, rejecting the role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/people-aren-t-as-stupid-as-the-politicians-think-more-and-more-of-us/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Some people giving orders and others obeying them: this is the essence of servitude. Of course, as Hospers smugly observes, "one can at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/some-people-giving-orders-and-others-obeying-them-this-is-the-essence/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [“Looking for work sounds almost as bad as finding it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/looking-for-work-sounds-almost-as-bad-as-finding-it/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Liberals say we should end employment discrimination. I say we should end employment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/liberals-say-we-should-end-employment-discrimination-i-say-we-should/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Leisure is non-work for the sake of work. Leisure is the time spent recovering from work and in the frenzied but hopeless attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/leisure-is-non-work-for-the-sake-of-work-leisure-is-the-time-spent/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance. Play isn't passive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/i-call-for-a-collective-adventure-in-generalized-joy-and-freely-2/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Cleansed of its leftist residues, anarchy - anarchism minus Marxism - will be free to get better at being what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/cleansed-of-its-leftist-residues-anarchy-anarchism-minus-marxism-will/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [The reinvention of daily life means marching off the edge of our maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/the-reinvention-of-daily-life-means-marching-off-the-edge-of-our-maps/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [ \[Libertarians\] don't denounce what the state does, they just object to who's doing it. This is why the people most victimized by the state… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/libertarians-don-t-denounce-what-the-state-does-they-just-object-to/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Play is always voluntary. What might otherwise be play is work if it's forced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/play-is-always-voluntary-what-might-otherwise-be-play-is-work-if-it-s/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Unlike side issues like unemployment, unions, and minimum-wage laws, the subject of work itself is almost entirely absent from libertarian literature. Most of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/unlike-side-issues-like-unemployment-unions-and-minimum-wage-laws-the/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [To demonize state authoritarianism while ignoring identical albeit contract-consecrated subservient arrangements in the large-scale corporations which control the world economy is fetishism at its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/to-demonize-state-authoritarianism-while-ignoring-identical-albeit/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [It is now possible to abolish work and replace it, insofar as it serves useful purposes, with a multitude of new kinds of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/it-is-now-possible-to-abolish-work-and-replace-it-insofar-as-it/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) [Explore all 24 Bob Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) ## More Boring quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/) [Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/) > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) M.I.A > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [The films I find boring are the ones that have no space for the audience's misconceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-decker/the-films-i-find-boring-are-the-ones-that-have-no-space-for-the/) [Josephine Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-decker/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I've always felt that dark lyrics with dark music is pretty useless. Maybe that's a strong statement - not useless, but for me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-always-felt-that-dark-lyrics-with-dark-music-is-pretty-useless/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [Something is wrong if workers do not look around each day, find things that are tedious or boring, and then rewrite the procedures. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiichi-ohno/something-is-wrong-if-workers-do-not-look-around-each-day-find-things/) [Taiichi Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taiichi-ohno/) > [Plumbing is usually boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/plumbing-is-usually-boring/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) Browse all 3,123 Boring quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid and monotonous. 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