Without Dash

“Busy, busy, busy”, is the standard answer to a simple question as “how are you?” It is sad that we are living in a society that is always busy, a society that made us self-centered and materialistic. We live in an emotional bubble that has very few connections to other people and activities. This alienation causes boredom.

We are used to always doing something and being entertained. And if we have that long yearned for weekend or holiday to be on our own, we do not know what to do with ourselves. We get bored, mostly with ourselves. We call friends, we try to be entertained by television or computer, but keep on wishing for something better.

Boredom comes from our expectations, of wanting something better or different. And when we have everything that we could possibly want, we get bored. This explains why we even can get bored while we have so many things to do. It is just that we are not satisfied with what we have and are looking for something else. From Monday to Friday I am looking forward to the weekend, but from Saturday morning to Sunday night I am looking forward to Monday morning.

It is a known fact that people get bored from undeniably repetitious and monotonous situations such as waiting in line. And most people with get quite bored doing monotonous work line working at a factory assembly line. But there are people who always complain about the monotony of life and need a lot of excitement in life. They are unable to find happiness and live with a sense of meaninglessness. In this most extreme case these people suffer from existential boredom.

Boredom can be a dangerous thing. Persistence of boredom can turn in to a personality trait. People who are bored often have a great risk for developing personality disorders, anxiety, addictions, depressions and more.

We need to cure boredom. Boredom is not a circumstance in which we find ourselves (because there really are enough things to do), but merely a perception of ourselves and the situation that we are in. So, we cannot cure boredom by ‘doing’ something. We will have to focus more on just ‘being’. It is time to become friends with ourselves again.

• Boredom is a natural feeling that comes and goes. By just being bored and continuing with your daily chores, you will learn to overcome the feeling.
• Learn to entertain yourself and avoid passive entertainment like the television or computer games. Learn to BE!
• By slowing down your life, you can learn to focus more on bodily feelings instead of thoughts. Follow a meditation course or practice simple breathing exercises to let go of unwanted thoughts.
• Physical exercise is an important factor in creating a healthy mind. Join a gym, go dancing, swimming, etc. Or include an hour of walking in your daily routine. Motor activity is a good cure for boredom, because it is hard to be bored while you are moving.
• Be creative and let your imagination and fantasy destroy your boredom. I like to imagine having an alien coming over for a holiday, or someone from the seventeenth century. Look at all the things around you that you normally would overlook and describe them. Describe all your daily routines and explain why you do what you do or possess all the things in your house. This way you can find meaning again in what you do or have.
• Find something meaningful to do, rather than a quick-fix entertainement. Join a charity organization. Help an elderly person. Offer to babysit your friend’s children.
• Set bigger and better goals to inspire and motivate yourself.
  More about goal setting in my next post

Tags: self improvement