I'm so Bored!!!
Sonya Janisse
Holistic Health Coach From Overwhelmed to Unstoppable: Holistic Coaching for Women Who Want it All. Ready to Feel Like Yourself Again? Let's Connect.
I'm so Bored!!!
How many times have you heard, or even said that in the last couple of weeks?
Most of us try to escape boredom by distracting ourselves with food or booze or Netflix or even the news. Our brains would choose just about?anything?over boredom, even anxiety!
But what exactly?is?boredom, and what’s so scary about it?
As soon as you offer people alternative behaviors that may give them a sense of purpose, they're more eager to engage, and this can result in negative or positive behavior. This is where connecting with a life coach comes in handy.? The right coach with probe you with the right questions to help you think differently, and those thoughts will lead you to take inspired action, whatever that might be.?
Boredom is an Emotion!!
BOREDOM The feeling when there is nothing interesting or engaging for you to do.
?Most of us will have experienced boredom at some point in our lives. Usually, it’s explained away as a lack of imagination, motivation, or organization.?
Sitting in a class where the teacher is droning on about a topic you don’t care about, you may find yourself daydreaming or staring at a clock that doesn’t seem to be moving. Waiting for a delayed flight to take off at the airport, you may search in vain for something to distract you.
Boredom is unpleasant and problematic. It can make you angry and frustrated. It can also influence your behavior in negative ways. drug abuse, gambling, and overeating.
When properly channeled, boredom can be a powerful tool to motivate ourselves to achieve our goals. Boredom can prompt people to move out of tedious routines. It can instigate new thinking and encourage you into trying new things. Those who have the patience to stay with that feeling, and the imagination and confidence to try out new ideas, are likely to make something creative out of it.
Our natural curiosity, together with a desire for purpose and occupation has led us to discover new tools, develop different skills, and create new technologies.?
This isn’t the only benefit of boredom either.?
In our day-to-day lives, allowing ourselves to be bored and not immediately searching for a solution is linked to increased mindfulness and improved creativity, and can motivate us to reassess things like career goals and priorities.
Why do we get bored? ?
Boredom can be caused by a number of factors, but the most common is being stuck in a repetitive or monotonous experience.?
We can notice this almost anywhere, from tedious tasks at work and studying right through to waiting in line at the supermarket. Our brains don’t respond well to experiences that are too predictable, and this lack of stimulation can trigger a negative reaction.?
As civilization has developed, we’ve been presented with more and more opportunities to be bored. Our ancestors were largely focused on survival, and even as recently as a few hundred years ago, essential tasks that we now take for granted would have taken hours. Our minds now have to work harder to occupy that time.?
Attention span is also closely linked to boredom. If we’re not giving our attention to what we’re doing, then we’re much more likely to get bored by it.?
This is a particular challenge for those with attention deficit issues, and these groups tend to have a higher tendency towards boredom.?
Of course, we don’t all experience boredom in the same way. Some of us have a greater need for external stimulation and excitement than others and therefore are more inclined to suffer from boredom than our introverted counterparts.?
Boredom signals what you're doing right now seems to be lacking purpose.?
As soon as you offer people alternative behaviors that may give them a sense of purpose, they're more eager to engage, and this can result in negative or positive behavior. This is where connecting with a life coach comes in handy.? The right coach with probe you with the right questions to help you think differently, and those thoughts will lead you to take inspired action, whatever that might be.?
Let’s think for a moment, before smartphones, TV, computers, and tablets, boredom was a natural part of life. Everyone experienced it sometimes and had to learn how to amuse themselves if they didn’t want to experience it.
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But our attention spans are actually getting shorter because of how much technology we use, and our ability to tolerate boredom is getting lower.
Think of your primitive brain like a dopamine junkie. It will do anything for a hit, so it’s always going to choose things that deliver instant dopamine (like Candy Crush or Instagram) over the discomfort that comes with feeling bored.
And while boredom itself isn’t a problem, our efforts to escape boredom can be problematic, because they will usually drive us to seek quick hits of dopamine over some of the longer-term benefits of boredom.
Boredom is not only not harmful, but actually helpful.
On the other side of boredom is creativity, true relaxation, learning, and growth.
In fact, everything that we can create is on the other side of boredom.
In order to think deeply, reflect, let your mind wander, and access your creativity, you have to be willing to spend time where you’re not distracting yourself with external stimulation.
Where you’re not staring at your screen and distracting yourself with different stimuli.
Beyond boredom, you will come up with new insights, have new ideas, brainstorm projects, and gain insight into yourself.
Beyond boredom, you will get to know your own mind and body…but only if you are willing to let your mind wander.
In order to do so, you have to choose to experience some discomfort.
Why is boredom uncomfortable?
Because we’re afraid of what we will think and feel if we allow ourselves to experience it.
We’re afraid we will think mean things about ourselves or experience difficult emotions that we’ve been resisting if we stop distracting ourselves from our own experience.
But here’s the thing: Your thoughts are harmless if you aren’t acting on them. They are just sentences in your mind.
You can learn to observe and detach from them. But if you don’t ever stop and allow yourself to be alone with them, you can’t learn or practice that skill.?
I think of allowing boredom like allowing a negative emotion.
We go to extreme lengths to avoid it, but if we allow ourselves to relax and experience it, it usually passes in a few moments.
Are you ready to be bored??
It will feel uncomfortable at first. You won’t know what to do and you’ll have the urge to distract yourself. You will want to reach for your phone or the remote or your laptop.
Let the urge arise. Let it pass. Stay where you are. Stare out the window. Let your mind wander. Let your brain do some thinking. If it starts criticizing you, gently redirect it by asking yourself interesting questions.
Create some mental space for yourself to be bored and then pass through to the other side.
Boredom won’t kill you, and it may open the path to some amazing growth.
Send me a personal message at [email protected] and I will reply back with some advice – right away. Check out the resources https://linktr.ee/sonyajaniss?
~ Sonya xoxo