My grandmother used to say that there is no such thing as boredom, just boring people. This probably sounds harsh. The idea here is that boredom is not a result of having nothing to do or being stuck, but rather a result of how your personality views the world.
The good news is that, despite how the quote sounds, boring people do not have to remain that way. Being a boring person and experiencing “boredom” is all about mindset. When you change your mindset, you can become a more fun person and find excitement in even the most mundane of situations.
Learning How to Be More Engaged
We feel boredom when we are not engaged with a task or our thoughts in a meaningful way. Often, the first response is to find something else to do. Maybe boredom prompts you to buy a new gadget, start a new hobby, or turn to something more destructive like alcohol and drugs.
But what do you do when these do not relieve the boredom? Or maybe they help for a bit, but then you feel bored again after a few days.
The other facet of boredom is how we are doing the different tasks in our lives. If you are a “boring person,” you may not be engaging fully with your experiences, causing them to be uninteresting and unfulfilling.
Next time you are bored, these options can change your mindset, and make the world around you seem less boring:
- Get Creative – Creative pursuits, whether you are adding creativity into existing tasks or embarking on new creative hobbies, can help your overall mindset be more engaged. It requires you to think about familiar tasks in new ways, creating additional interest.
- Engage Your Brain – When you are good at your job or hobbies, you may start performing mindlessly, and that can be boring. If there is no room for creativity in your task, find another type of challenge that requires you to learn alongside your work or push yourself to complete the task.
- Make a Routine – It may seem counterintuitive, but routines can provide meaning in life. As you go about the day and accomplish your daily to dos, this can bring a sense of meaning and productivity that counteracts boredom.
- Try Something New – In moderation, finding new hobbies and adventures can bring excitement. Just make sure you are approaching them with engagement and are not continuously adding new activities to the point of burnout.
- Socialize – Making time to connect with friends and meet new people in your preferred settings will invite new experiences, challenges, and thoughts that will keep your brain active. Interacting with people is usually as easier to engage with than interacting with a task.
Whatever you are doing, take the time to live in the moment as it is happening. Not every task that you must complete will be fun, but reminding yourself why you are doing it and finding the elements of it that you enjoy will help you engage with it and reduce the sense of boredom you feel.
