Boredom's Resolution?

Man, I’m bored, and I’ve been bored for a long time. This got me thinking… what is boredom? What are its causes? What effect does this have on our psyche? Can this be a problem with our perspective? Can boredom be beneficial or is it always detrimental? How can boredom be viewed or used in relation to God? And of course the crazy question… how can boredom be remedied?

One of the first things that I’ve noticed with boredom is that if you do not want to be bored but you still are, it brings with it feelings of uneasiness and irritation whenever we are constantly put into the situations that we believe are making us bored. This alters our perspective and keeps us in a state of boredom. This process will act kind of like a catalyst. Since we view the situation(s) as boring or potentially boring, we close off ourselves to the possibility of being stimulated. This is because we are seeing the activity as non-stimulating before it has the chance to be stimulating. It’s like breaking a TV before it has the chance to turn on. With a perspective like this we are in fact, setting the stage for more boredom.

We long to rid ourselves of boredom because when we are bored at times, it’s seems like we are wasting valuable time and talent. We think of all the ways in which we can be doing things better then we are now. This gives us a further distaste of perceivable routine things.

It’s easy to get stuck in a state of boredom for long periods when we are consistently:

-Not doing what we want to do

-When we can’t do what we want to do

-When we crave what is out of our reach

-And when we are putting unrealistic limitations on ourselves, or when we see ourselves as very limited

If we feel like we cannot make situations or life less boring, then they will be boring! If this is true then we may get or be stuck in a longer enduring boredom until we change our mentality.

If we are arrogant towards what we can learn or get out of things (whether we can or cannot) then we are shutting out the things that could stimulate us. Our perception of things will be forcing us into this boredom, rather then allowing ourselves to be stimulated.

If we are defensive, and try to hold on to things as we believe they should be, or if we are at a point where we just don’t want to learn about ourselves, then we are keeping ourselves in a state of boredom. This is because we are putting strict limitations on ourselves, and to a certain extent, we stop learning. Yet, a simple answer may also be that we are simply not being challenged enough, so we may need to seek challenges closer to our skill level.

Boredom at times can also be a response to prolonged overstimulation, so I believe that it may be the body’s response to let you know that you need to take it easy. So we may just want to take it in and be bored. We can look back and see whether or not this is the case.

Regardless of the cause, let’s face it… we don’t like being bored! So when there is a possibility or gap in time when we can be bored, or if we feel boredom coming on we fill in those gaps with stuff that will keep us occupied in one way or another. Eventually however, if we find ourselves in a routine and consistently highlight its repetitiveness in our minds, it will eventually stop stimulating. We need a balance between over-stimulation and under-stimulation. However, if we pay less attention to how our activities are routine, we will be less bored.

On the bright side, boredom can bring out our creative side. It may create in us a desire to do something worthwhile with our time generally outside what we would normally do. We may seek new hobbies, expand our horizons, or the boredom may even force us to focus on things that we have been neglecting for a long time because we would no longer be in the fast lane of stimulation.