Most already dead. Their minds are always occupied with thoughts and sorrows of the past, worries and plans for the future. We go through our days with any thought, memory or feeling that keeps us from fully enjoying life as it is. And most of us don’t like to push ourselves to the limits of our mental capacity: instead, we make our lives as comfortable, sleepless and sheltered as possible, as if we are already in our graves. We are surrounded by the living dead… us there is the living dead.
My partner said these words a few days ago. The night was quiet, the sun had just set. As we contemplated the monotony of human activity before us, flies buzzed around us, piercing the backs of our hands.
“It’s As Live As You’ve Ever Felt” Sol said suddenly and I knew he was right. While watching cars go back and forth isn’t all that glamorous or glamorous, I’ve learned that it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to travel to some amazing place to feel alive. You don’t have to go on an expensive vacation to feel blissfully awake. You don’t have to have a perfect job or a perfect life to enjoy the experience of being.
But as usual, we think that external situations and fixes will soothe our chronic boredom, our existential anxiety. And so we chase the next form of stimulation—and the next, and the next—until we end up in depression or some other form of mental or physical illness.
If you suffer from chronic boredom, where you find life basically unbearable and a series of boring events, then keep reading.
6 ways to “recycle” chronic boredom
You may not know this about me, but I suffer a lot from boredom. I can understand people so well that socializing – in a predictable pattern – is of little interest to me (although I do enjoy connecting with others on a deep emotional level). Routines and routines also bore me, people’s drama bore me, holidays bore me, food bore me, travel bore me, romance bore me, even myself at times.
Chronic boredom has been an uncomfortable little companion I’ve carried around for a long time. I like to think of boredom as a piece of gum that sticks to the sole of my life’s shoe and makes everything so boring. Wherever you walk, it’s as if you’re constantly aware of this intangible presence that mars the experience with its infuriating stickiness.
Although chronic boredom was unshakeable, I was able to climb out of the grave of life alive to learn and grow from the experience. Below I’d like to share with you what has worked for me in order of relevance/importance:
1. Use your chronic boredom as a wake-up call (how to).
When you feel yourself slipping into a state of apathy and lethargy, pay attention. You will almost always find a reason to be bored taking life for granted. Boredom is like saying “Yeah, yeah. I’ve been there, done that, seen that. None of this is enough. I need more, I want more.” But you? Have you really seen, done, or experienced every nuance of the present moment? In my experience boredom is the perfect wake-up call because it reminds us that we are returning to a state of existential monotony. When we are bored, our soul reminds us that we live too much in the past or the future, and that each day is not our last.
The best cure for chronic boredom is acceptance, not passivity. Accept your unhappiness and remember that it serves as a great wake-up call, but balance the emotional distress with actively trying to reprogram.
2. Let your chronic boredom reveal to you what you are unhappy about in life.
Chronic boredom doesn’t just mean that you don’t appreciate the present, boredom can also (but not always) point to a deeper form of dissatisfaction in your life. Maybe you should quit your job and find something more suitable for you and your dreams? Maybe you have too many commitments and need to “trim the fat” out of your life? Maybe you’re not taking enough risks, or you’re taking the easy way out when you could benefit from a more difficult one? “Why can’t I find any joy in life now?” if you ask and keep going until the question is answered, your answer may surprise you.
3. Is ingratitude your anger?
I often find that boredom comes from forgetting to be grateful for what I have. If the mind is always in the habit of being satisfied with a future-oriented thought or feeling, the present life can never feel “good enough.” Not only that, but when we take what we have for granted, we often expect it to be better than it could be by imposing our own beliefs, desires, and expectations on it. For example, if you feel bored with your relationship right now, have you ever thought about taking your partner for granted? Of course, there are many other reasons for feeling unhappy in a relationship, but one common reason is ingratitude. If you only had an hour left with your partner, would your feelings for him or her change?
Ingratitude is similar to anger (friend/foe) in that it tricks us into believing that there is something eternally “better” than what we have, while causing us great unhappiness.
The best solution I’ve found for ungratefulness is to stop what you’re doing for a few minutes and enjoy your surroundings. I like to find at least 5 things I am grateful for, such as “… for the breath of fresh air”, “… for the thoughtfulness of my partner/friend/colleague”, “… for this comfortable course”, “… for the challenges that help me grow”, etc.
4. Your habits may be suffocating you.
People quickly become close friends with habits because they provide structure, organization, and a sense of security. But not all habits are made to stick, and in fact, many of the habits we religiously keep lead to chronic boredom. That was the day I realized, “WAIT… I don’t need it only do you exercise in the afternoon? Can I still work out in the morning?!” It sounds funny, but it really struck me because I was so immersed in the lifestyle that all other options were unavailable.
Take a look at what habits might be affecting you or what routines you are currently doing by changing them on your own.
5. Beat yourself with the activity stick.
Being comfortable in life has its light and dark sides. On the one hand, being comfortable can be really nice and refreshing, but on the other hand, laziness, apathy and emptiness. If you want to get the most out of life, you need to hit yourself with the activity stick. By this I mean that you need to stay alert and motivate yourself when you feel bored. Yes, it can be uncomfortable and even boring at first, but it is the only way to break the boring cycle.
How can you do that? Think of it as one thing in your life that you can “stick.” It could be learning to make your own shampoo or watching a genre of film you never thought you would watch, learning to kayak or dusting off your old forgotten book manuscript or even learning to be a tourist in your own country. There are many ways to reinvent yourself.
6. Learn how to enjoy the small fleeting moments in life (here).
Learning to enjoy the small fleeting moments in your life is primarily about developing the ability to be present. It can be hard to tear yourself away from your incessant mental chatter, but as you slowly learn how to experience each present moment, you’ll learn to appreciate even the small joys in life. Guided breathing, solitude, introspection, and mindful meditation are effective ways to learn to be self-aware and present. When you think about it, you will enjoy even the subtler experiences of life, like the gentle rustling of leaves against the wind, ants crawling across the floor, distant traffic in the background, and the stillness of the night.
Final thoughts
Chronic boredom is an experience that almost everyone experiences at one point or another in life. Yes, you may be extremely intelligent, and yes, you may have experienced many things, but the full spectrum of life is not limited to your ingrained perspective, conditioned beliefs, or narrow experiences. It takes humility to open yourself up to learning from boredom and the courage to be wrong in the face of your implicit judgments and misconceptions about life.
Do you suffer from chronic boredom? How was your experience and what advice can you give to others who have the same problem?
