“I’m so bored! There’s nothing to do!”
Bored? How can you be bored? I am (scratch that) was so anti-boredom, I can’t (scratch that) couldn’t even tolerate the word! I mean, I’ve grown up believing there is ALWAYS something to do in life. Check out this simple list, for example:
- Read a book
- Watch some TV
- Call a friend
- Blog
- Cook
- Bake
- Sing/dance
- Call a friend
And the list is endless. So why do we use that word? Let me rephrase that question…why did I use that word?
The other day I found myself thinking and even saying ‘I’m bored’. Normally I’m quick to catch myself, but this time it actually took a few hours for me to figure out the negative impact of these words and to bring myself back to a place of thankfulness for what I have, who I am and the good things in my life.
I used that word because in that moment, boredom equated to relaxing and chilling out and for some reason relaxing was a problem!
A couple of weeks earlier I was challenged to take my evenings off to increase productivity and give my body and brain a chance to switch off, relax and recharge for the following day. Unfortunately I’d not been playing this game very well. I’d been cheating and working way past the agreed-upon 6pm work curfew. Well finally I was trying to implement this curfew and I didn’t know what to do with myself! So that’s why boredom became a somewhat real thing.
Now I’m challenging myself to be comfortable with being bored. Because it’s only when I can move beyond the point of boredom to a point of relaxation and calm that I can make time to just be; to let go of doing and trying to control everything in my life.
We all need to make time to recharge. We all need to make time to just be (no matter how scary and boring it may at first seem). So if you’re a workaholic or super obsessed with fitting a gazillion and one things into your day to feel accomplished in life (like me!), then maybe you too can benefit from boredom, staying in it and finding your calm to recharge for the day or week ahead. (Or just cut your list down to your ‘top three things’ using the magic question here.)
Challenge: Set non-working hours for yourself to just be. When you start to feel bored don’t fight it; relax into it and see what things you can do (not work) to recharge your batteries.
abigailirozuru 
In time you will learn to substitute the word bored with SATISFIED. Bored is based on not doing; satisfied is appreciating the time for not having to do. As we learn to discover (which I know you already have) our passions in life, and focus these passions on Purposeful Living, boredom no longer becomes a word associated with our lives. We recognize the privileges that life offers and the opportunities we face if we open our creative minds to discover a plethora of choices that impede the ability to experience boredom. It truly becomes joyful when we realize we’ve reached this level of quality living and appreciate life with greater understanding.
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