Stop feeling Bored
“… millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.” — Susan Ertz
If you are like most people, your daily routine looks like this: Wake up, Freshen up, Workout (Optional), Breakfast, Shower (Hopefully NOT Optional), Drive to work, Work, Drive home, Change, Netflix, Dinner, Sex, Sleep.
Repeat from age 24 till retirement. Whew!
After the initial euphoria has passed (it passes by quickly), every person (OK, so not every person, there are exceptions, you may be an exception so hats off to you!) starts feeling bored at work. Oh the drudgery of waking up and going to the same workplace! It is felt whether you work at the best places to work, a new age start-up, or your own store. Monday morning blues are real, so are Tuesday to Thursday morning blues. Friday provides some respite due to the upcoming weekend. There is a reason we say TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday).
Most weekends are probably the same. You wake up late, Shower (Optional), and binge watch Netflix. Or maybe you do catch up with friends over dinner (hopefully after you have showered).
And once the weekend is over, there is that dreaded Monday again! Stuck in a rut is how we define our lives.
“When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.” -Eric Hoffer
The funny part is, this is how it has been always. Imagine 100 years ago, or even say 50 years ago. Do you think people lived different workday or weekend lives? In fact, maybe they had more reason to be “bored”. But did you ever remember your grand-parents complain that they were bored? No. Because they weren’t. Why? Because “being bored” was not even defined. They kept busy doing what they had to. And when they had leisure time they could spend it doing nothing, and still not feel bored.
So why is our generation so bored? The answer is — Social media and the illusion that other people are living better lives than us. Most people live predictably, though Social media might have us believe otherwise. Everyone tends to put their best pictures on FB/ Insta and thus having everyone else believe they are living a fairy tale life, while themselves knowing they aren’t. Boredom thus is born from the perception that we need to be doing something exciting daily, since other people are doing something exciting daily. We force ourselves to be bored rather than accept that this is life and this is how it is.
Point being? Accept that our life is what it is. Daily excitement is an illusion and reality is living predictable, routine lives. Live with it!
“Patience and boredom are closely related. Boredom, a certain kind of boredom, is really impatience. You don’t like the way things are, they aren’t interesting enough for you, so you decide — and boredom is a decision — that you are bored.” — Bertrand Russell
