I’m bored.
A line that sends every parent up the wall, especially as they watch their kids ignore their toys and instead fixate on their screens. In truth, parents, too – like all humans – get bored. Boredom can lead us to waste time either watching television or indulging in thrill seeking, excessive consumption of alcohol (or other mind-altering substances) and other risky behaviors. Hey, we’re human!
But might there be an upside to boredom?
Studying boredom
A recent article in The Economist, in its subhead, posits, “It’s time to find boredom interesting again.” While the article focuses on the behavior of Britons, its conclusions may extend far beyond its shores. Research published in Science magazine showed that when people were isolated without any stimuli, they would press a button that delivered a shock. “Being alone with one’s thoughts, the paper dolefully noted, seems ‘difficult and unpleasant.’”
Yes, “Boredom sucks, and we hate it,” says Christopher Mlynski, a researcher at the University of Vienna, but it forces us to find more “challenging things…to do.” The pain is the point.” Psychology professor Erin Westgate of the University of Florida notes that “scrolling on a smartphone… staves off boredom” gives us a quick fix but “prevents lasting, meaningful activity.”
“Boredom,” wrote the philosopher Bertrand Russell, has been one of “the great motive powers throughout the historical epoch,” yet has received “far less attention than it deserves.”
Putting boredom to work
So apart from studying boredom, what can we do about it?
Author Michael Pollan is quoted in the Economist as identifying boredom as “endangered.” Pollan explores the role of consciousness in his newest book, A World Appears. According to Pollan, there are four aspects to consciousness:
Sentience – “the ability of living beings to register sensations and respond intelligently”;
Feeling – “the wellspring and first form of consciousness in animals like us”;
Thought – “the content of our human consciousness”; and
Self – the personalization of who we are, our “I.”
Consciousness then becomes a determinative factor in how we feel, think and react. We can leverage consciousness to make good use of boredom. Here are three suggestions.
One, recognize it. Understand that you are mired in a slump of sorts. Nothing serious by itself, but if it is prolonged, you become even more lazy.
Two, reflect on it. Use your downtime to consider what you could be doing. Consider how you could do better at work. What could you do differently? Likewise, consider your personal life. How can you be a better friend, relative or spouse? Easy questions, yes, but they can provoke introspection that may alleviate boredom.
Three, get up off the proverbial couch. That is, put aside the time wasting and switch gears. Take a walk. Visit a friend. Play a sport. Visit a museum. Read a book. Simple things, yes, but when indulged, they can help overcome the lethargy that boredom produces.
By recognizing and reflecting on the boredom we experience, we can find ways to refresh our thinking and recharge our mindsets, making us more conscious of who we are and what we can accomplish.
Boredom is part of the human condition. Our challenge is to recognize it and, rather than wallow in it, use it as a stimulus for doing something more productive. (Just as soon as we finish watching that new TikTok video everyone’s talking about.)
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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