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You might as well add “boredom” to the list of things we’ve survived these past few months.
Staying cooped up at home with nothing to do is enough to drive one mad! And it has. We’ve all been bored. Boring zoom meetings. Boring meals. Boring stories. Boring jokes. Ugh!
But boredom is more than a dreaded feeling. Health professionals say it’s become a disease. But… could it be that we’re bored not because we have so little to do but because we have too many options?
How do you think having access to 500 hundred channels, unlimited online media, information at our beck and call, and every entertainment option or adventure on earth at our virtual fingertips, has affected personal expectations and the brain?
Is being stimulated 24/7 a good or bad thing, or completely harmless?
Is it that we’re bored, or that we’re unable to get excited anymore?
Sure boredom is dreadful. But you know what’s even more dreadful? The inability to enjoy life’s simple pleasures and beautiful, adrenaline-less moments.
But, what if…you knew your gifts, passions, strengths, beliefs, likes and dislikes, and were truly at peace with your authentic self, how much external stimulation would you really need? Wouldn’t you have everyting you need to create and live an exciting, satisfying life?
You can either get busy creating your life or get busy escaping from it.
Maybe it’s time to turn everything off for a few minutes, an hour, a day, and just…be.
Turn off the noise…the marketing…the agendas, and enjoy amazing silence; be in awe of how wonderful you really are.
Maybe it’s time to tune into your thoughts…to get in touch with your feelings instead of being told what to think and how to feel all the time by people who want something from you but don’t care anything about you.
Why not make today a day of rediscovery and reinvention?
Boredom is dangerous because it drains time from your life; boredom is a vampire that feasts on your joy.
Boredom is dangerous too. Here are four common ways boredom is damaging your health:
- Overweight Issues
Bored people tend to snack because it gives them something to do. They usually don’t reach for the vegetable platter. Eating highly processed food loaded with sugar and fat triggers feelings of happiness. Boredom often drives emotional eating.
- Mental Health
We all know that grinding out long hours at a stressful job day in and day out can trigger depression, but being stuck in a boring, unfulfilling, dead-end job triggers depression too.
- Chemical Addictions
It’s easy to reach for drugs and alcohol to cope with life’s extremes. When life gets too overwhelming or flat-out, dull and boring, many people use chemical substances or recreational drugs to escape from the pain or monotony.
- Heart disease
There’s more to boredom than just feeling bored. The brain releases an unhealthy mix of hormones into your bloodstream when boredom strikes you regularly, which can create issues with your heart. To make the problem worse, people who battle boredom tend not to exercise regularly and adopt risky habits like smoking and drinking, etc., all of which increase the risk of heart disease and premature death.
Is there anything we can do to snap out of boredom – to break this harmful, self-defeating cycle?
Yes! Step away from it all for a few minutes and count your blessings; look at the big picture by identifying anything in your life that you could be grateful for if you chose to be.
Make a list of as many things as you can think of that you’ve always wanted to do or experience; choose one or two and start doing them. Start living your life!
Lastly, stop reacting to life’s external stresses and pressures (even the boring ones) by taking charge of your life today!
Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from what you can do.
Change what you can and adapt to what you can’t.
Choose healthier habits. Try something new each week. Volunteer to make life better for people in need. Find something that interests you and start doing it!
Don’t just sit idly by and let life happen to you. What kind of life is that?
This is your life! And you only get one! So take charge and start living the kind of life that makes you look forward to tomorrow.
