Why Being Bored is the Key to Unlocking Your Full Potential

Oh, remember when you were young and you were on Summer vacation? What was one of the most common phrases uttered? Mom, I’m bored. The reply was I can give you something to do. which meant I got some chores for you if you don’t zip it, or you were just given a chore and told to get it done. We as kids hated boredom.

Yet today we can’t stand to be bored, and I am one of those who struggles with being bored even when being bored is the best thing you can do for yourself.

WHAAAAAAAAAAT?

Yes, being bored is one of the greatest emotions you can have. If you are wanting to have a better life then allowing yourself to be bored is the best way to do that.

Boredom is Just An Emotion

Odd I know but you aren’t static nor are you sad. You just are. You might even look at boredom as being the emotion of no emotion. That is where you aren’t really feeling super awesome nor are you feeling terribly low. You just are feeling.

This is actually the root of the power of being bored. Why? Because we want to perceive being bored as a bad thing. Yet it just is an emotion or in other words, it is just a vibration that is felt throughout your body. It isn’t what we would think of as a feel-good emotion so we want to avoid it. That avoiding is where we find our motivation to change.

Now as an emotion, boredom is coming from our thoughts that we are not getting the stimulation that we want. The Television show isn’t doing it for us. The talking isn’t doing it for us. So we often now turn to our phones for stimulation when we aren’t getting the stimulation we want. This is actually to your detriment if it is you r go to for entertainment. Yet being amused isn’t the best for you.

A/musing

Want to examine a word right here. You see amusing is often used as a means to be entertained, but if you look at the word it is actually the opposite of musing.

When “a-” is placed before a word, it generally means “not” or “without.” For example, “a-moral” would mean “not moral.” This is known as a privative prefix, which is used to indicate the absence or negation of a quality or state. So let’s look at the root word Muse.

Now the Merriam-Webster Dictionary says the following

Muse

1)to become absorbed in thought
especially : to think about something carefully and thoroughly
musing about what might have been
2)
archaic : WONDER, MARVEL
transitive verb

: to think or say (something) in a thoughtful way
“I could sell the house,” she mused, “but where would I go?”

Merriam-Webster

So if you look at amuse it is you not thinking. You are just taking something in and not contemplating it. Does this sound familiar? Scrolling through Tik Tok for hours on end and not realizing where the time has gone. Social media is great at this. So use caution when using amusing things because you will have a harder time getting to your goals with those sirens singing in your ear. Unintentional actions keep you playing small.

So why is Boredom so special?

Boredom is so great because it is a powerful motivator. Your want to do something allow yourself to get bored and pay attention to your thoughts. Your mind will start coming up with all kinds of scenarios that you can do that will keep you from your state of boredom.

Boredom is what allows you to start dreaming. If you are struggling with what your purpose is, boredom is a good way to start contemplating what you like to do.

Getting bored is very easy to do. Though it can take a few hours to fully kick in. All you have to do is sit on the couch with the television off and your phone off. That last part is the hardest. Our minds want to tell us we have to keep that little glass slab on in case of an emergency. When if they really need to get ahold of you on a Saturday most people will be able to do so. It is never as big of an emergency as you want to believe.

So sit down and just allow your mind to get bored. You will then be able to start directing your mind in the direction you want it to go. All because you have allowed your mind to not be flooded with Facebook and tik tok but you stopped the torrent of dopamine and let your brain get a little bored.

Why does boredom Feel so Bad?

For the very reason that it is so powerful. The lack of feel good hormones in running in your body. Those hormones and neuro receptors like dopamine, oxytosin, and the like are rewards for doing things. That can mean anything. it maybe reward for eating food or looking at your phone when it rings. You get a lot of rewards for looking at social media. You get a sense of delayed gratification for playing games. This is why those things can get in your way.

You get sartonin and dopamine for drinking alcohol and from drugs. These feel good enough to drown out the bad feelings you maybe having. Yet it also keeps your thoughts from being thought. So you dont have to feel an emotion you perceive to be bad. This is why when we feel bored we turn to games or our phones. If you want greatness allow yourself to be bored more often.

So How do You Use Boredom?

Grab a piece of paper and sit down, or if you are the outdoor type. Go outside to someplace that is secluded. Now sit and do nothing. Very soon you will find yourself wanting to do something. Your brain is wanting stimulation. Then start writing. If you are looking for your purpose. Start thinking of all your favorite things to do. Keep writing till you dont have anything left to write. Now decide what the first thing is you want to try and make a plan.

If you have a business or any other goal you are after, lay out those plans on what you are going to do. How you are going to try to scale that mountain. Then Take action. When you notice you are bored turn to your list.

Then start taking action. Anyting you find yourself getting cheap gratification from your phone or someplace else. Decide if you want to keep it in your life and then put up rules as to how and when you are going to use the other item. It will be a challenge but you can use social media with intention. You can been use the great time suck Tik Tok with intention. You may have to bury it on your phone but you can make it a bigger challenge to access.

Then when you find that you are not working towards you goal you now have the knowledge to change direction and start leaning towards your dream or goal.

If you want help on reaching your goal or finding your purpose See how I can help you become the better man. If you are finding out about your 4 pillars then please reach out and see how I can help you to reach those pillars make your life better than it was before.