The Boredom Bandit

As you go through your day today, exchange boredom for brilliance

 
I’ve heard it said that, “The world is boring only to boring people.”  Boredom steals our energy, enthusiasm, and the precious days of our lives.  We’ve all experienced having a day, a week, or a month seemingly compressed or expanded.  When I was in grade school, and we finally got to that blessed last day of the school year, I looked forward to, what seemed to me to be, an endless summer.  Every day was an adventure filled with new delights and discoveries. 
 

Today, as a busy author and executive, I often find myself shocked that it’s the beginning of a new month when it seems like the previous month began just a few short days ago.  Until now, I have always assumed this phenomenon of time perception was a part of aging, but recent psychological studies have proven quite the contrary. 
 
Our brains seem to engage new, interesting, or exciting activities in a very detailed and vibrant way; while mundane or boring tasks, as well as familiar experiences, barely register in our consciousness.  You’ve probably had the experience of driving to work and, after traveling many miles, realizing that you have no recollection of leaving your home and navigating through rush-hour traffic to that point. 
 
Contrast that phenomenon with flying to an exotic destination, renting a car, driving through the streets and country roads in a delightful or enchanting place where you’ve never been.  Your brain perceives and registers every new sight, sound, smell, and texture of this exciting and unusual experience. 
 
Obviously, when we are children, everything is new to us.  You probably remember the first time you rode in a boat, climbed a tree, or drove a car.  Now driving a car barely registers in your mind.  You back your car out into traffic and drive 70 miles an hour a few feet away from strangers driving in the next lane without even thinking about it.
 
We can combat boredom by interjecting new people, experiences, and thoughts into our lives.  If you will read every day, drive a new route to work, eat in a new restaurant, listen to singers you’ve never heard before, and go out of your way to embrace everything new and different, the heretofore boring hours will be filled with mind-expanding experiences. 
 
After experiencing new horizons, you can then return to your familiar life and find it renewed and recharged.  My mother exploited this unknown psychological principle when I was a child.  I was bored and complaining that I didn’t have any fun toys to play with.  She emptied half of my toy box into a cardboard carton and stored it in some out-of-the-way place for several months.  Then, during one of my complaining sessions about being bored, she opened that magic carton and, somehow my old, boring toys had become new, fun, and fascinating.  The bad news is if you are bored, it’s your fault.

The good news is you can change it.

 Author Bio

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift.  He is also a columnist and motivational speaker.   Follow @Stovallauthor