BOREDOM

I’ve also noticed that I get a sense of boredom sometimes, when I’m actually feeling overwhelmed.

For example, a new task was presented to me at work. Immediately I felt what I labeled a sense of boredom. I thought, “This is not something I’m looking forward to. What an un-useful thing it is. There are many more things I’d rather do.” I thought, this is not something I’m interested in at all. Hence, I felt bored.

But actually, I somehow came to realize that I wasn’t really bored. I was actually feeling overwhelmed. I was feeling overwhelmed because I was looking at the job of completing the entire task, and I couldn’t see how I would accomplish it. (It seems to me that we don’t feel overwhelmed with even large tasks, so long as we can see the value of the task, and how we can take all the steps we need to accomplish the task.)

Since I knew I had to handle the task anyway (there was no way for me to avoid it) I decided to find an approach that I could ‘feel good’ with. So, first, I questioned the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Now I knew I was feeling overwhelmed because I was looking at the task in its entirety. So, I decided to take another look, or find another perspective about it. What I did was first, consciously relax myself a bit. Then, I decided to just begin it, just taking the first, easy step, without trying to ‘connect all the dots’ and see how this would lead to completing the task. (In essence, I was breaking it down into workable, bite-sized tasks that I could easily handle.) Now, just focused on one little slice of it, I noticed the feeling of overwhelm decrease. (I also noticed the sense of boredom go away, and get replaced with a sense of interest, as I now had before me a task small enough for me to mentally grasp and complete.)

One step accomplished, led to the next, which again, I could not see how it connected to completing the task. But eventually, taking one little step at a time – little steps that I could easily accomplish and feel good about – I began to make progress. This continued, so long as I didn’t worry about how it related to accomplishing the whole, entire task. Eventually, I got to the point where the ‘bigger picture’ became clear. And then I went on to easily complete what I was at first ‘bored’ and overwhelmed with.

Things are not boring. Life is not boring. People are not boring. But we experience feeling bored, with certain circumstances and people. Why? It seems to me, it’s because we have hung our consciousness on a perspective that does not let us see the value or opportunity inherent in whatever ‘bores’ us.

Here’s another ‘boredom’ story: I once met a pretty girl at a club, and at first she acted as if she felt extremely bored with me. But when a friend came by and said, “he’s the keyboard player in the band,” all of a sudden I became noticeably more interesting to her.

The same has also happened to me, where I was the bored person. I was introduced to a frumpy looking woman at a party, and although I was cordial, I immediately started thinking of how I could make a graceful exit. But then someone came by and said, “Hi ____, Are you still playing at the Grove?” (A prestigious place in Los Angeles, at the time.) All of a sudden she became interesting to me. Funny,…

The same thing can happen anywhere, like when you’re in a line at a grocery store, or stuck in traffic, etc. Every moment has some kind of opportunity, usually many. Boredom goes when we discover one or more of them.

I thought I’d post this, just in case it might be helpful to someone else. Maybe it was just boring,...

Phil

This reminds me of how much I appreciate my mom -- for SO many reasons.

I remember one summer day (I must have been about 7 or 8 years old) telling her I was bored. And she went right on doing whatever she was doing without missing a beat and simply said, "Well, whose fault is that?"

Of course it's not really about "fault" -- that's just a manner of speaking. But that simple question totally impressed upon me that if I felt bored, then it was up to ME to change that. There were PLENTY of opportunities to get interested, even intrigued, all around me.

I can honestly say today -- gosh, 50 years later if I was 7 then -- that I don't get bored, can't remember being bored (at least not for more than a minute or two before I realized what was happening). For me, the "problem" is that I'm interested in so many things!

I thanked Mom a couple of years ago for instilling in me a strong sense of curiosity. And it's NEVER too late to do that for yourself. Just decide to, as Wally says, "look for the good in everything." And while you're at it, pay attention to all the fascinating stuff and people all around.

"The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings." -- from a favorite childhood book by Robert Louis Stevenson.

quote:

By Rebecca; I thanked Mom a couple of years ago for instilling in me a strong sense of curiosity.

I thanked my father a month before he passed away about 5 years ago how thankful that I was that he had instilled a sense of adventure in me. I am very grateful that I was able to tell him that before he passed away!

quote:

I can honestly say today -- gosh, 50 years later if I was 7 then -- that I don't get bored, can't remember being bored (at least not for more than a minute or two before I realized what was happening). For me, the "problem" is that I'm interested in so many things!

Rebecca, you are so right on! No one is forcing anyone to do anything in a free society, and most of us do live in a society that values freedom and liberty. So, let's show appreciation that we are physically free to move and see things as we want.unless we are governed by force, any other reason for staying stuck in boredom is simply an excuse not to get up and change our thinking. And Phil described a fantastic way to change that!

And curiosity never killed the cat, did it?

That's why I love to be alone soooo very much. I am and have never been bored when I am alone.

Greetings Phil and everyone!

Happy New Year to you and I hope that 2010 brings you much success and happiness! It's always great to stop by and read the great postings on the SOGR network. I always find them to be very informative and uplifting.

Phil, I agree so much with your viewpoint on taking action. I also find that is where most people fall short in the human transformation arena. It appears that somehow they are expecting things to just show up somehow magically.

I have no doubt that does occur at times and is one of the universe's ways of delivering. However, I do believe a lot of people misinterpret it to mean all they need to do is create a CMI, release it, and wait for the universe to deliver.

Then when it doesn't come, they start questioning themselves on what is it they are doing wrong. So on goes the cycle

Anyhow, I wrote a posting on here a couple of years ago and wanted to share it once again. I believe it fits the topic here pretty well. The link is:

http://forums.scienceofgetting...951004813#4951004813

Thanks so much Phil for starting this thread and everyone who responded. It's an area I believe more "attention" should be given to in this human transformation business we all are so passionate about.

Best regards,
Alex

quote:

Originally posted by Rebecca:
For me, the "problem" is that I'm interested in so many things!

That's a "problem" for me too. One I really enjoy, but have to remind myself, that there are other things to attend to. My husband lovingly accuses me of having an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Everything is interesting to me. Ooooo shiny!

quote:

For me, the "problem" is that I'm interested in so many things!

Everyone is. Boredom happens when other activities/responsibilities restrict our ability to pursue those things. That is why we are here trying to get rich enough to move up and out to a place with less restriction.