Boredom is a Gateway to Something New
Everyone gets bored on occasion. A warm summer day at 2 pm in the office may feel like a trap. Our minds and bodies ache to get outside, break the routine, and live it up! Such longing is normal and healthy. But today, we are talking about the “daily morning drag” to the office that lasts for weeks or months. You might spot it while you wash up the dinner dishes. Some describe it as the slow ache that your life has stagnated and you are trapped – and bored!
Is Boredom All That Bad?
There is a possibility that boredom is your invitation to review your work. Is it the right job for you now?
Changing your workplace may be what you need, but all too often, boredom, which is viewed as a negative in our fast-moving society, can be an invitation to explore WHY you are bored before you try to appease the mood.
“The best way to come up with new ideas is to get really bored.” ~ Neil Gaiman
Understanding why you feel bored is an exploration into uncharted territory. Let me show you what I mean.
The Art of the Question
A recent article in the Living Leadership series focused our attention on the questions leaders need to ask to move forward.
Let’s review a few:
- What did I accomplish in the last 12 months? But wait! Rather than consider this only about your workday – (obviously, you have done something positive in the last 12 months or would not be offered your paycheck each month) think OUTSIDE of your workplace.
Consider what you have done or tried in the last 12 months of your life period. What new goals have you set for yourself? Did you walk a mile every day despite the weather? Maybe you cut back on your alcohol consumption. Did you take a trip you have always wanted to take or try a new hobby – (you may not be very good at it – but did you try?)
Boredom at work can be deceiving. You may be bored with yourself
We spend so much time at work that it’s easy for the job to be the culprit of our unease. However, you may find that shaking up your personal life with a new challenge – a new book each month, a bicycling trip every weekend, or time spent on new recipes or at the workbench can change your outlook entirely.
2. What did I learn? Leaders are often leaders because they have become well acquainted with the parameters of success in a given field or workplace. This, of course, is an accomplishment. But that lasts only so long. Eventually, all of us want to grow, expand, and learn.
Your ability to learn new skills is unparalleled in human history. Now with the aid of technology, we can learn new skills and challenge our status quo – for free, or very minimal costs. Boredom results from doing the same thing, in the same way, at the same time, and for the same outcome.
How Creativity is Born
Creativity leaders encourage people to learn a variety information or skills. You can use exposure to completely different disciplines to feed your mind with the fodder it needs to synthesize new ways of doing things. You might notice some comprehensive or entertaining outcomes.
Take a class at your community college. Meet new people with new ideas. Use Google to research free training programs online. There are so many. You might feel like you are dragging yourself into new ideas, but once you get started and past the inertia of boredom, new worlds can open before your eyes.
Relationships
It may be that some of the relationships in your life need a boost.
Instead of focusing on what others are giving you to help you get out of your boring state – why not consider what you could give to others that would ignite your energy?
Maybe it is with your spouse. Maybe not. Make a list of your relationships – twenty of them.
Ask yourself what you have given in the relationship in the past 6 months.
This could be with your children, parents, co-workers, neighbors, church members, club associates, volunteer organizations, etc.
It’s easy to expect others to change our state of boredom.
Leaders recognize that personal change starts within themselves. Others cannot give us what we need until we have done what we need for ourselves. Funny how it works. What we need may start with what we give.
Energize Your Work with Your Life
It may be that your job itself needs to be addressed. But before you jump, believing that a new location is what you need, consider who jumps with you. We take ourselves wherever we go.
It’s possible that with some effort on your part, the boredom you are experiencing with your job could be changed by the actions you take in your life.
We’ve all been there – asking the proverbial question: “Is this all there is?”
I suspect the answer is NO. So let’s pick up our boots and start exploring!
