This Week I Learned...How to Deal with Boredom

Have you ever been really bored? I was, just the other day. I was stuck in an unfamiliar place between shows with nothing much to do. I felt the feelings of boredom arising, which for me are dangerous. Once boredom takes over, I start thinking negative thoughts about myself and about my life, so I can't afford to get stuck there. Here's what I did that worked. First, I acknowledged that I was bored. Sometimes the depressing thoughts that take over make me forget that the whole thing started because I was bored, so it's important to remind myself of the emotion that kicked off the unresourceful thoughts. Second, I used a technique called "looking deeper." I started looking at little things more closely. I resisted the urge to go back into my head, and studied the objects I'd chosen. For example, I'd look at a leaf, wondering at its architecture. Or, I'd study the clouds and appreciate their beauty. I even studied the feelings in my body which comprised the feeling I call "boredom" and found even that to be interesting.

There's so much to see, study, learn, and appreciate when you turn your mind away from resisting what is and towards embracing what is. If you change your attitude, you can't possibly be bored.