There is no reason to be bored. Ever.

I can't believe it when I see people complaing - in any context - that they are "bored." I don't think I've truly ever been bored since junior high (which was about a million years ago, ha-ha) maybe. Maybe not even then.

Consider:

1) Life has the potential for so much horror. You could be crushed by a falling I-beam from a construction site next time you walk down the street. You could be wrongly accused of a crime or a mental illness and suddenly find yourself spending 20 years battling the system. You could catch some horrible disease.The list goes on and on, as we all know. So if you are simply sitting somewhere not doing anything special at the moment, count yourself blessed beyond belief that none of these other horrible things are happening to you. If you truly get a good insight into the dimension of horror, the relief should be palpable enough that every minute that "nothing" happens is cause to weep with sheer joy.

2) Thanks to teh intrawebs, the amount of information and entertainment available is mind-boggling. Now, I'm pretty old-school in that I don't go for online gaming and my video intake on the web is pretty limited, I'm still a text-based guy. Even within those limitations, I click past more stupefyingly fascinating stuff on a daily basis than I could possibly process in ten lifetimes. Here, just for starters, are a few places where you could easily lose yourself for years at a time:
a) The Internet Archive: Everything
b) The Upenn Online Books Site: Here, have a million free e-books.
c) Forgotten Books: Oh look, another million free e-books.
d) The Alchemy Website: Like alchemy? If not, why not learn to?
e) Grimoar: For the mystics and wild-eyed seekers among you.
f) Wikipedia: Need I say more?
g) ATS: Need I say more?

So...there's no reason to be bored. Ever.

Rant over.

Boredom today stems from technology today and the immediate electronic stimulation it provides, and the instant gratification in society. This technology is also decreasing our attention spans. Constant adds at 15 second intervals, cell phones, apps, etc.

I stopped watching television some years back. One of the best decisions ive made thus far.

From the examples you have listed, and ignoring what i have just said, if someone is bored, its because they are a boring person.

reply to post by ztruthseeker


Good points. I forgot about attention span. Attention span has a huge effect on whether you are bored or not.

And I suppose if you had the right kind of mind you could get as much joy out of watching the traffic go by as out of reading all those books or whatever...subjective factors are important.

So what am I meant to do to when my interwebs is down?

Originally posted by homeslice
So what am I meant to do to when my interwebs is down?

Let us not speak of such horrific possibilities...

The gift of easily accessible and immensely varied music ALONE is all one needs to alleviate boredom ... but truly, music only summons that which is already present within.

"Music does not stir in the soul that which is not already in it" ~ Loreena McKennit

reply to post by silent thunder


The only thing in your post that didn't bore me was the picture.

Consider being in prison

Originally posted by AsuspiciousMANappears
Consider being in prison

OK, you got me. Good point. It is possible to be bored prison. Or laid up in a hospital unable to use your eyes and ears. Or stuck in an elevator for sixteen hours.

However, I still maintain that in such scenarios there are things you can do to help alleviate the boredum. Not perfectly, maybe, but enough to help.

I wasn't bored until I read your thread.

This thread is boring.

I totally agree with you, OP. I don't understand how at every turn I hear that everybody is bored. If you're bored, it's your own fault and no one else's. There's so much going on at every level of organization from micro to macro that I don't understand how anybody could ever be bored.

I haven't been bored since I was a pre-teen. There is a lot to do "out there" and to explore within our own minds as well.

Bored people are just lazy and unimaginative

This really annoys me too. A friend of mine has no hobbies, no interests, and it's making him miserable. He's in a band that is becoming really well known, and he can't write lyrics because he has nothing to influence him, he lets the other vocalist do it.


John Christian Bovee Mind unemployed is mind unenjoyed.

Not only is there a wealth of information on the web, but most charity shops have pretty big book sections of various subjects. You could pick up a couple of books for £1 and read about anything you can get your hands on.

You could sleep. Some of my best ideas have come from dreams. I'm writing many of them into a novel at the moment.

reply to post by Lulzaroonie


John Lennon always said his best lyric ideas came from reading the newspaper. It can't get much simpler than that haha.

I know what you mean about people who "don't have hobbies or interests." I really don't know how that's possible. Too much texting and facebook will do that to you.

It's not good when a musician has no creative influences

Visiting your in laws is boring.
Waiting at the doctors office is boring

reply to post by violet

Waiting at the doctors office is boring

I learned to lower my blood pressure while waiting in the Dr. office. Like the OP intimated but did not say, it is all about perspective. I like to make up stories about the people around me if I am waiting. I sometimes imagine and build houses, decorate and landscape them, when I am forced away from my electronic toys. Life turns on a dime, enjoy every moment. Talk to those around you, you might be surprised, and find a friend.

reply to post by silent thunder


Welcome to the instant gratification of the information age. People need to be entertained immediately, quickly and without pause, or otherwise they are bored instantly. Games and TV shows do the thinking for us nowadays, we actually do little to stimulate our minds.

God forbid the power goes off and with it the internet, the playstation/xbox/Wii with it, and you are forced to do something with your time that requires no use of electricity. I've watched teens that when the power goes out they get off the computer and go turn on the TV, and shake their head when it doesn't work.

I read and write a lot, I go out and work on my property a lot and get out of the house as much as possible to stay away from technology, but I do worry my kids, part of that immediate gratification generation will grow up without being able to walk away from that tech in their lives.

A bored mind is a lazy mind, plain and simple.

Also, people who choose not to watch tv, do you realise the amount of good stuff you're missing out on? There's all sorts of knowledge to be had through tv. You just have to filter out the general rubbish that's broadcasted.

reply to post by silent thunder


Well there is also the saying "Simple things amuse simple minds" maybe some people are less intelligent, thus are occupied by less important things. It is also said that geniuses are more often depressed and suicidal....quite a coincidence ay.

My comment was not aimed at you OP or meant in a mean way, so please do not interpret it as such. I like the sentiment and positive thinking behind your theory, but I think your wrong.

reply to post by silent thunder


The "Forevever Chaos Dictionary" describes Bored as:
- - - - The feeling you get when you are unable to do what you really want to be doing, and therefore nothing else can hold your interest.




So the trick is figuring out what it is you really want to do (or stop being in denial about it, or if its something you really can't do for whatever reason, get over it - go play COD until it passes).

Oh what did Dad used to say. Boredom is a sign of an idle mind.
Dad knows his onions.