Boredom: A Good Guy with Bad Name!
By Goodpal, 12th Jul 2011 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutHealthMind & SpiritMental Health
Boredom has received too much bad publicity despite being a springboard of creativity and novelty. Today, boredom is more of a fault of the modern lifestyle than a personal weakness. Read what wise people say about boredom.
Why People Hate Boredom?
People in modern society can not stand three things: pain, bad dreams, and boredom. They will do anything and everything to avoid facing these situations; in fact, most people are almost obsessed to avoid even the slightest discomfort. No harm calling it a pain killer society. This is a direct result of having too much comfort around us; every new gadget makes life a little more comfortable. In the past decade, Internet and cell phones have drastically changed the lifestyle and reduced our mobility to the extent of paralysis, without being medically paralyzed of course.
To some extent I can understand why people are afraid of pain – because it is painful – and why bad dreams are problem – because the nightmares can expose them to the tortures of hell and make people scream and run for life – but I never understood why an utterly innocent situation, called boredom, is considered so excruciating that someone had to coin the term “bored to death”. So I began questioning this notion that boredom is a harmful thing. I strongly suspect that it is another conspiracy of the society to give bad publicity to “boredom” just as it has successfully done to “pain” and “bad dreams”.
10 Inspirational Quotes on Boredom
- Boredom is ... a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it. – Bertrand Russell, (The Conquest of Happiness)
- "Feeling bored is a childish attitude. You wouldn't feel so if you don't rely on somebody to change your feeling." — Toba Beta (My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut)
- "Boredom is the fear of self." — Marie Joséphine de Suin
- “Miss Searle had always considered boredom an intellectual defeat”. – Mary Renault quotes
- Boredom is nothing but the experience of a paralysis of our productive powers. – Erich Fromm, (The Sane Society)
- "Something doing every minute' may be a gesture of despair – or the height of a battle against boredom." — B.F. Skinner(Walden Two)
- "A utopia cannot, by definition, include boredom, but the ‘utopia’ we are living in is boring." — Lars Fr. H. Svendsen (A Philosophy of Boredom)
- “Unless a man has been taught what to do with success after getting it, the achievement of it must inevitably leave him a prey to boredom.” – Bertrand Russell
- “By his very success in inventing labor-saving devices modern man has manufactured an abyss of boredom that only the privileged classes in earlier civilizations have ever fathomed.” – Lewis Mumford
- "Boredom is your mind and body’s way of telling you you’re not living up to your potential." — Hal Sparks
If you liked this page, you may also be interested in reading Is the Fear of Boredom Driving Your Life?
I invite you to share how you handle boredom, through the comment box.
Comments
13th Jul 2011 (#)
Heck, I just can not remember the last time I was even bored. Life has too much going on to be in that state. Nice read. Congrats on the star page. Thank you for sharing.:)
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13th Jul 2011 (#)
I like your spirit, Denise. There is nothing to suggest that one has to get bored -- it is a matter of attitude.
Thanks for sharing.
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15th Jul 2011 (#)
Lots of people have no idea how to deal with boredom, a product of parents who feel they must entertain their kids too much.
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15th Jul 2011 (#)
You are absolutely right, Mark. Probably the best way to help kids manage their restlessness (boredom) is to encourage them to come up with their own ideas rather than offering them ready-made avoiders like violent video or computer game. They can be encouraged to learn things like painting, music, dance or get involved in science projects.
A friend of mine has a collection of videos on great personalities such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Einstein and other prominent scientists, sports personalities, astronauts, Nobel laureates, technological products, etc. He also has a library and a home theater with overhead projector.
If parents feel they must entertain children, being involves in their activities in a good way.
After all said and done, if parents don't know how not to get bored in "free time" they can't help kids anyway.
Thanks for raising an important issue; I very much appreciated it.
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