This is a guest post from Daniel Offer. Daniel manages a project entitled "Emoinstaller" that enables users to add Facebook emoticons & Facebook smileys to their Facebook accounts.
Every now and then individuals reach a point where they feel bored with their career, hobbies or relationships. Today, we are conditioned to always be looking for what’s new or what’s next. Does any of that apply to you? Have you been feeling lost or bored lately?
Unless you are suffering from a contributing health condition or are depressed, some of these feelings are normal human emotions. Typically, after every high point in life there is a plateau—a levelling off. Some of us don’t handle plateaus well. Many people thrive on busyness and a quick pace. But a plateau should be seen as a welcomed time of rest. It is often during that rest we are able to recharge and see new opportunities eventually. A plateau can be a great time for assessing where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished and to regroup. We can look at what hasn’t been working and pinpoint steps to change things for the better.
Unfortunately, those individuals that don’t do well with plateaus sometimes mistake them for a problem or feel they are wasting their life. They are sometimes tempted to make life-altering decisions largely based on their discomfort level. Basically, they don’t like how they are feeling and assume there is something wrong with their life, job or relationship. Tossing out things that have been acquired over time with hard work and thought, certainly don’t warrant an easy discard. While it may seem like the thing to do, making drastic changes may actually work against our long-term wellbeing. Changing our relationships, jobs and geographic location affect many other areas of our lives and may bring even more undue stress and unrest.
A more beneficial way to deal with boredom is to make plans to work through it in order to get to the other side of it. The following tips may help you:
1. Check Your Health: First and foremost make sure you are in optimal health. Get a check-up and establish a healthy diet and fitness regime.
2. Give Yourself a Break: Let yourself see boredom as a time to relax and regroup.
3. Avoid Major Life Changes: If you do decide it’s time for a major change, ponder it thoroughly. Make a plan to initiate changes methodically, making certain it is in your best interest and in the best interest of those closest to you. Alternatively, ride out the feelings. Life usually takes an upturn again. If it doesn’t, consider enlisting the professional support of a doctor, counsellor or life coach.
4. Connect with Others: When you are down or bored, it is better to force yourself to get out with people than it is to isolate. Make a point of selecting the right kind of people to hang out with. Choose happy, positive-minded people. If there is no one available, get out to a local mall, driving range, dog park, church community or other such location where there are greater chances of mingling. We were made to be in relationship with other people, and that may be the very area you are in lack of.
5. Look for Inspiration: Look for good role models either live or through book pages. Find out what they do to keep life exciting and emulate them.
6. Connect with Your Spirit: Sometimes boredom is actually a sign of a sick spirit, that is, one that has been neglected. Revisit your faith values, meditate, sing, dance or go to church.
7. Open up to Learning: There is always something new to learn. There are online as well as local courses you can enrol in short-term. Learning helps stimulate your brain and may open new doors of interest and possibility.
8. Change Your Routine: Simple changes to your usual routine will help shake up your life. Change your physical environment with decorating changes. Change the route you take to work. Take your pet to a new park. When you change your routine, you challenge your forebrain and positive feelings result.
9. Test the Waters: Of course you will want to come through to the other side of boredom with a fresh approach. Is your relationship with your significant other what you want to change? Picture how you want it to look and take risks to get it there. If it is a job change you’re interested in, start looking for a new one, or prepare to speak to your boss about a change within your organization. If it is personal time that needs to change, consider options and try them out one at a time.
Feelings of boredom aren’t necessarily solved quickly, but being bored can be healthy if it motivates you toward needed change. Most of us feel bored or a lull in life at one time or another, and it is a matter of choosing new things to include in our daily routines that will result in a more exciting life. There will always be a “next thing”, if we search or plan for it.
Every now and then individuals reach a point where they feel bored with their career, hobbies or relationships. Today, we are conditioned to always be looking for what’s new or what’s next. Does any of that apply to you? Have you been feeling lost or bored lately?
Unless you are suffering from a contributing health condition or are depressed, some of these feelings are normal human emotions. Typically, after every high point in life there is a plateau—a levelling off. Some of us don’t handle plateaus well. Many people thrive on busyness and a quick pace. But a plateau should be seen as a welcomed time of rest. It is often during that rest we are able to recharge and see new opportunities eventually. A plateau can be a great time for assessing where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished and to regroup. We can look at what hasn’t been working and pinpoint steps to change things for the better.
Unfortunately, those individuals that don’t do well with plateaus sometimes mistake them for a problem or feel they are wasting their life. They are sometimes tempted to make life-altering decisions largely based on their discomfort level. Basically, they don’t like how they are feeling and assume there is something wrong with their life, job or relationship. Tossing out things that have been acquired over time with hard work and thought, certainly don’t warrant an easy discard. While it may seem like the thing to do, making drastic changes may actually work against our long-term wellbeing. Changing our relationships, jobs and geographic location affect many other areas of our lives and may bring even more undue stress and unrest.
A more beneficial way to deal with boredom is to make plans to work through it in order to get to the other side of it. The following tips may help you:
1. Check Your Health: First and foremost make sure you are in optimal health. Get a check-up and establish a healthy diet and fitness regime.
2. Give Yourself a Break: Let yourself see boredom as a time to relax and regroup.
3. Avoid Major Life Changes: If you do decide it’s time for a major change, ponder it thoroughly. Make a plan to initiate changes methodically, making certain it is in your best interest and in the best interest of those closest to you. Alternatively, ride out the feelings. Life usually takes an upturn again. If it doesn’t, consider enlisting the professional support of a doctor, counsellor or life coach.
4. Connect with Others: When you are down or bored, it is better to force yourself to get out with people than it is to isolate. Make a point of selecting the right kind of people to hang out with. Choose happy, positive-minded people. If there is no one available, get out to a local mall, driving range, dog park, church community or other such location where there are greater chances of mingling. We were made to be in relationship with other people, and that may be the very area you are in lack of.
5. Look for Inspiration: Look for good role models either live or through book pages. Find out what they do to keep life exciting and emulate them.
6. Connect with Your Spirit: Sometimes boredom is actually a sign of a sick spirit, that is, one that has been neglected. Revisit your faith values, meditate, sing, dance or go to church.
7. Open up to Learning: There is always something new to learn. There are online as well as local courses you can enrol in short-term. Learning helps stimulate your brain and may open new doors of interest and possibility.
8. Change Your Routine: Simple changes to your usual routine will help shake up your life. Change your physical environment with decorating changes. Change the route you take to work. Take your pet to a new park. When you change your routine, you challenge your forebrain and positive feelings result.
9. Test the Waters: Of course you will want to come through to the other side of boredom with a fresh approach. Is your relationship with your significant other what you want to change? Picture how you want it to look and take risks to get it there. If it is a job change you’re interested in, start looking for a new one, or prepare to speak to your boss about a change within your organization. If it is personal time that needs to change, consider options and try them out one at a time.
Feelings of boredom aren’t necessarily solved quickly, but being bored can be healthy if it motivates you toward needed change. Most of us feel bored or a lull in life at one time or another, and it is a matter of choosing new things to include in our daily routines that will result in a more exciting life. There will always be a “next thing”, if we search or plan for it.