We all exist in our own minds where we construct a world based on our proprioceptive and mental experiences.  I have written previously about the accumulation of experiences over time leading to the building of our consciousness [see ‘Is there a real ‘you’ or ‘I’?’ on March 6th 2019].  In Jonathan Coe’s recent novel, ‘The Proof of Innocence’ during a tiff between a young couple on a train…

I spent a substantial proportion of last month enjoying a summer holiday in Cornwall walking sections of the South-west Coast Path (see ‘The Salt Path’ on August 14th, 2019), sampling local beers and reading books.  The books were mainly fiction.  So it should be no surprise that a recurring theme in the books was relationships because no one exists independent of their relationships with…

Why we evolutionarily feel bored: boredom is meant to motivate us to seek out a new experience

One culprit for boredom is due to overstimulation through things such as social media

Fighting Boredom:

create an anti-routine - an intentional decision not to have a structured or predetermined set of activities to follow upon waking up. It's rejecting the notion that there is a one-size-fits-all approach to starting your day that makes room for a willingness to embrace flexibility and spontaneity.

Try new things: try a new recipe, go to a new restaurant, try a gym class

Try a dopamine detox by cutting out social media, not eating junk food, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, etc.

get out of your sweat pants at least once a day and leave the house

declutter your area

help others

psychologists define boredom as being the transient unpleasant affective state in which an individual feels a pervasive lack of interest such that it takes pained conscious effort to  attend to an activity 

boredom is somehow a new idea:

Mind-wandering seemed to help people feel less bored from different tasks (as long as it is positive and not focused on worrying about other things like credit card debt or something)

When asking over 100 physicists and writers when they got inspiration, 20% of the time it happened when they were mind-wandering when doing chores, taking a shower, etc.

The purpose of boredom might be to shift our brain into a more creative zone

Form of meditation called open mind monitoring- you just watch your thoughts without getting very attached to them- a thought arises, you witness it, and then you just let it pass - try not to let your thoughts shift to negative things that create anxiety so come up with a list of topics that you know you'll have fun thinking of.

our aversion to boredom might be problematic in the future

Photo by Sarah Best wishes during the holiday season to all my readers.  I’m in digital detox over the Christmas and New Year holidays.  So no post today.  If you’re having withdrawal symptoms or want to know more about digital detox then read ‘Digital detox with a deep vacation‘ posted on August 10th, 2016.  Otherwise switch off and do something utterly absorbing, such as deep reading or…

Mind-wandering … daydreaming … sitting around, and doing nothing, thereby annoying family members with agendas of their own. It’s an activity that is looked down upon because it represents idleness in a society that demands productivity. We have a culture that celebrates doing, achieving, producing, and succeeding. When observed by others, a person who is daydreaming appears lazy. Mind-wandering…

It is the Easter vacation for our undergraduate students and I am taking a week’s leave to wander the hills, digitally detox and return with my consciousness revived by sensory experiences.  So just two sentences and a picture this week though if you want to read more then follow these links: ‘Walking the hills‘ on April 13th, 2022; ‘Digital detox with a deep vacation‘ on August 10th, 2016; and…

Mind-wandering guided by three good books by #DortheNors, #Philippe Claudel and #MargueriteDuras

We took a long weekend break last week. We did some walking, read some books and not much else.  I read ‘A line in the world: a year on the North Sea Coast‘ by the Danish writer Dorthe Nors (translated by Caroline Waight).  The author, Jessica J. Lee, described this book as ‘starkly, achingly beautiful’ which aptly describes an exploration of history and memories associated with the wild and…