5 Signs You're Carrying A Secret Kind Of Boredom With Life, Even If You Pretend You're Fine
We tell ourselves we're just tired or busy, but these signs suggest something deeper might be at play.
Azra Tuba Demir | Pexels Does everything feel “meh”? Is every day starting to look the same to you? Are you getting tired of the same old routine? Is life boring? Most of us carry a secret kind of boredom with life at some point. However, we often don’t know what to do about it or how to get out of this rut.
Boredom is our brain telling us we are not living life to our fullest potential. We are not effectively using scarce resources, like our focus and attention. Boredom is our desire to do more and to use our abilities better. But as we are unable to do so due to our daily schedule, we start feeling frustrated. Boredom is an unproductive desire.
Here are five signs you're carrying a secret kind of boredom with life, even if you pretend you're fine:
1. You constantly feel drained
When you’re bored in life, it can drain all your energy and make you feel unmotivated to do anything. This eventually adds more to your boredom and makes you feel frustrated, and eventually, you give up trying to fix things. You become too lazy to get out of your comfort zone, and you start enjoying your daily boredom-inducing schedules.
But life is not all about being comfortable. It’s about living. It's about having fun. It’s about enjoying your life.
Life coach T-Ann Pierce advised, "Life is never perfect, and expecting that life will somehow align for you one day if you work hard enough or please enough people will leave you resentful. Every moment in time is precious. If we live fully, even the most joyful moments can come with a touch of sadness. That isn’t depressing or unfortunate. That is beautiful. It means you’ve invested in yourself along the way. Celebrate your wins."
2. You have no motivation to meet new people
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Despite boredom staring right at your face, you refuse to take any steps to go out and meet interesting new people who can help you follow your passions.
When you spend your time with the same group of friends hanging out at the same places and doing the same things, you will eventually get tired of the same routine. You will start feeling bored, even when you are with your friends, because you are hanging out with the wrong, uninspiring crowd. Meet some new people and add new interesting friends to your life.
Moreover, try to accept invitations to go to new places and meet new people when they come up. This can lead to some great opportunities and meeting new like-minded people.
3. You make no effort to make your life better
If you expect your life to be passionate and exciting, then you need to do something passionate and exciting. It’s that simple. If you keep hoping for a change while following the same daily routine, all you’re going to feel is boredom. Life does not get better unless you make it happen.
Counselor Troy Madsen recommended, "There are multiple approaches to crafting a life you desire. If something that you're doing feels like a struggle, that likely comes from misalignment with something in your life. So if you feel like you're struggling or striving, take that as an opportunity to pause and check in with yourself. Is this action really in alignment with who you are, in this moment, and where you want to head?"
4. You aren't comfortable alone
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If you are not comfortable with yourself or don't enjoy your own company, you will never like doing things by yourself. However, as you keep waiting for another person to live an exciting life, you will end up wasting a lot of time. And life will simply pass you by.
Relying on others to do what you love will only leave you feeling frustrated and bored. Take responsibility for yourself and do what you want, even if you have to do it alone.
"I can't bear to be bored — I don't want to miss out on good things," explained life coach Moreah Vestan. "I'm more of a one-week scout checking the trail ahead than a one-year explorer taming the new land. Part of the truth for me is that I haven't come to clarity, probably because I give mixed messages about short-term versus long-term destinations. And so I certainly can't make a focused commitment. I make commitments all the time, and I follow through on most of them. But they're discrete and separate, like items on a grocery list."
5. You feel like you're better off alone
It may be possible that you feel lazy, turn down invitations, and don’t take any effort, because you believe you are better than other people, whether consciously or subconsciously.
You may think of a specific group of people, and you might not be able to relate to them. You may think they can’t make you happy, and you’re better off without them. And this makes you feel lonely, depressed, and bored. But you can be wrong.
Although it can be a hard pill to swallow, you might just have created this boring, lonely life for yourself. You can play the victim all you want and hope someday someone will come to your rescue. But in reality, that’s not how life works.
Don’t allow unhappiness and depression to get you. Seek help and visit a professional or a life coach if you need to.
If you want to live a life without boredom, then you need to focus on living a life with purpose. If you are unable to find a purpose, then do things that you find enjoyable, and soon you will know what gives your life meaning and satisfaction. You will learn new lessons, gain new knowledge, and experience that will help you build a whole new life for yourself.
Your job may not be exciting or inspiring enough, and you wish you could do something more fulfilling. Your relationship has lost all passion, and you simply co-exist with your partner. You wish you could feel loved and love more deeply. Your personal life is uninspiring, and you wish you could have a better home and a more caring family.
You want to experience more passion in your everyday life. You want things to be great. Or, things might just be great right now.
You may have a great job, a healthy relationship, a loving family, no health or financial issues, yet you may still feel bored with life. You don’t know why, but you just can’t seem to be excited about anything, and you feel like you’re stuck in a rut.
The thing is, life can be boring. You can be bored, angry, annoyed, depressed, hopeless, and even burned out. When you keep living the same life and following the same daily routine for too long, it starts to affect your thoughts and emotions. It ends up limiting your scope for personal development and happiness.
This is why you need to step up and do something about how you think and feel about life and yourself. This is the only life you have, and you need to live it the best you can.
Theo Harrison is a writer who focuses on self-care, health and wellness, and self-love.
