8 Reasons Why You Are So Easily Bored By Everything.
Do you find yourself getting bored really easily?
If so, you’re not alone. Countless people experience boredom on a daily basis.
What’s interesting, however, is that the feelings of being bored affect different people in different ways.
In fact, some people never experience boredom at all!
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably trying to figure out why you get bored easily. That’s a great initiative, as it means you’re aware that something’s happening that you don’t particularly like.
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably trying to figure out why you get bored easily. That’s a great initiative, as it means you’re aware that something’s happening that you don’t particularly like.
The feeling of boredom is described as a weariness or malaise because one either lacks interest in a current activity or because one is unoccupied and doesn’t know what to do.
Different people have different coping mechanisms when it comes to feeling bored.
For example, one person might distract themselves by delving into a book that interests or going for a walk. Another might turn to external stimuli, such as talking to friends on the phone or watching a movie.
Apparently, how we experience (and deal with) boredom has a lot to do with how our brains are wired.
According to a 2019 study by scientists at Washington State University, people who express the feeling of boredom more often have more activity in the right frontal side of the brain than others.
8 Reasons Why People Get Bored
When this constant dopamine flow is paused, they don’t know what to do with themselves.
2. You might have a neurodevelopmental disorder.
When a person’s mind is bouncing in several directions at once, they often need multiple different types of stimulation.
For example, you might have the TV on while reading a book so you have auditory and visual stimulation at the same time. Or you might be watching a movie and playing a game on your phone, while also snacking, and making occasional notes about creative projects.
When and if you’re not getting the stimuli you need, you may feel anxious, stressed out, or bored.
3. You aren’t being challenged.
If work isn’t challenging you and you feel like you’re just phoning it in, you might feel like there’s no point in continuing.
You might procrastinate from your work or studies because putting any effort into this is sucking the life out of you.
If you’re a highly trained fine artist who’s relegated to finger painting, or you’re a mathematics professor teaching first-grade math class, you’re more likely to be bored out of your mind.
Similarly, if you’re doing a creative project that doesn’t challenge you, or you’re reading a book that doesn’t grab your interest on numerous levels, you just won’t want to do it. At all.
4. You don’t have any self-driven hobbies.
What self-directed interests do you have that don’t center around someone else’s work?
Reading books and watching movies can be a lot of fun, but if they’re not offering you the opportunity to use your imagination and problem-solving abilities, you’re soon going to end up lying there like a boring lump.
Most people can derive immense satisfaction by engaging in a hobby or other pursuit that involves using their hands. It could be a creative endeavor such as painting, or something more utilitarian like carpentry or baking.
Basically, something that engages their time and results in something tangible. If there aren’t any movies or other forms of entertainment available, they’re able to engage in pursuits of their own making.
5. You’re overwhelmed or depressed by daily life responsibilities.
Some people feel like they can’t immerse themselves deeply into a project or pursuit. They lose interest in it almost immediately, and nothing seems to challenge, entertain, or tantalize them the way they hope it would.
In situations like this, the person might be feeling emotionally and physically overwhelmed, or even depressed.
When depression hits, it’s difficult to cultivate enthusiasm for anything, really. You might manage to feel genuinely positive about the prospect of a project, but when it comes down to actually doing it, you don’t have any energy. Or the reality of just how much effort it would take to do that project flattens you.
6. You constantly crave new, exciting things.
Variety is the spice of life, and novelty keeps life exciting. If you find that you get bored easily, you might be a perpetual thrill seeker who constantly needs novelty.
7. You feel trapped.
Many people who feel that they get bored easily do so because they feel like they don’t have much control over their own lives.
For example, teenagers often complain about a sense of boredom. And why wouldn’t they? They have very little say in what’s going on in their world.
Their lives are governed by other people’s rules, and their day-to-day activities are dictated by schoolwork, chores, and extracurricular activities that others may have decided on for them.
These young people may only have a tiny bit of time to themselves, and if their self-chosen pursuits are very limited, they’ll likely get sick of doing the same thing over and over again.
This can also happen with adults who feel trapped in the monotonous cycle of housework and child-rearing. Additionally, elderly people whose days in retirement homes are endless “Groundhog Days” of sameness experience a great deal of boredom.
Everyone needs to be challenged and engaged with new things. Otherwise, spirits sink, and minds atrophy.
8. You’re pursuing something for the wrong reasons.
Let’s say that you’re taking a language class because you feel like you “should.”
Maybe you only speak one language, and your family/friends/social circle is pressuring you to learn another.
So, you enroll in an online language program but get so bored every time you try to do a lesson.
In a situation like this, it isn’t a case of “boredom” but rather a complete disinterest.
When we do things because we feel that we have to, rather than because we want to, our hearts and souls really aren’t engaged.
Furthermore, our minds might be wired in completely different directions from what it is we’re (halfheartedly) trying to do.
Question your motivations, and determine whether you’re doing yourself more harm than good.
Quite often, a feeling of boredom is a strong indicator that change is needed. Although it may be frustrating in the moment, boredom can also be a huge motivating factor.
If you can analyze where it’s coming from, you can allow it to be the fire beneath your backside to push you to where you really want (or need) to go.
