Contents
Why some people get very bored and others always invent something to do
Psychology
Although creativity plays an important factor, boredom can appear or disappear due to other factors
“I’m bored” or “I don’t know what to do” are possibly two of the most repeated phrases by children during vacation periods. And it is that, accustomed to doing so many things daily, when the very long summer days are presented to them without obligations quickly boredom appears. As an adult it is more difficult to get bored: the lack of free time makes those hours quickly fill with things to do. There are even those who spend a thoughtful time enjoying that chosen boredom. But even so, sometimes boredom comes and you don’t know what to do.
“All human beings get bored at some point but there are people who get bored more than others,” says Rafael San Román, ifeel psychologist. Although he comments that it is not easy to know what psychological factors influence this, he says that it is usually related to creativity, perception of having a lot to do or values that are instilled in us from childhood according to which being bored is something bad or undesirable. Although being more imaginative is potentially related to being less bored, the professional comments that it is somewhat relative. “If people with the ability to imagine and fantasize can translate this into action and creation, they will probably be less bored. But if being imaginative is simply getting lost in disconnected daydreams, it doesn’t have to lead to less boredom, ”she explains.
Inability for boredom
If when someone is bored they feel uncomfortable about it, the psychologist comments that this is likely to happen because a person, “by connecting with himself, without distractions or activities that allow him to escape, connects with a certain sense of emptiness you need to cover through the activity. That ‘overwhelm’ that boredom produces is common. Although we all, in general, need to avoid our discomfort through action, as the psychologist explains, it is something that becomes more evident when we are not having a good time and we need not to connect with ourselves. “When we stop ‘doing’ we begin to ‘feel’ and there are times when we have little tolerance for that,” he points out.
“Boredom is a normal emotion that appears when we are not satisfied or motivated by the activity we have to do,” says Rafael San Román. Therefore, it is important not to get overwhelmed when one has nothing to do, but to even learn to enjoy the situation. «Lack of action promotes introspection, because it is a form of silence that is opposed to the ‘noise’ generated by the multiple actions and activities in which we engage in our day-to-day life, “says the psychologist, who adds that boredom also stimulates creativity and ingenuity, “Which is great to stop functioning like robots for a while and stimulate our brains.”
Rafael San Román says that boredom appears cyclically when there are interruptions in our normal activity and suddenly we feel a certain bewilderment because, for a while, we do not know what to do. «That may be uncomfortable but it is not so serious: sooner or later it will pass, something will appear with which to occupy our hands », he assures. The problem is when that boredom goes from being something specific to a state of recurring and profound demotivation: the moment when we don’t know what to do, but rather that we have options and we don’t feel like any. “This apathy and apathy, if maintained over time, are more problematic, because they plunge us into discouragement, isolate us and end up being a whiting that bites its tail,” he warns.