What to do when your life is boring lately

[seanfranklin]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and my recent problem is just that I find most things boring. Before, my feeling was not like that. I also had passion and entertainment that made my soul comfortable. But lately, things are not like that.
Did you do anything to get rid of this similar period of time? Thanks!

[grundomatic]

I'm leaving my 3rd "career" in some months. Once I get to the point that there is not much left to easily learn at a job, it doesn't hold my interest. This is pretty drastic, but for me it beats plugging away and being miserable. Being frugal and having $ (thanks ERE) should make this time way less stressful than the first two times I did it.

I'll also say that pandemic stress and burn-out is real and has taken it's toll on many people. I sure don't have a solution for this one.

[Dream of Freedom]

That type of thing could be a lifestyle problem or a biochemical one and it would be hard to tell the difference. What could you do that would be new to you? Are you challenging yourself enough? Do you have people to compete with in a few areas?

[chenda]

Maybe you could help Ukrainian refugees?

[basuragomi]

The obvious question, do you have a boring life?

If you don't have any significant stressors in your life, it might just be a phase (AKA mid-life crisis) depending on your age. This happens to other primates besides humans too.

[Stahlmann]

Send most of your NW to poor Eastern Europeans

[sky]

You have not said much about why you are bored or where you are in life, so I will respond using myself as an example. What is written here is not a reflection on the OP.

Being bored is very common. I have found that boredom is caused by, or related to the following things:

Focusing on minimalism and reducing things to the point of not having anything to do.
Sitting around during bad weather, not doing anything, which is nice but after a while becomes boring.
Too much screen time.
Doing the same things, being interested in the same things for long periods of time.
Not trying anything new.
Lack of physical activity.

I believe that I am 100% responsible for my own boredom, both in causing the boredom and in finding a solution to boredom.

Finding a solution to boredom:

Fascination. Find something you are fascinated with, either something you were fascinated with in the past, or something new. It could be just a small spark of interest, but follow it, learn about it, do something about it.

Libraries are a good place to see many types of things you might find an interest in. Perhaps one of the subjects could turn into a passionate interest.

Walk for at least a half hour every day.

You don't need to make huge changes in your life, just focus on at least one thing you are interested in.

[aptruncata]

Be grateful and help others. Volunteer at a local hospital, church, habitat for humanity, shelter (dog/homeless).
Learn to cook, try growing food, do an inventory of things you need and things you don't.
Exercise, meditate, study nutrition, improve your food habits, get a checkup and work on improving the deficiencies (weight gain/loss, strength train, yoga, calisthenics) try 10 pull ups, try 30, try to predict what russia will do tomorrow then thereafter...

[xmj]

There's a saying "Boredom is a mask frustration wears." - figure out what you're frustrated with, make that go away, and your boredom disappears.

[jennypenny]

There's a book called 'Why Bother?' that's ok. It's geared towards women, but if you could get it from the library it might be worth a read. Maybe searching for it will bring up similar results that aren't written for women? (I'm assuming your male from your forum name.)

FYI ... there's a lot of that going around. I think it's part of the Covid phenomenon. I know from personal experience there's always been a weird malaise after times of emergency and/or trauma, and for most people Covid counts as such.

[Stahlmann]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and my recent problem is just that I find most things boring. Before, my feeling was not like that. I also had passion and entertainment that made my soul comfortable. But lately, things are not like that.
Did you do anything to get rid of this similar period of time? Thanks!

Other idea:
Are gay marriages legal in your state (I assume you're male from the USA)?
I'm hunting for Scandinavian/American nationality, we can team up

[chenda]

I'm hunting for Scandinavian/American nationality, we can team up

You already have de facto Scandinavian nationality, as was explained on the other thread.

[Sclass]

I got really good at talking myself out of things that cost money.

Made life boring. I look at common behaviors, check the price tag, then avoid it.

All I see out my window is mindless activities and things people waste their money on. It’s really hard to stir up any desire to join in. Not that I don’t enjoy the nonsense behavior, it’s just hard for me to convince myself I want in. Especially if it has a price tag.

A frugal friend told me many years ago to sleep facing the other way in bed. When you wake up you freak out with that “in a hotel” sensation saying “wait where am I?” That’s how he instantly stirred up novelty. I inadvertently built a mannequin out of a jacket, Covid mask, hat and boots sitting in a chair next to my bed. It scares the hell out of me when I wake up.

One mental game I used to play on myself is I’d offer myself the opportunity to do something like start early on my taxes, learn some new signal filtering technique, or clean the gutters on my roof, if I cannot find anything else better to do. I always find something better.

[sky]

Cleaning up, organizing, and going through your gear are all good ways to fight depression. They should be good for boredom as well.

[Western Red Cedar]

Did you do anything to get rid of this similar period of time?

Mood follows action. Don't think...do.

What action and what you do is up to you!

[chenda]

Cleaning up, organizing, and going through your gear are all good ways to fight depression. They should be good for boredom as well.

+ 1

It gives a feeling of control and productivity.

Mood follows action, yes indeed.

[shaz]

Some good hard physical activity usually sorts things out for me.

[Toska2]

If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much

-Jim Rohn

[Myakka]

@ seanfranklin: It sounds to me like in cutting out the things you once spent money on you have also cut out your sources of personal drive and diversion. So, your Challenge is to figure out how to bring those things back into your life without spending money on them.

My new personal challenges have come from crafting (useful things that tend to replace things I would otherwise buy), facing my own personal hobgoblins I would try to ignore by drowning myself in entertainment, and gardening. Some of this required a significant change in mindset for me. Am I going to be the superwoman that saves the world from itself? OR am I going to find my satisfaction by muddling through the challenges of my life?

What is routinely available to me is the next small step before me and whether I do it in a slipshod or a quality fashion. Doing things in a quality fashion tends to lead me to put my heart into them and drive away the boredom.