Life is a journey, and a long one at that. Often in life, people go through periods where they feel bored: with their job, with their relationships, or just with everyday life itself.
And with our life consumed by gadgets and the newest technology being so readily available at our fingertips, it often feels like life may be passing us by whilst we’re stuck in the office. You may find yourself being bored often, and it’s important to think of the reason why. Only then can you start to build towards a meaningful life.
What does it feel like to be bored with life?
We often find ourselves bored, but defining bored in itself is a difficult task. What does it truly feel like to be bored with life? Here are the most common feelings that people associate with boredom.
- Monotony: Does every day feel exactly the same to you? When life seems repetitive and monotonous, it could be time to shake things up.
- Lack of interest: Things that used to bring joy and excitement no longer do, and even your favorite hobbies no longer have the same appeal.
- Restlessness: This can mean a constant dissatisfaction in your current situation, and a feeling of restlessness about the future.
- Indifference: Often referred to as a feeling of “meh”, this is feeling indifferent towards things happening around you. Events or news that would typically react in a response from you – sad, happy, or angry – instead leave you feeling numb or unmoved.
- Lack of motivation: Are you struggling to perform the simplest of tasks? You might struggle to complete basic things that would usually be easy. This can lead to procrastination and neglect of responsibilities, further compounding feelings of boredom.
- Existential questions: We all feel Nihilistic from time to time, and this isn’t always a negative thing. You might find yourself frequently asking yourself questions about the purpose and meaning of life, which can instill a feeling of emptiness and boredom.
- Disconnection: You might feel a disconnection from other people in your life, and struggle to maintain relationships with the people that you love. Social situations can begin to feel like a chore more than a reward.
These are all common signs that you’re feeling bored with life, and it’s important to remember that they’re extremely common – many of us feel like this at some stage in life. One of the best things to do is analyze your own life, and try to pinpoint the reasons why you may feel like this.
8 Reasons You’re Bored with Life
Lack Of Friends
As an adult, many people have difficult both making and retaining friends in their life. And the truth is that most of us consider ourselves and fierce individuals, but the truth is, we need to build relationships with others in our personal life.
At the end of our work day, some people feel like they just want to spend time alone, and it may feel like too much effort to maintain friendships. However, without engaging with all your friends on a regular basis, it can often feel like you lead a boring life.
Your Interests Don’t Align With Your Career
Although working at is an essential part of our day, it can be one reason for a feeling of boredom in a person’s life. This is especially true if you’re working at a company that you have no personal interest in, with limited career options too.
Paying bills and food is paramount to our existence, but it can sometimes feel like we live to work – not work to live. Finding a work-life balance with your career can help you to maintain an exciting life that stops you from getting bored.
You think changing out of your yoga pants is too much work
In line with the above, many of us become too comfortable in our yoga pants to make time for new relationships in our life. And hey, I get it – there’s nothing wrong with relaxing in comfortable clothes or taking the weekend off to spend it in the house watching Netflix and eating ice cream alone.
However, it’s important to put the effort in sometimes to avoid getting caught in a boredom slump. If you begin to find life boring, it could be because you’ve become too comfortable in the day to day routine of life.
You think you are better than people
You may not know it, but you can subconsciously avoid people because you think spending time with them is unnecessary. It’s common for us to sometimes think that we have enough going on in our own lives, or that we’re somehow too good to spend time with a specific person.
The truth is that venturing outside of your comfort zone is important for all of us, so it could be worth analyzing how you see your relationships with friends and co-workers.
You aren’t willing to do things alone
When you wait for someone to entertain you, you may be waiting a while. Sometimes you need to take charge of situation and start doing things on your own.
Learning how to feel comfortable doing things on your own can dramatically contribute to whether you live an interesting life.
You’re always in the same place
If we stagnate physically, mentally / emotionally we lose all our joy. Expand the movement zone beyond work.
Traveling is the most common way to deal with this, whether a short road trip or a few days abroad in a different country – or, you could even go a bit further by learning a new language. Do things that will change your daily routine and go with the flow.
You’re not keeping in touch with people
People that have many friends find it difficult to maintain all of these relationships at once. Without realizing it, there’s actually quite a lot of effort involved in continually having to manage several relationships at once, especially if you’re an introvert.
And there’s always a feeling of social pressure, that if we don’t contact people for a brief chat, our relationship may die out. However, keeping in touch with the people you really connect with is important, as your social circle plays a massive part in your life.
How Can You Make Life Less Boring?
You’ve likely heard the phrases that “only boring people get bored”. Though it sounds true, in fact all of us have this feeling from time to time. To combat it, there are some things that you can do to try and feel more excitement – without having to overhaul your entire life.
Try one new thing each week
When you aren’t sure you’re ready to try something new, you can take things one step at a time. The most important thing is that you start. This doesn’t mean you have to do anything drastically different – instead, try just doing one new thing each week.
Whether that’s venturing into the city’s coffee shops, trying new foods and restaurants in the city, or heading down to the library to read new books – all of these experiences can help prevent boredom creeping in.
Develop new friendships in social settings
You may be wondering – how do I meet other people in person? Well, you need to put yourself in the position to make new friends. This could be at local events where you can meet people from your region, or maybe activities that you find from social media or online in general.
Humans are social creatures, so it’s important to spend your free time interacting with others – starting a new hobby is likely the best way for you to do this.
Get active and exercise
This one is a win-win, because exercise is both an important thing for our physical health, and a great place to spark up friendships with others. Even in the mundane things like squats and deadlifts can we make new buddies.
If you’re looking for personal growth and self improvement, you’ll likely want to add this one into your timetable anyway.
Strike up a conversation with a stranger
You can sometimes make a new friend by talking to strangers, or perhaps even find a romantic relationship with another person. This could be when you’re sitting in the coffee shop, or maybe even in the office. Introduce yourself, and try to strike up a rapport with the other person.
It may feel weird initially, but it’s a great way to make new friends and therefore try to combat chronic boredom.
Spend more quality time with your loved ones and cut out toxic people
Spending more quality time with your loved ones is always time well spent. Many people begin to search for an extraordinary life, and one of the best places to start is to analyze your relationship with family and close friends.
Young people sometimes take their relationships with family for granted. But the truth is, even boring moments with the right people can end up being treasured memories.
