Boredom and its Discontents

[Jeffster]

How bored do you have to be to write an essay on being bored?

 

[Mole]

Being bored is a form of self hatred.

But it is a form of self hatred that is projected onto the world.

So instead of saying I am boring, I say the world is boring. Instead of saying I hate myself, I say I hate the world.

It is far easier to admit to hating the world than to admit to hating one's very self.

But in fact there is nothing boring about hating one's self. So if I could say, "I hate myself", rather than saying, "I am bored", the boredom would certainly come to an abrupt end.

So why don't we do this?

We don't do this because we would prefer to be bored than to face the pain of our self hatred.

And who could blame us?

 

[INTJMom]

I recently read an interesting essay by Adam Phillips, "On Being Bored".
It made me wonder how boredom might relate to type. Do you think boredom is a symptom of poverty of imagination? Of inactivity? Or frustration with reality?
Are you bored often? Are you more bored by having a lot of (boring) stuff to do, or not enough? How does it manifest itself? And how do you overcome it - do you use distraction techniques? Or do you focus on deeper issues?

Does boredom serve a purpose, like depression - can it make us question the pattern and progress of our lives to-date?
Does it make us shake ourselves out of a rut? What other purpose might it serve?

I've been thinking about this recently because of my thread on multi-tasking. Many people said they get bored concentrating on one thing and need to switch a lot. I believe most of those people were P types.

Pondering that even more, I can't really remember using the word bored to describe myself since I was a kid stuck at home on summer vacation. I don't lead an exciting life, but I don't ever feel bored either. I guess I am easily entertained. I just find something to do. All I have to do is sit down at the computer and whatever I want to know is at my fingertips.

 

[Jeffster]

Being bored is a form of self hatred.

But it is a form of self hatred that is projected onto the world.

So instead of saying I am boring, I say the world is boring. Instead of saying I hate myself, I say I hate the world.

It is far easier to admit to hating the world than to admit to hating one's very self.

But in fact there is nothing boring about hating one's self. So if I could say, "I hate myself", rather than saying, "I am bored", the boredom would certainly come to an abrupt end.

So why don't we do this?

We don't do this because we would prefer to be bored than to face the pain of our self hatred.

And who could blame us?

I liked you better when you were ESFP.

 

[Mole]

I liked you better when you were ESFP.

Fortunately I can always switch back. If I get bored with INTP, I can always metamorphose into ESFP.

And that's all thanks to you, Jeff.

 

[Kyrielle]

I recently read an interesting essay by Adam Phillips, "On Being Bored".
It made me wonder how boredom might relate to type. Do you think boredom is a symptom of poverty of imagination? Of inactivity? Or frustration with reality?

I think it's sometimes a little of all of them. Sometimes those three causes can create a feedback loop: I have little imagination because I have nothing to do and because I have nothing to do, I also feel frustrated with reality; through my frustration I find myself unable to imagine things to do which leaves me with nothing to do which feeds my frustration. You see?

That's what I think boredom is, a temporarily unbreakable cycle of frustration, lethargy, and apathy.

Are you bored often? Are you more bored by having a lot of (boring) stuff to do, or not enough? How does it manifest itself? And how do you overcome it - do you use distraction techniques? Or do you focus on deeper issues?

Not really. Usually, yes. If I don't have something with deadlines, I will likely just sit and forget about what needs to be done and feel quite bored since I have no outside force driving me. When bored, I get tired. I feel like sleeping or hibernating. My mind feels like its wrapped in a fog, and once the feedback loop of boredom starts, I find it difficult to focus on anything that would otherwise break the loop. Normally boredom passes on its own, but if it doesn't, it ends up leading to further lethargy and eventually depression. I can generally overcome a bit of it by finding a book I've enjoyed, going outside, and reading in the sun or exploring. For some reason being in the sunlight for a few hours every other day for a few weeks helps me feel properly balanced. I do not know why this is. (I suppose then, boredom usually comes in the weeks where I am at home with no work to do and because of this, I tend to stay inside more, which only exacerbates the problem.)

Does boredom serve a purpose, like depression - can it make us question the pattern and progress of our lives to-date?
Does it make us shake ourselves out of a rut? What other purpose might it serve?

I agree with your first question here. I do think it's a sign of destructive patterns, though I think boredom is related more to destructive intellectual patterns whereas depression is related more to destructive emotional patterns (and it is possible to be both bored and depressed, I think the two can feed off each other).

As for the second question, I don't think so. I don't think it's any kind of driving force that helps you, but it is an indicator that something is wrong and measures should be taken to resolve the issue.

 

[Mole]

What I do find boring is the acceptance of assumptions thread after thread after thread.

Most threads are started with a question - and it is usually a leading question. It is a question that is stuffed full of assumptions. And the assumptions are deliberate and they are meant to manipulate.

But the killer assumption is that it is not polite to question the assumptions. And it is polite to take them at face value.

This is a brilliant maneuver as who wants to be rude - it is simply unacceptable.

This is called social control.

And it works.

 

[alcea rosea]

I don't know if boredom relates to type but I'm ENFP and very frequently bored. Bored. BORED. *sigh*

 

[Mole]

I don't know if boredom relates to type but I'm ENFP and very frequently bored. Bored. BORED. *sigh*

Just think of the alternative - you would have to say, I'm an ENFP and I hate myself, and I hate myself frequently. Hate myself. HATE MYSELF.

Take a tip from me - and stick with boredom.

No one loves anyone who hates themselves - while we can sympathise with boredom.

Without bores, the world would be full of hate.

Take the lesser of two evils - take boredom.

It may not be the happiest Kingdom of all, but its not the worst either - the Kingdom of Boredom.

 

[alcea rosea]

Just think of the alternative - you would have to say, I'm an ENFP and I hate myself, and I hate myself frequently. Hate myself. HATE MYSELF.

Take a tip from me - and stick with boredom.

No one loves anyone who hates themselves - while we can sympathise with boredom.

Without bores, the world would be full of hate.

Take the lesser of two evils - take boredom.

It may not be the happiest Kingdom of all, but its not the worst either - the Kingdom of Boredom.

You might be right even if I'm not 100% convinced that the only alternative of being bored is to hate myself.

 

[01011010]

J's might think they are less bored, but they're boring the hell out of us!

Are you bored often? Are you more bored by having a lot of (boring) stuff to do, or not enough? How does it manifest itself? And how do you overcome it - do you use distraction techniques?

I'm bored doing housework, grocery shopping, or any other domestic related activity. I sometimes overcome it, by playing math games simultaneously.

 

[Lady_X]

Just think of the alternative - you would have to say, I'm an ENFP and I hate myself, and I hate myself frequently. Hate myself. HATE MYSELF.

Take a tip from me - and stick with boredom.

No one loves anyone who hates themselves - while we can sympathise with boredom.

Without bores, the world would be full of hate.

Take the lesser of two evils - take boredom.

It may not be the happiest Kingdom of all, but its not the worst either - the Kingdom of Boredom.

victor...i can appreciate the perspective but i'm beginning to think it just works differently for an extrovert. For me specifically it has to do with that...if a tree falls in the forest scenario....what point is beauty and love if not to be shared...is it enough just to be....someone that lives their life focused on sharing those things WITH someone may bore easily alone..out of want to share not self hatred...i most certainly DO NOT hate myself...nor have i ever entertained such an idea.

 

[Jeffster]

Fortunately I can always switch back. If I get bored with INTP, I can always metamorphose into ESFP.

And that's all thanks to you, Jeff.

Well, you should go ahead, because this "boredom = self-hatred" thing is WACK.

 

[Lady_X]

received...and much better thanks.

 

[Nocapszy]

What I do find boring is the acceptance of assumptions thread after thread after thread.

Most threads are started with a question - and it is usually a leading question. It is a question that is stuffed full of assumptions. And the assumptions are deliberate and they are meant to manipulate.

But the killer assumption is that it is not polite to question the assumptions. And it is polite to take them at face value.

This is a brilliant maneuver as who wants to be rude - it is simply unacceptable.

This is called social control.

And it works.

Victor is correct.
Vanity is the most hardened of all enemies of science and advancement.

And the non-vain don't fraternize with the vain. They let them be wrong.

 

[Lady_X]

^^^ excuse me...but that is shit
not at all true for everyone...if you are bored and find something not boring to do...and you feel fulfilled then it has served a purpose

and....if you want company sometimes it does not mean you hate yourself and can't bare to be alone...

eta: and...it could also be argued that if you never want company then you think so poorly of yourself that you feel you have nothing to offer...but..that would also be silly

 

[Nocapszy]

Err...

Are you talking to me?
I said nothing about boredom except that I'm bored the same way Victor is.


Look up "vain" then come back.

 

[Lady_X]

ya know what...you're right...i didn't even read the quote you quoted from victor...i thought it was about that boredom=self hatred stuff...

i'm sorry

prime example of false intuition getting you into trouble...eeek

 

[FDG]

I'm hardly ever bored. There are so many things I could do, learn, etc etc that if a day was of 48 hours, I'd be even less bored.

 

[Nocapszy]

i'm sorry

I only don't accept the rose because I am at work in a florist at the moment and am sick to the gills of them.

Perhaps some legos would alleviate me of my boredom.