There are many things in life that can hurt, destroy, or simply set us back. Of course, there are the plethora of sins Satan constantly tries to get us to commit. There are the relationships that can potentially hurt or derail us. There is fear, which can keep us from pursuing our destiny. There is laziness, which can cause us to never start in the first place, or cause us to keep quitting. And, there are many, many more. But, of all the things that can hurt us, perhaps Boredom is one of the worst.
The dictionary defines Boredom as, “the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest.” When you are bored, you can have great things going on in your life and still feel unhappy. It is the feeling of wanting more. While there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting more, there is a danger when you already have many blessings, but it’s simply not enough. It is a sense of restlessness.
In one season of my life I was a watch junky. I bought watches like people buy lunch. I bought different color watches, different style watches, and different brands of watches. I justified the purchases because each one was unique. And, sometimes I bought them simply because they were on sale. I definitely didn’t need all those watches. One of the reasons I would find myself watching the channel where the watches were being sold is boredom.
According to some studies, easily bored people are at a higher risk for…
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Drug addiction
- Alcoholism
- Compulsive gambling
- Eating disorders
- Hostility
- Anger
- Poor social skills
- Bad grades
- Low work performance
Boredom can also cause you to…
- Get deeply into debt
- Be a shopaholic
- Enter into bad relationships
- Practice dangerous or unhealthy activities
- Destroy good relationships
When you are bored, your minds wanders. You constantly look for something else to do. You have a tendency to ignore the goodness God has already given you. You tend to be willing to leave everything you already have in order to gain something you really don’t need…but desperately want.
Ways to overcome boredom…
- Acknowledge the boredom
- Focus on your purpose in life
- Figure out what’s really important to you
- Create and focus on your goals in life
- Socialize more
- Learn something new
- Change your surroundings
- Get enough rest
Overcoming boredom will change your life. Make the effort today to confront boredom head on and decide to constantly work to overcome it in your life. I promise, you will be blessed.
Bishop
Bishop G.E. Livingston's Blog 