Boredom breeds bad decisions

“Boredom is perhaps the greatest villain on the quest to self-improvement.”

WHAT IS YOUR DEFAULT ACTION?

A default action is something you do when you are not actively trying to do anything. Your mind will naturally tell you to do this thing when you don’t have anything else to do.

Does your hand naturally grab for the remote? Or the controller? Or the mouse? Or the phone? 

Or do you reach for a book? Or a journal? Or your athletic shoes?

Once you established what this action is, ask yourself:

IS IT PRODUCTIVE OR UNPRODUCTIVE?

More than likely if you have not thought about it before, your default action is unproductive. The majority of bad decisions stem from boredom. Too much down time will get you into trouble. 

To combat this, you must structure your time strategically. I am not saying you must work 24/7, but when you have down time, give yourself actions you would like to complete. Each person has a dream, most have many dreams. Pinpoint what you can do to achieve each dream. Some of these actions take a lot more energy than others. Those actions can be considered “focused” action. But dreams are made up of a lot of more “passive” actions as well. Let these passive actions be what fills your free time.

By keeping your life mission in the foreground, you are able to stay more productive. Think of all the little things you can do to fulfill your big dreams.

If one of your dreams is to be a better parent, other than spending that 30 min of down time in front of the TV, find some time to do something with your kid. If you want to figure out how to accept yourself, rather than scrolling social media before bed, do some meditation. If every second away from work you find yourself stressing about work, go for a walk and let it all slip your mind. 

Don’t fill your free time with activities that most people consider “relaxing.” Social media and TV create self-image issues. Video games are quick dopamine and lead to addiction. 

Don’t let your boredom bring you backwards.

You are free in your dreams. Achieve them in your free time. 

***

Thank you for reading.

I appreciate every single person who happens to stumble across these deep sentiments buried in my subconscious.

I hope if you’re here you can relate.

My goal is to help others better themselves while doing the same.

This is The Exploration.