Bored With Life? What to Do When Everything Feels Stale

If you find yourself bored with life, chances are you need to stretch yourself a little. You need to get out of your comfort zone, take on new challenges, and learn new things. At its simplest, boredom is low energy with nowhere useful to go. So it makes sense that the cure for boredom is often the opposite: more energy, more movement, and something that makes you feel alive again.

Boredom is like stale water. Nothing is moving. There is no progress, no real rest, and no useful direction either. You are simply stuck, and your low energy is not enough to get you out of that stagnant state.

So what should you do when you are in this unproductive state, and where do you get that higher energy from? There are several ways to increase your energy and stop feeling bored. One of the most effective is to make a list of your problems and start solving them one by one.

These problems should matter to you. They should be things you see as problems, not things somebody else thinks are problems in your life. When you focus on solving your own real issues, the ones that matter to you personally, you activate your mental and physical energy. As you attack the problems on your list one by one, you begin to build positive momentum and feel that you are moving forward again.

It may be hard to get started, but once you do and solve your very first issue, the second, third, and fourth will be much easier to face. Positive momentum kicks in and carries you in the desired direction. Your energy increases, and all of a sudden, you are changed. You don’t feel as bored anymore. Even your posture may be different. Best of all, you begin to get new ideas and see new options for yourself.

Another good way to stop feeling bored with life is to learn something new, especially something that takes time and has built-in challenges along the way. Good examples include programming, gardening, a foreign language, drawing, or some kind of martial art. It takes time to learn and master these skills, so you are almost guaranteed to stay busy for a while.

In addition, just like in the first method, new skills tend to open up new possibilities and new directions for your life. A new business, a new relationship, a new hobby, a new place — all these things can keep life from feeling stale.

You should know, however, that once you master a new skill, boredom may return. The key is to find something new and get busy with your next project. Knowing and accepting this tendency is part of the cure. You know you get bored. You don’t obsess over it. Instead, you prepare for it. Once you start feeling bored, you pull out your list and get busy.

Strategy review

• make a list of the problems that matter to you personally and attack them one by one;
• make a list of things you would like to learn and start with what feels most exciting or is easiest to access in your current situation;
• accept that you will get bored from time to time and be prepared for it with your lists ready.