My Angel Radio – Feb 4, 2023
ARE YOU BORED?
My sharing for today has something to do with what I always hear from my daughter, “ I am bored”. ARE YOU BORED?
There's a bit of a truth in my daughter’s comment. Boredom is a universal experience. (I am hoping and praying that I will not bore you with my article). Almost everyone suffers from it in the course of their lives. When I searched the internet on how not to get bored, the top search topics that showed up were: how not to get bored in a relationship, how to not get bored at school. This only proves how common boredom is.
The truth is, we tend to get bored with the things that we do on a daily basis. No matter how delicious lumpia, pancit, adobo, lechon, steak are, if that’s all we eat every day, we’ll get bored. If not, we’ll die early. Even if we love to travel and go to beautiful places, if we do it very often, we will lose our interest or we might end up broke. Even if we get a high paying job or even if we got our dream job, if we work every day, we will easily get tired and be bored or might cause a toll on our health and we get sick. Even if the teacher at school or a speaker is good, if we go to that class everyday or we hear them everyday, eventually we’ll get bored. Even if our spouse is good looking, if we see them everyday, same thing day in, and day out, we’ll get bored and might fall out of love.
Human beings have the natural tendency to get bored easily. Sometimes we lose our enthusiasm in a heart beat. As a result, we stop or quit whatever we are doing and eventually will not achieve our goals. A study published in New York post in 2019 says that on average, adults in the United States experience 131 days of boredom per year.
What is boredom? It is defined as the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest.
Boredom may occur when our energy is not channeled into something that provides meaning or fulfillment. It may be a result or a combination of factors like a situation that is actually boring, a predisposition to boredom or even an indication of underlying mental condition.
Here are few causes of boredom:
1. Monotony in the mind
Boredom sometimes occurs with repetition and lack of interest in the details of task in which you cannot redirect your attention to a different activity. (examples are tasks that require continuous attention, waiting, etc). Any experience that is predictable and repetitive becomes boring.
If our day would be wake up- work or school- home- sleep- repeat, we will get bored. If our usual Sundays be like wake up-church-home-sleep repeat, we will get bored.
2. Attention problem
Boredom is linked to problems with attention.
Anything that bores us never fully engages our attention. Let us accept the fact that some of us are extrovert or out going. These individuals see that the world moves so slowly. That they perform better in high paced environment. The same individuals whose boredom tolerance would be low compared to the Introverts.
3. Lack of flow
This happens if a person’s skills match the level of challenge presented by the environment. Tasks that are too easy are boring.
Boredom is one of the reasons why many of us quit halfway through with what we have started. On the other hand, boredom has also its benefits. It is important to see boredom as a “call to action”. It can be a catalyst for change, that is, it can provide opportunity for thought and action
It is important for us to answer , “The question, how not to get bored?”. Because we know for a fact that those who sustain their interest are those who will succeed. I have read a definition of success which says that success is a continuing work moving from one mistake to another without losing enthusiasm
Galatians 6:9 says, “for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”
What does this mean? It means that if we do not get bored, if we do not lose our interest , if we do not lose our enthusiasm, if we do not give up prematurely….. we will see that reward for our work. We have to stay focused and patiently wait for the results.
So let us discuss some ways to maintain our enthusiasm and not to get bored in our life, be it at work, school, relationship and even our spiritual life.
What can we do when we are bored?
1. We have to rest and then move forward.
Rest is a necessity, not a luxury. It allows our mind, body and soul to renew and re-start with even more strength and focus. Let’s read from Mark 6:31-32 “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them, come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest”
The earthly life of Jesus displayed many facets of rest. These are spiritual rest, physical rest and mental rest. Let’s take a closer look:
Spiritual rest-
Jesus took time to be alone with God. Mark 1:35 says “early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray”. When we take spiritual rest, we have to shut everything out, from text, online messaging, work, cell phone, games, etc … and just spend time with God. Back where I came from, they usually have an activity called “Retreat”. Where individuals go to a place far from the busy reality, then read the Bible and meditate. This time of rest requires discipline but it could be done. And once it's done, it is very invigorating.
Mental rest
This goes side by side with spiritual rest. Jesus pulled himself away from the crowd, He got away into a boat with his disciples. With all honesty, I constantly struggle with this type of rest. I will cite specific examples: while driving, my mind would be thinking what’s for dinner, what my daughter might be doing at school, how are my parents back home, how are my patients, did I bring my lunch, or even, did I brush my teeth? According to studies, an average human being has about 6000 thoughts per day! Could you imagine that? No wonder we often feel mentally drained and exhausted. We just have to willfully unplug the busyness of reality from our mind to relax. This will help us cope with the stresses in life. Strategies like walking/ exercising, or probably taking your lunch in the courtyard instead of eating at our desk. Or when you are standing in line, try people-watching. Direct your attention to other people and think what they may be up to. Let’s raise the bar a little bit, what about meditating, like reading a scripture and ponder of how it applies to our life.
Physical rest –
Our body needs to rest, too, for the following reasons: better productivity, concentration, energy, efficiency, and creativity for our body to recover, to lower risk of diseases, and so much more. It is not good for this body to just work and not rest at all. When we do that, we’ll eventually get sick and die. When you take a break, you are not avoiding responsibilities. You are taking care of yourself so you have the stamina to be your best. According to some literatures, we should take a break every 50-90 minutes. Please do not pin down in here or I might get in trouble. Taking a break especially at work or in the middle of a task does not necessarily mean napping or sleeping. It could be as simple as going to the bathroom or drinking water or probably stretching or even as simple as taking deep breaths. It could be from few seconds to couple of minutes. I would like to read from Mark 4: 35-39,
“35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm”
Even Jesus was found sleeping or resting physically to recharge, to rejuvenate Himself.
My first suggestion for us not to get bored, grow weary, and tired is rest then move on, take small attainable steps.
2. Make the most of every opportunity
Here are some quotes I would like to share:
“A wise person makes the most of the opportunity. Foolish ones miss out on every opportunity and grumble about their failure”. Another quote says, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, but an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”.
No matter how tedious, or repetitious our task, we have to grab every chance we got, every opportunity to serve others , to grow and to love God. Galatians 6:10 says “Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially those who are in the household of faith”. Opportunities do not come very often. And most often than not, they do not come twice. We should fear regret more than failure. One of the comments I hate to say is, “I wish I have done that”. Because an opportunity once missed, it's gone for good.
There is a sense of gratification or sense of fulfillment that we get from taking the opportunity to help others, or taking on a new project, or just volunteering to do something, or simply sharing the gospel with someone. The smile that we see on their faces, the pat on our back, the hugs that we get….. might just be the perk or jumpstart that we need in our boring situation.
3. Love what you do
There is a saying, “You will not get bored if you love what you are doing”. There is another saying, “The man who loves walking walks further than the man who loves the destination”.
An average adult takes about 20,000 breaths per day. If we do not love what we do, most of those breaths become sighs (the sound of frustration…hay), and it would feel dragging. Why waste precious breaths to sighs? The reality is, frustrations and boredom stem from the fact that we want results and we want them right now. With this present age, with the advancement of technology, we do not want to wait. We all want instant gratification. Waiting is a no-no especially if we pay for something, we feel that we are entitled for a faster service, faster result. If we do not achieve instant results of our endeavor, we tend become impatient, we end up being bored. That is why the fast food chains are more popular than dining restaurants. The same reasons we like a lot of instants like instant coffee, instant noodles, instant manicure, and much more.
In contrast I would suggest for us not look for immediate results. Because in reality, there are a lot of things that we do that do not yield immediate results. It does not mean that when we go to the gym in a day, we will get a fit body. It will take months to years to do it then sustain. It does not mean that if we read for a day, we’ll become smart. We have to go through the process of education which means years and years of discipline and hard work. It does not mean that if a farmer planted something, he will get a good harvest right away, it takes months to take care of the plant before it yields any fruit or grain. It does not mean that if we work hard for a day, we will get financially stable. It does not mean that if we go to church once or twice that we are strong in our faith. It takes our whole lifetime to build a strong faith. There are a lot of things that will not yield with immediate results because it entails time and process. If we keep on looking for the yield/ result/ fruit, we will get tired, we will get bored.
Let's evaluate ourselves at this time, “do I love what I do?”. A person who gets easily bored is he who does not love what he is doing. 1 Corinthian 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done in love”. Our thoughts, feelings, actions should be done with love towards God and towards others
4. Have the right intention/ motivation
We should remind ourselves of our why’s. If we do not have a good reason, if we just go with the flow, we will have a hard time sustaining our interest or enthusiasm. We should be living an intentional life. That is, we have to find meaning, or reason, or purpose to what we do. Like why am I working hard, why am I studying, why do I participate in church activities, why do I need to attend Bible study, why do I need to stay in line, why do I need to wait?
Once we determined the why’s, the how would never bore us even if the task is difficult, tedious, or mundane. A person who has a reason to live, lives longer that those who does not. Not only do they live longer, but they live a more meaningful life, a life with a purpose.
The question is, what is a good Why? What is the right intention? 1 Thessalonian 2:4 says, “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts”. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God an keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” . The why to all of our efforts and existence in general, is to fear or love God and keep his commands. His commands are simplified by obeying the gospel.
How to obey the Gospel
1. Hear the truth John 6:45
2. Believe the truth 1 Cor 15:1-4
3. Repent from sins – Acts 2:38
4. Confess faith in Christ Acts 8:37
Be baptized – Gal 3:27
5. Be faithful – Matt 24:13
2 Timothy 4:7 says “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord will give me on that day, not to me only but also to all who loved His appearing”.
There you go my friends, my sharing for today about boredom. I hope and pray that you’ve been blessed/ inspired with my sharing. Rest (all aspects) if you must, take every opportunity, love what you do, have the right intention, keep doing what is good, love God and obey his commands, sustain, so in the end, we shall all see each other wearing a precious crown.