Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The Modern Emotion

Although boredom is a modern luxury, it is a universal experience and one of emotional states of being.  According to the research by James Danckert (Experimental Brain Research, 2013) the word “boring” was not even being used until the industrial revolution. 

So what exactly is boredom and why does it have significance?  Boredom is best described in terms of attention.  A bored person doesn’t just have anything to do.  He/she wants to be stimulated, but is not able to because there is no emotional/cognitive connection to his/her environment for that to happen. 

Most often we have heard that boredom in the workplace and otherwise could have negative effects such as lack of productivity, disengagement, and participation in destructive behaviors.  When people are bored, they are more likely to make performance errors and that could be a big deal for many positions, especially those that directly impact lives.  However did you know that when people are bored, they are disengaged from satisfying activity and more likely to become internally focused, putting them at a higher risk for depression?  Furthermore, in a study in 1985 which was part of the longitudinal Whitehall study, it was found after studying death records that people who had reported experiencing a great deal of boredom were more likely to die young than those who were engaged (International Journal of Epidemiology, 2010).  

So although in today’s electronic word, it is rare to be stuck with absolutely nothing to do, all the diversions in the world can alleviate society’s collective boredom.  A place to start could be learning more about the phenomenon.  For example, the common misperception is low arousal is the only leading cause of boredom.  In fact this cannot be farther from the truth.  Boredom can be associated with both high and low arousal states.  For example, there are certain personality types that are more prone to boredom; people with high sensitivity to rewards and we don’t just mean financial rewards.  These are people whom in general feel the world moves too slowly.  On the other hand, highly sensitive individuals with high anxiety are more likely to withdraw from the world, in the hopes of avoiding a painful situation.  Furthermore, people with a low level of EI including the inability to identify and describe one’s own emotions are more prone to boredom (Personality and Individual Difference, 2007).


Overall boredom is a sign that what you’re doing right now seems to lack purpose.  What you do with it at that point is the determinant of how it will rule your life.  In this case, boredom can be a great resource and clue to move out of tedious routines and shed some innovation to tasks and processes.  People who have the patience to stay with the feeling, and use imagination and confidence in trying new concepts and directions are likely to strike a rainbow amidst the rain. 





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