I don’t get bored very often. I am intrigued by the world around me. There are so many things that I find interesting, places I want to travel, and things I want to experience. As Henry Miller said so eloquently, “develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people. Forget yourself.”
My grandmother used to say you have to have “joi de vivre” or “a love of life.” This is the feeling you have when you’re doing something that brings you great enjoyment. Many times this joi de vivre gives us joy because it allows us to escape ourselves; by helping someone else, creating something or by having fun.
I believe it’s extremely important for every one of us to find things in life that make us happy to be alive. Things that make us want to jump out of bed because we can’t wait to get to them. I hope that this blog will give you more joi de vivre!
Learn to Moodle
This idea comes from writer Brenda Ueland. She thinks that our imaginations need moodling, which she defines as” long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering” to flourish. During this time she says to do some “personal sleuthing” to find out what brings you pleasure. Think about the things you enjoyed in your past, but set aside because life got in the way. Did you like spending Sunday afternoons meandering through art galleries or museums? Did you used to paint or write poetry? Volunteer at a hospital? Moodling allows you to take the time to get to know who you are and what gets you excited about life. It’s impossible to be excited about something and bored at the same time!
do some research
There’s so much to do and experience in the world. You’d be surprised at how many fun things there are to do and ways there are to give back in your own town. It’s easy to get tunnel vision sometimes and never really venture past our tried and true daily experiences. There’s a whole world out there. Why not go on a fact-finding mission to see what looks interesting and excites you? Then go out and try new things, because you never know where your joi de vivre will come from, and at the very least it will keep you from being bored!
be less selfish
In Richard Winter’s book, Still Bored in A Culture of Entertainment, he makes a case that boredom and selfishness are related. “One of the reasons why boredom has become so much more common is because we have become preoccupied with looking after ourselves, making sure our needs are met, and to put it bluntly, we have become too selfish.”
Let’s face it, we’re all selfish. It is part of the human condition. It’s important to realize that selfishness is a part of who we are, so we can work on overcoming it. Selfishness is a major contributor to boredom and unhappiness. A preoccupation with ourselves and our problems is never going to be conducive to bringing us more joi de vivre. So in light of this fact, here are some things you can do to become less selfish and I promise less bored too!
- Listen attentively to people – Attentively meaning; eye contact and nodding. Ask them questions and show them that you’re interested.
- Give sincere compliments – Not just about someone’s looks, but something that you admire or respect about them as a person.
- Clean up after yourself and help others.
- Take the focus off yourself and on to someone else.
- Put your phone aside when there are other people around.
- Give blood.
- Make plans with someone you care about.
- Tell a joke and make people laugh.
- Be empathetic when you know someone is going through a bad time.
As Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” I hope this blog inspires you to take a look around and get outside yourself and your usual limits. There are so many amazing and beautiful things in this world that there is absolutely no time to be bored. However, there is plenty of time to nurture and develop more joi de vivre!
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