Content is to discontent.
Love is the opposite side of the coin to hate.
Compassion is the opposite of indifference.
But is happiness really the opposite of sadness?
In my view, no. I think the thing that really makes a soul unhappy is boredom.
Boredom of doing the same thing everyday, which brings to mind the quote “Insanity is doing the same thing everyday and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein
I am writing this post with some insight from this past weekend. I recently got my wisdom teeth out this past weekend. I really could not do anything all weekend. I was bed ridden all weekend including Monday. All I did was watch T.V., eat ice cream and hang out with my boyfriend. I know it might sound somewhat relaxing and nice — but it wasn’t.
Let me explain why that is.
It allowed me to be lazy. I woke up Tuesday morning not having motivation to do anything and all I wanted to do is stay in my bed and watch makeup tutorials all day and probably eat more ice cream.
I was bored all weekend. And I really couldn’t do anything about it due to my circumstances. I wasn’t taking my life by the horns. I was unlively. I was lazy and had no motivation to do anything with my life. I was comfortable.
Interesting fact I found out recently is that the word boredom wasn’t really used often until the 18th century. No one really knows for sure, but it may be due to the fact that around this time is when real entertainment started to begin and modern novels were becoming big. People started comparing their happiness to the adventure, romance and glamour they could experience through entertainment.
The insight that this brought in today’s world is; politicians need to be entertaining in order to have an audience, we listen to our headphones to entertain us from our commute, and we watch T.V. to alleviate our boredom. But why?
Boredom = Unhappiness.
Politicians need to keep us entertained to keep up with us easily getting bored. We get bored of doing one thing so quickly. You may even have gotten bored reading this at this point.
It’s easier for us to get bored more than ever now. We have so many “entertaining” devices nowadays. We have TikTok, Netflix, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, video games… the list goes on. These keep us entertained for some time, but it’s like a stimulant — it expires at some point.
We try to stay “happy” by using these stimulants — but for how long and at what cost? I just don’t really believe these entertainment resources are our answers. I think improving ourselves each day and doing things outside of what we normally do is what will alleviate boredom and in turn, bring happiness.
What I am trying to say is last weekend I was very unmotivated. I was bored and yet I had no motivation to do anything. I never want to feel like that again. It’s easy to not do anything, to go through life without any aspiration or beliefs. And it is so easy to just sit around eat ice cream and lay around watching T.V. all day. What is not easy is to go after the things you want. To have the courage to know what you want and to go full speed trying to reach your goals. It’s not easy trying to figure out your process or trying to figure out what you really want and your purpose, but each day that you try is another step forward.
One way to make sure your life is inspiring and full of purpose is to have something you want to wake up for. For me, that is the gym. By going to the gym, I find my inner and outer strength. I get to push all of my limits that my head is so easily trying to convince me I can’t. I have a bit of an obsession of trying to prove my mind wrong.
Find out what is your motivator to wake up each day with a purpose. That could be reading, learning something new, painting, taking pictures, meditating — whatever it is that you enjoy doing, do that.
It’s not easy to wake up and go push yourself out of your limits, but it will always be worth it. We’re not meant to be lazy and uninspiring living creatures. We are meant to inspire and create. I truly and strongly believe we all have a purpose, although, you will never know your purpose if you lay around doing nothing.
You are human, yes you will be attacked and be a victim of boredom, but never stay there for too long. In fact, never stay at one state of mind for too long, unless that is happiness.
En۰dur۰ance (noun): the power to withstand pain or hardship; the ability or strength to continue despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions.
Thank you for reading.
Until next time,
Ozzy
