Feeling bored?

Do you often feel you get bored or restless at various points in your life?  This is characterised by feelings of boredom, not knowing what to do with yourself or what you want to do, feeling unmotivated and even feeling a bit lost or down.

This tends to happen when people are in between projects in their life.  For example you may have just finished a big project at work that you loved and don’t have another one on that interests you.  Or you may have been working on a project in your own time that you found really fulfilling that has come to an end.  Or you may for no foreseeable reason find yourself feeling a bit restless but you can’t put your finger on why.

Any time you are feeling restless, bored, lost or unmotivated it’s a sign that your life needs a bit of a kick start into being more meaningful.  It’s either that you need another project to sink your teeth into that you are passionate about or that your life needs some sort of change to allow you to enjoy it at a deeper level.

The brain is designed to always be seeking out new experiences and new opportunities so if it feels like you are stuck or just sitting with the status quo, it will start creating these feelings to prompt you to look within and make some changes.

I find I get this feeling when I am in between projects.  For example lately I finished updating my book for my breakthrough programs and also finished another term of uni.  Even though I was relieved to finish both of these things I also was left with nothing on my radar to help me reach my goals and I was a bit tired.

As you would know, having goals is an important part of life especially if you want that feeling of achievement and also want to have a fulfilling life.  When you have goals you also need to be doing small things regularly to keep them on your radar and to keep you motivated otherwise they don’t happen.

So when you hit one of these lulls, it is more than likely that you just need to refine your goals so you can figure out what you need to do next.   It’s also possible that you just need a break to relax and refresh as pursuing goals takes energy.  You can’t make a big goal happen with little to no energy.  You have to look after yourself and make sure you have adequate rest and relaxation so you can refill your energy stores.

Most goals are long term and what that usually means is they are often for a date in the future perhaps a year or more, especially for the big ones.  The longer the goals take to create, the more likely you’ll have these lulls as you have to keep yourself motivated and on track and also at times redefine and reclarify your goal.  If a goal was short term, say a month, you wouldn’t have time for much of a lull as a month flies by so fast.

However if a goal will take 1-2 years to manifest, there is much more time to have emotional and motivational lulls and also opportunities where you may want to change your course slightly.  Goals don’t have to be rigid and structured and actually are not as productive as they could be when they are.  Goals should be flexible, fluid and open to change and adjustment as necessary.

So what do I do if I find myself in a lull?  First of all just admit you are there.  It’s not bad and it doesn’t mean anything so you don’t have to worry about it or beat yourself up for it.  Having a range of experiences in life also includes feelings most people label as negative.  There is no way to eliminate all negative feelings and no one has been able to do it either (despite them maybe looking like they have).  It’s part of being human.

Also if we didn’t have these lulls in feeling it would limit our capacity to feel, experience and live life to the fullest.  By experiencing a full spectrum of emotions we open ourselves up to deeper and greater feeling and experiences in life and this is what life is meant to be about.

What these lulls do for us is they remind us to stay on track, refine our goals and re-question what it is we really want and how we can get it.  That then fosters the creative energy we need to make things happen.  So if you didn’t have these moments of boredom, restlessness and apathy, would you ever change or would you just stay the same?

So don’t label it, just see it as a sign to look deeper within and see what you can come up with.