“Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?”
~ Nietzsche
I have felt bored so many times in my life as an entrepreneur and creator.
By the way, I am Jordan, 23 yrs old, did over $4M in Revenue,
Hired over 50 people and make videos on YouTube since 2012.
I share this because you have been conditioned to care about numbers and appearance.
But the truth is that it is effectiveness > appearance what works.
And on the surface you don’t appear to be bored, right?
I mean, do you feel ‘bored’ right now? As you are reading this…
But wouldn’t you rather be working on the thing that you wrote down on New Year’s eve?
The goals for 2024?
I came across this quote recently, which resonates:
“The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits.”
~ Albert Camus
Your mind is constantly asking for pleasure.
Is it not?
Or maybe better said, something MORE pleasureful.
Because as I am writing this,
Writing can give me pleasure,
But there are numerous things that can give me more pleasure.
I have found one thing to be true for myself, which is this:
Sleep is like a reset button.
If I give my mind something of pleasure early in the day,
The less pleasureful (but often ‘better’ things) become increasingly more difficult to focus on.
For instance:
If I rewatch the highlights of the Netherlands World Cup Final against Spain after I wake up,
My mind seems to become louder afterward, asking for something at least as ‘pleasureful’.
You need a lot of willpower to resist the mind, right?
Sometimes you have it, but often the mind wins…
BUT can there be a different way?
Is there a way to never feel bored again?
Can I feel bored if I completely LIVE here, right now, observing everything WITHOUT being occupied with observation?
Is it possible for me to FEEL boredom when I am in this state?
No right? Because I am experiencing everything without the experiencer.
I am doing everything without THINKING about the doing.
When my mind can’t speak, I don’t hear boredom…
You are unserious if you believe me.
You are serious if you ask yourself.
So how can we get to this state of mind?
Or better said, state of no mind.
Disclaimer:
I can only share from my limited experience.
I have not understood all the intricacies of my mind yet.
I may have made some realizations that are absolutely true.
But never ‘believe’ me.
As beliefs will always be beliefs.
Self-experimentation is your only path if you are serious.
And to me 2 things have been fundamental:
- WANTING to understand the core of the matter
- Actually UNDERSTANDING the source of the emotion (in this case boredom)
I mean, if you don’t really want to understand boredom…
Why do you think it would go away?
“She refused to be bored,
Because she wasn’t boring.”
~ Zelda Fitzgerald
So are you refusing to be bored?
Are you constantly escaping from the fear of boredom?
Please think about it..
So how can boredom change your life?
By understanding it.
By fully understanding where it comes from.
For when you have realized how boredom arises, your mind can no longer trick you.
You see?
Everytime you feel bored and your mind SCREAMS phone, food or other pleasure.
You know the reality:
Which is NOT YOU who feels bored.
It is your mind saying you are bored so that it can get what it wants.
Then the only thing standing in your way is the DESIRE TO NOT IGNORE REALITY.
When your desire to no longer ignore the truth > than your ignorance,
You will change your life.
For you finally start to see what it really was all along.
If you want to understand more, you can watch this video next.
And the serious person may check the show notes.
Talk soon
Jordan
Boredom, my dear friend (a poem)
Feeling bored, our dear friend,
Will boredom ever end?
Can we break this endless chain,
And find in boredom, something to gain?
For the mind, a demanding beast,
Screams for more, a pleasure feast.
Yet how to reach this sacred space,
Where boredom’s grip has lost its trace?
A life where boredom whispers not,
Where the present moment is all we’ve got.
In understanding, I find my key,
To unlock the doors of boredom,
That’s what sets me free.
PS: You can watch the video about this message here:
