Boredom
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone” - Blaise Pascal
The evolutionary reason for boredom
Why do we get bored?
Natural selection favours individuals with the capacity to feel bored because they are more likely to act to improve their survival chances.
Like hunger, thirst and loneliness, boredom is a negative feeling that drives us to change our behaviour. These are described as a very unpleasant states where we feel simultaneously stressed and agitated and at the same time lethargic (laziness or lack of energy).
Natural selection has favoured individuals with the capacity to feel bored because they are more likely to discover or create things that improve their survival chances, or to look for a new partner and so spread their genes more widely.
Contentment leads to complacency, and that’s a dangerous evolutionary strategy.
In particular, there are two things that would have served our ancestors very well.
- To experiment with new and novel things such as new foods or experiences or venturing into the unknown. This is important because trial and error is the overpowered strategy that nature has used to develop every living organism on this planet over the last couple billion years.
- It induces more introspection and time spent thinking about the future. Another word for this is daydreaming. Daydreaming is a fascinating concept that might not seem like that big of a deal until you consider the fact that humans are the only creature on this planet that we know of with the ability to daydream.
Boredom has a purpose. It pushes you to look inward and find a new exciting course of action.
Boredom does not mean a lack of discipline work ethic and focus.
Studies about boredom
Tags
- Day dreaming
- Timothy Wilson’s study about boredom - Some people just cannot handle boredom
- Outwork everyone by being bored