Bored or anxious? · BestSelf Protocol™ (free)

Bored or anxious?

We tend to confuse boredom with something that, in reality, is much heavier and deeper: anxiety. In today's world, we get constantly bombarded with information such as notifications, distractions, and pressure from society, inevitably pressuring us to become productive while being entertained. Yet those times when we're less busy or in silence, we may feel uncomfortable and restless. This isn't always boredom; it's anxiety manifesting in a way that prevents us from being present at the moment.

There's a high rise of anxiety in a modern society. The excess of everything: overstimulation, perfectionism and toxic productivity culture and social comparison has some sense of restlessness with every age group. Since these terms aren't so new to us and this community, I suppose its safe to assume that we know just how much they can affect an individual too but I would like to emphasize on "social comparison"

Social Comparison- Social media platforms add fuel to this fire. We scroll through flawlessly curated images of other people's 'seemingly' perfect lives and feel a sense of inadequacy, which amplifies feelings of restlessness. Instead of embracing the moments of stillness, we look for distractions or validation, which only intensifies the anxiety.

Along with the causes come the affects and those include-

The inability to handle moments of quiet and unstructured time without feeling anxious.
Inability to relax or resent because our minds are constantly in a state of alertness, looking for the next thing to do or simply worry about.
Having a difficult time processing emotions effectively. When we distract ourselves from feelings of discomfort (whether it be loneliness or boredom) rather than facing or addressing them, we fail to develop healthy coping mechanisms and hinder with our ability to set boundaries with technology or even the amount of time we work which makes a perfect recipe for disaster like burnout, mood swings or even depression.
Apathy for the smallest of the things, internal peace and FOMO are all related to this phenomenon. Anxiety about the future or the mistakes we inevitably made robs us of the ability to fully engage with what's happening around us, at present.

It's impact on productivity and creativity is just as SCARY-

Paradox of productivity- It's really insane how this works. Hope I explain this well. So, constantly feeling the need to do something can to a burnout, which ultimately hinders productivity. BUT ironically, when we force ourselves to "always be busy," we're actually limiting our ability to focus and engaged in quality work, reducing overall productivity.
Creativity block- As someone who's engaged in several other activities which demand imagination and artistic approach, creativity block is the worst thing that can happen. I believe that creativity thrives in moments of stillness but we fill out those empty spaces with noise- whether it's social media, podcasts, music (sorry but yes), or endless to-do lists. This noise acts as a barrier, preventing us to tap into our what I like to call 'creative potential' because we never allows our minds to wander!

Finally, I've tried to think about ways to break this cycle of constant anxiety so let me list them down-

FORCING yourself to meditate. Yes, at first it will be difficult and you'll probably end up falling asleep but mindfulness practices or simply sitting with your thoughts can help break the cycle of anxiety. The opportunities which we get to improve ourselves is basically masked as this thing called 'discomfort' so just learn to embrace it.
Setting boundaries with technology. In this week's weekly call, we discussed briefly about the app blockers and how it helps to pull you back to remind you of what you're meant to do and with what intention you had opened a particular app. Not a new concept, I know, but a pretty neglected one. So taking breaks from social media and setting limits on screen time can help lessen overstimulation and maybe un-sorch your cerebrum and un-toast your thoughts.
Realise that rest is not a luxury, laziness is. Don't confuse the two. Learn to schedule a downtime by reading or going for a walk. It'll help to reset your mental state. Learning that it's okay to "do nothing" is a powerful antidote to the fear of boredom.
Lastly, just remember that success should be measured by mental peace and fulfilment, not just external accomplishments.

Due to the distractions and chaos of today, we fail to recognize that what we often label as boredom is actually anxiety in disguise so take a moment to pause and put a stop to the constant need to "do or die" that's running through our minds 24/7.

It was a sort of a brain dump which, ironically, was caused by boredom itself. If you've managed to read till the end, I owe you a coffee. Thanks for your time!

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