Keep From Being Bored In Life
On to the Next One...
Next! Is what I feel like screaming when I’m ready to move onto the next thing in my life. When I was about 25 I got a tattoo and the anxiety that was built up before I got it was enormous. The planning process of where I was gonna get it, what the size of it would be and wondering about how painful it was going to be took over all my thoughts up until the very last second that I got it. And as soon as I got it, it was like the air was let out of a balloon and those feelings of angst sputtered around and were soon gone and I remember thinking, 'is that it?' Okay, what next?
Then I decided to going back to school. I had one objective in mind. And one objective only, pay off credit card debt. Everything will be peachy keen and fine once I succeed and do this. I go through all the hoops that trying to further your education brings. Studying to the point of exhaustion. Getting nothing but 4 hours of sleep a night. Only to bounce back up and go to a night job that was below any radar of fulfillment. Yet, there was a goal. Pay off credit card debt. Oh what I would do with the money once it’s all paid off. Go here, see there and have a ball! So I get through school. Take my exam and pass it the first time. I’m on cloud nine, ten and eleven. Then comes the anxiety to find a job. By God’s grace I find one within 3 months and began working. You couldn’t have wiped the smile off of my face with all the Bounty in the world. I was working doing what I went to school for. Awesome! Now three years have passed since then. Debt is paid off. And guess what? "What’s next?"
The next big thrill was going out of the country! Hot dog, I’m leaving the U.S. behind. Look out! And the build up begins again. As I filled out my passport application you could have seen every tooth in my head because I was grinning so hard. Thoughts would pop into my head about basking in that Mexican sun. Being served by cabana boys in there barely there uniforms. Then the anxiety built up even further waiting for the passport to arrive in my mailbox. Though I knew I had requested it in ample time I still fretted over whether there would be any delays. And as though I had a charmed life, my passport came earlier than expected. Yes! Thoughts of Mexico whirled in my mind even stronger this time because there was no doubt now that I was headed out soon. Well the trip came, was absolutely filled with all I had hoped it would be (minus the cabana boys) and I came back home. Came back home to complete silence and was back to the old drawing board of working. Soon after, it felt like I never even set foot on Mexico ’s sandy beaches. Again I threw the question out to myself. "What next?"
Is the excitement of the "build up" what keeps us trying the next thing? Or do we often become so desensitized in our lives that after a while when we do something that gives us a rush we’re constantly chasing after the next “high” soon after? Don’t get me wrong every one of the examples I gave above gave me great pleasure along with a sense of accomplishment. Many can’t afford the opportunities that I have received in my blessed life. And trust me I am happy to receive any amount of joy that comes my way but when that joy fades faster and faster as each passing goal is accomplished it’s a bit scary. I don't want to become desensitized and lose that bubbling desire to try new things just because I don't to have that what next feeling again. I can see how one who has everything can easily become bored with life. Is it simply the fact that one does not get a sense of fulfillment in their life which in turn causes them to constantly look for something else to fill the void? Or perhaps that’s just life. You set goals and dreams and try to accomplish them and before you know it your old and gray and have something for the grandchildren to talk about. Life is full of so many exciting things that you can’t possibly try them all. But it sure is fun giving it a shot anyway.
Maybe try setting long term goals if you feel life your life is becoming numb. Anything that takes a while to get the technique of it down can always give you a long road of ups and downs but when you've completed them it's well worth it. Here's a few things to try.
- Learning how to knit or sew and sell what you make.
- Learn the skill of painting with oils.
- Learn to speak a new language.
- Get a piloting license.
- Plan to move to another country.
- Take up photography.
- Go back to school and reinvent yourself.
Setting long term goals will give you the opportunity to set small goals to keep you busy along the way until you complete your vision.
