Groan! Another day. It’s barely started and you’re already bored.

You think about the things that need to be done. Necessary stuff like washing dishes, folding clothes, sweeping the floor. OMG, how boring is that!

You think about how you could pick up your paint brush or needlework. What about the project that’s been sitting in the basket for months and months? Waiting like a forlorn puppy…

You think about how you could take the dog for an extra walk. Or you could ride your bike. Or you could go visit your friend.

Nothing motivates you. You’re too tired. It’s too much effort.

When it comes to making excuses, you’re the world’s greatest! You can create a good excuse out of scraps.

After all, there’s nothing wrong with your mind. It’s working just fine. You’ve just got all those monkeys bouncing off the walls of your head, screaming and screeching — with boredom.

I’ve had a case of the winter doldrums complicated by lack of motivation. My good friend has had a case of the blues.

Whatever you want to call it, another word for it is probably boredom.

Boredom, apathy, ennui, sluggishness, frustration, dissatisfaction, weariness

And worse, the more bored you are, the more tired you feel. It’s a vicious cycle that sucks the life out of you!

Stop the vicious cycle!

There are lots of ways to battle boredom, if you can just get up enough motivation to do it. My friend makes a list. She says it helps her focus and nudges her to get things done. Another friend pets cats at the Humane Society. Some people cook and others clean house.

One way to win the battle against boredom and deficient motivation is to set yourself a routine and make yourself stick to it. Here’s a sample of mine:

I have an agreement with myself that I will, every day,

• Sit at my drawing desk and make something, even if it’s just three lines on blank paper. Even if all I do is color some backgrounds for future paintings.
• Stare at my computer and write… something… even if I start it with “I don’t know what to write, but… I’m just going to type and see what comes out.”
• Stretch my muscles with a yoga flow, tai chi, shake my hips and belly dance a bit.
• Do the ordinary stuff of life: make the bed, shower, eat breakfast, feed my fuzzy buddies.

And I admit, some days it’s a struggle to do that much. Some days I really do only draw three lines and shake my hips six times. Or not. Some days, motivation is severely lacking.

But! I have a daily routine that helps me move through ordinary life regardless of my state of motivation. At the end of the day I can honestly say that I got something done and feel good about myself for it. That’s important.

Those are normal, everyday kinds of things that you can easily do.

But where’s the motivation? Do you need something to push you out of the rut to get started?

First off, change your mindset

I really mean that. Change your mind. Do you hear yourself saying something like, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.”

Here’s a little background: Your subconscious mind believes whatever you say. You keep repeating that you’re bored. That you’re too tired to do anything. So of course that’s what happens.

Change your mind. Stop talking about how bored you are. Instead, encourage yourself. How?

Imagine you’re talking to your Inner Child, the one complaining that you never do anything fun. How would you encourage her?

Say things you’d like to believe, such as, “I’m sure today will be a good day and I’ll come across something interesting.”

Or how about this:

Today is a good day for a good day.

That’s my favorite.

You’ve heard it before: If you keep repeating it to yourself, you’re gonna believe it.

Here’s what not to do: Don’t follow that great statement with something like, “Nothing good ever happens for me.”

If your habit is to wallow in negativity, you might say something like this: “I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but today is bound to be a good day.”

Change your shirt

Hey, do you have a shirt or skirt that makes you feel… hmmm, hot and sexy? Smarter than average? A pair of shoes that just beg you to dance?

Choose a bit of clothing that makes you feel good. Designate it as your Go-To for when the boredom blues creep in.

Now, this is important:

Wear it often until you get in the habit of reaching for it whenever the blues of boredom slip through the cracks.

You’ve got a great imagination, so slip it on and use your Go-To to imagine yourself feeling vigorous and animated. You feel on top of the world.

You can imagine life having meaning again! You can do it!

Peruse Pinterest

I’m laughing at myself (again) because Pinterest is one of my favorite ways for unwinding before bedtime as well as absorbing new ideas and things to do. I have Boards for painting and drawing, crafty stuff, camping, clothing remakes, Boho decorating, yoga, tai chi, and belly dancing. I can open a pin and easily see how it’s done.

Pinterest makes my eyes light up. My imagination gets a head start and runs rampant. Oh, the possibilities! (Yes, I am going to make that Boho string curtain for my bedroom window.)

Get Physical

Yeah, that, too. LOL.

Don your dance clothes and turn on the music. It’s hard to be bored when you’re dancing to a beat and singing at the top of your lungs.

YouTube is filled with free classes to learn , tai chi, yoga, and belly dance. I advocate for all of those because they offer levels that people who are less spry can excel at, as well as challenging flows and choreo that people who can bend like a pretzel or wiggle like a puppy will find exciting.

And Bonus! Half the fun of belly dancing is creating costumes from thrift shop finds. Imagine how blissfully happy your Inner Child will be, cutting and stitching, playing with sparkly things, dressing in a swishy skirt and some beads.

Imagine your blood flowing hot and strong when you wiggle your hips to a rolling drumbeat, feeling the rhythm all the way to your toes.

Get Some Nature

Haul your bored best buddy out the door and get some nature. Your City Park might be just the ticket for a quick, natural mood boost.

Hannah, the sweet German Shepherd who owns my ex, takes him out for hikes in the woods.

My wise BF knows I enjoy having real life experiences for birthday gifts. He showed me around the Denver Botanical Garden. I loved the assortment of variety — water features, bonsai trees, flowers, round-stone mosaic paths. Another birthday followed us underground to hike the breathtaking Manitou Cave of the Winds.

We traveled to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs twice because it’s so spectacular. I got great pics of red rocks silhouetted by fantastical skies. If you like landscape scenery, you’ll love Garden of the Gods as well as the striking red stone near Moab UT.

We spend happy hours just wandering around, seeing what there is to see. The bonus is that we enjoy each other’s company more than we would if we had stayed home, watching TV, being bored…

Here’s the science: Studies show that getting out in nature increases vitality, happiness, and satisfaction, and I know that to be true from my own happy experience. [i] You don’t have to be the outdoorsy type to enjoy the park.

That kind of good stuff belongs to you, too, just simply because you’re an Earthling.

A bit of self-hypnosis helps

Self-hypnosis is something you do every day, unconsciously, so it’s a good idea to harness this powerful source for your own use. Not convinced?

Here’s how you do it: You’re in self-hypnosis when you daydream, when you’ve arrived at your destination without remembering how you got there, when you are “in the zone.”

Here’s an easy one for self-confidence that you can use for other stuff as well as the boredom blues (Hand, 2017, page 54).[ii]

“If you focus your attention on simply breathing, then you relax deeper with every exhale. If you notice your toes, then wiggle them a couple of times, you understand that stretching your toe muscles helps your whole body feel more comfortable. As you become aware of your hands and fingers, you realize that every breath relaxes you deeper and deeper. You understand that consciously relaxing your body helps you breathe more and more easily as you feel even more comfortable.

For a moment, remember a time when you feel great and have complete confidence in something you are doing… Notice how you’re standing, breathing, be aware of the look on your face… Notice that you feel confident.

Begin to discover that confident feeling in your body now and expand your awareness to imagine or even pretend for a moment that you have that confidence already.. And notice how that event is different now.

Imagine this positive body posture, this confident look on your face, this feeling of success, and extend it out to the next time you need it. It’s easy to imagine that your needs have been met before and you are filled with confidence now.”

Isn’t it amazing how much better you feel now? Can you imagine how your life will change if you just take a few minutes for yourself every day and then imagine feeling better?

Or You Can Do It the Easy Way with Hypnosis / Life Coaching

If you want

• clarity to
• live a life you love,
• getting paid to do work that feeds your soul,
• with a home life you love to go home to,

then I can help you do just that because I see the real you, and hypnosis combined with life coaching is the easiest and quickest way I know of to make those deep changes you crave.

Contact me for more information.

Your birthright of happy vitality

It’s true that a goodly portion of happy vitality is your birthright. You deserve it, so go claim it!

Or you can sit around sighing and griping, being bored out of your mind. I know it might be hard to get yourself motivated, but you can get up and moving and then start the ball rolling. It’s your choice.

What are you going to choose? Are you going to be the one who bores her Inner Child to tears? Why not try dancing in the rain? Take your e-device to the coffee shop and people-watch. Stroll through the park and watch the leaves flutter.

There are many ways to bring in more color and spice, making your life something you look forward to every day.

Be that person, the one who firmly believes that she has control over her own thoughts.

Imagine this: Today is a good day for a good day!

About the photo by Peg McMahan, taken at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO.

[i] Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0149777

[ii] Adapted from Magic Words and Language Patterns by Karen Hand (2017). Chicago IL: ReMind Publishing.