Action Restores Agency

Bored Out of My Gourd? Do One Thing.

How tiny actions can break monotony, challenge limiting beliefs, and restart a stalled day.

Photo by Camila Quintero Franco on Unsplash

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When motivation never arrives, movement can still knock on the door.

Boredom sat beside me like an uninvited guest who knew my name. It could have answered to Ennui, Tedium, or Woody Woodpecker. I was detached from everything around me. My dull little world offered about as much chance of engagement as a philosophy major in a life drawing class.

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My motivation was lower than the grass after the sheep moved on. What I brought to the table of wellness and fitness looked like a salamander salad. If I were the bathroom on a commercial airplane, the sign on my door would read “unoccupied,” thanks to poor focus and decision fatigue.

I’m on the couch in my pajamas, waiting for motivation like it has my address and plans to arrive. I couldn’t get up to tidy the nursery even if Mary Poppins barged in and forced a duet with Dick Van Dyke. My biggest obstacle isn’t the mess; it’s finding a message of self-compassion.

After enough idle hours, boredom starts talking back. Mine speaks in old assumptions.

I carry limiting assumptions about myself. They make me anxious and push me to avoid responsibilities. They are maladaptive, as stale and unhelpful as my present boredom. They speak in short, harsh lines: I can’t do it. I’m not good enough. I don’t deserve success. I’ll fail if I try.

Photo by Alex Moliski on Unsplash

These assumptions make me dodge opportunities I might enjoy. They drain my confidence before I even try something new. They become self-fulfilling prophecies. I act in ways that prove them right, then call it fate. They keep me fenced inside a comfort zone, and much of my present boredom lives there.

Yet I’ve found one thing that helps in monotony: the principle of “do one thing." Anything counts. Make a circle with your thumb and finger. Clap three times. Pull a surprise face. If I can do one thing, I can do another. Then another.

Even if I’m bored out of my gourd, I can still do one thing. Then the next. A day can change that way. So can a life.

Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash

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I write about addiction to substances, behaviors, and the thistles of the soul. Human rights are God-given rights.

Thank you for reading my article! I appreciate your responses. Just one or two words will do.

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I am a retired addiction counselor with more than four decades of experience walking alongside men and women in recovery. I like to write about faith, human dignity, aging, and the deeper spiritual currents beneath addiction. This is my exploration of the idea that every struggle hides a longing for meaning.

I am a member of the Baha’i Faith and believe that unity and compassion are essential to healing.