Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom
No one likes to be bored. Two leading psychologists explain what causes
boredom and how to listen to what it is telling you, so you can live a
more engaged life. We avoid boredom at all costs. It makes us feel
restless and agitated. Desperate for something to do, we play games on
our phones, retie our shoes, or even count ceiling tiles. And if we
escape it this time, eventually it will strike again. But what if we
listened to boredom instead of banishing it? Psychologists James
Danckert and John Eastwood contend that boredom isn’t bad for us. It’s
just that we do a bad job of heeding its guidance. When we’re bored, our
minds are telling us that whatever we are doing isn’t working-we’re
failing to satisfy our basic psychological need to be engaged and
effective. Too many of us respond poorly. We become prone to accidents,
risky activities, loneliness, and ennui, and we waste ever more time on
technological distractions. But, Danckert and Eastwood argue, we can let
boredom have the opposite effect, motivating the change we need. The
latest research suggests that an adaptive approach to boredom will help
us avoid its troubling effects and, through its reminder to become aware
and involved, might lead us to live fuller lives. Out of My Skull
combines scientific findings with everyday observations to explain an
experience we’d like to ignore, but from which we have a lot to learn.
Boredom evolved to help us. It’s time we gave it a chance.
1 / 1
Out of My Skull The Psychology of Boredom by James Danckert James Danckert John D. Eastwood (z-lib.org).epub
