Study shows pain is more bearable than boredom…Why do we distract ourselves?
Rising inflation may do us some good after all. Otherwise, how can we appreciate what we already have unless there are barriers? Can most people in America honestly say they value every single thing in their homes? Everything that they possess? Or do we waste food, wear outfits only once, over spend on black Friday and other holidays? Much worse than our rising inflation problem lies a underappreciation gratitude problem. But what is driving us to continue to feed this hungry ghost of ego gratification and how far can it go? Study shows that pain is more bearable than boredom…why do we distract ourselves?
“Learning to choose is hard. Learning to choose well is harder. And learning to choose well in a world of unlimited possibilities is harder still, perhaps too hard.”
― Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
I always use so much time picking a movie when i’m going to watch one. I have a watchlist on imdb, but i can’t decide on a movie on my list either. I usually end up scrolling through Netflix, Hbo, Prime video, all the streaming services i have again and again for anything new to watch. It’s so much to chose from but yet it’s so difficult.
Taking from an online forum
We’ve all been there; no judgment here..After a long hard work week, you find yourself happy to watch a movie or show. Yet it takes you the length of an episode to find something to watch. The average person spends 1.3 years looking for a movie to watch. Yes, our sedentary lifestyle is killing us. A 2014 study thought that giving people a chance to sit quietly and not be distracted would give them a chance to unwind. The results would surprise them, and the participants suffered.
It turns out that people hated it. They found the experience so unpleasant, many of them preferred physical pain over the discomfort of boredom. When given the opportunity to self-administer a mild electric shock with a button, 67 percent of men and 25 percent of women pressed it at least once to help pass the time. One particularly miserable person shocked himself an incredible 190 times.
Washington press article
Ironically, according to Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa, when we fight boredom were fighting ourselves. Rather than be viewed as a waste of time, boredom should be embraced as a chance to know ourselves. Sitting practice is crucial in taming the ego in Buddhism by sitting. Sitting allows us to feel the wave come and go of the ego wants. We begin to detach from and learn to distinguish our desires. The better we develop a relationship with boredom, the less stressful our lives become.
In conclusion, it was the best and worst of times. Learn to appreciate the small things, practice sitting meditation, and make peace with your boredom. You’re doing great if you learn to sit and cultivate a relationship with your boredom for longer than it takes to pick a movie. However, if you can practice sitting meditation longer than it takes you to watch an entire movie, is even better.