When I feel bored it’s my fault.
Sometimes at work I feel bored. Or sitting on the couch at home. I think, in pretty much every circumstance, it’s actually my fault if I feel bored.
For these reasons:
- So much is available on my phone, including arguably the most powerful knowledge tool invented by humans so far in GPT-4.
- I have agency. I fundamentally believe in an internal locus of control; I can actually affect the outcomes in my life.
- I’ve been not bored before; I can think of plenty of examples of using my skills/opportunities/gifts to tackle something interesting.
Now being a “hyper-productivity, podcasts on 10X speed” type of person sucks too.
The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours. — Amos Tversky
So what is the sense of “bored” meant here? A feeling of “I don’t have something to do and I’m kind of annoyed about it and for some excuse, I’m not doing anything to change this situation.”
Excuse-driven lethargy. That is my fault and worth avoiding.