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| I'M BORED |
I've always said I could entertain myself. It's not easy for some people...I understand that. Our grandsons, in growing up, are not allowed to watch TV--no TV to watch, except one that has a DVD player, used only on weekends. Otherwise, these three boys must learn to "entertain themselves." This means playing outside most of the time, riding their bikes, skateboarding, in-line skating, reading, writing to some extent, building and inventing things, and restricted time on the computer. Not many children today are growing up in this manner. I don't mean to lecture, for I know each family is different.
Let's get back to us as adults. The article I read
stated that those who bored easily might be best suited to jobs such as food
critic, landscape architect, law enforcement, publicist, hotel concierge,
bartender, or hair stylist.
So, whatever job or position you might have held, if
you are an author, what drew you to this profession/hobby/job? I've not written
anything most of my life, but if I had downtime from working (teaching), I read
novels and magazines, collected recipes, did crewel embroidery and made pillows
and framed pictures, sewed and made a few clothes, gardened some, did
crafts...in other words, I was rarely bored.Even when I retired, I have not become bored.
Even at an early age, when I lay down in the dark
and closed my eyes, I almost always invented a little story in my head. Now I
realize I was a writer--I just didn't write anything down. I made up characters
and scenes until I went to sleep. No, I didn't remember them the next day, but
still...the process kept me from being bored.
Now I cannot find time enough to really write.
Bored? Never. I'm too involved with my women's Bible study group, my writer's
group, my longtime ex-teachers group, and my husband. In addition, I am the
world's great "piddler." (If you don't know the meaning of that term,
then you're not one.)So, I ask you.
Are you easily bored?
Or are you constantly trying to find more time to write in your busy life?
If you worked, did your job bore you?
Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
ANGEL AND THE COWBOY
ADDIE AND THE GUNSLINGER
CHARLOTTE AND THE TENDERFOOT
KAT AND THE U.S. MARSHAL
99Cent Dime Novels
Amazon, Smashwords, Monkeybars, B&N
Hi Celia:
ReplyDeleteI think those who are the most easily bored, are really the least bored of all people. These people won’t suffer boredom. They immediately jump to something else that interests them.
A great writer was once asked what book he would take on a desert island if he were going to be marooned for years and could only take one book. Without hesitation he said:
a blank book and a large supply of pencils.
I don’t remember who that writer was today but I still totally agree with him.
Thanks, I enjoyed this topic.
Vince
Hi Celia,
ReplyDeleteI'm like you--I'm NEVER bored. I think it came from being raised practically as an only child, since my sisters were 10 and 12 when I came along, so by the time I was 8 they were both gone to college. I entertained myself for hours--playing my records and dancing, looking at and reading books, working puzzles, etc. All the stuff kids did "back in the olden days".LOL Like you, I'd close my eyes and come up with stories, but I did write some of them down! I have wanted to write ever since I can remember. Now, I'm never bored--always trying to figure out a way to cram more time in my day to do what I want to do/need to do. You know, the other thing is, that as a child, all the other kids were in the same boat back then, so we would ride bikes together, play sandlot baseball, even throw a packing quilt in the shade of the front lawn and all of us READ TOGETHER with a pitcher of lemonade to keep us cool.
Cheryl
I don't allow myself to get bored because I can't stand it. On top of my writing time and the necessary daily stuff, I piddle (yes, I know the word well) with my guitar, play with designs and photography, garden, draw, paint, watch my Pirates (while doing something with my hands or reading), read (of course), or go listen to local music or take a Harley ride. I want to learn Italian, also, but finding the time... ;-)
ReplyDeleteBack when I was doing a retail job and it was slow, I'd clean the counters or straighten shelves.. anything to do something. I could never understand anyone letting themselves be bored! Heavens, there's so much to do!
I'm never bored. There are all these people in my head I can talk to on the rare occasions when I'm caught without a book or my computer.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great topic, Celia.
ReplyDeleteI have spent very little if any time being bored. When I have to wait in the doctor's office, my mind goes into wonder mode. I can daydream so easily.
My dad did not allow us to have a TV when we were growing up. He said it would take away our resourcefulness (I agree now but not then). My sister and I read, learned embroidery, sewing, leanred to play instruments, played board games and proweled the neighborhood for kindred spirits.
My 11 year old niece watches TV sometimes but, if there is something interesting to do, she forgets all about TV. She likes to lay on the deck, watch the fireflies and stars and talk about her dreams. I do think that some parents are glad to get their kids around the TV babysitter to take the pressure off of them but it's a thoroughly bad idea.
Great subject.
I don't get bored very often...there's plenty going on in life to keep me occupied! :) But I do sometimes 'wander' as I try to decide which thing to get to next.
ReplyDeleteVince--You always have a different slant on a topic. I'd never have thought of this, but you maybe right. Bored people don't do much, do they? They sit glued to the tv, or wander around trying to find something of interest to do. I know a couple of women like this. "I'm bored!" This world is too interesting and filled with wonders to waste much time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, as usual...I appreciate reading what you have to say!
Cheryl--I've always heard that only children learned to entertain themselve early one. I was raised like a twin--my younger sister and I were so close in age and size-and we shared everything--I certainly was not bored as a child. She and I found all kind of things to do.
ReplyDeleteHaving an old-fashioned neighborhodd is great for kids. That's the kind of atmosphere our boys live in. Lots of kids, and many of them outside after school or in the summer, finding someone to play with or something to do.
I feel sorry for people who are bored.
Loraine--I can't either, but I can sit and read for long periods if I have nothing else to do at the moment. Your artistic bent keeps you busy--I'd love to see inside your brain and find all that music and art. Mine would have a hole there, instead.
ReplyDeleteCaroline! Your made me laugh. Haven't people--maybe your mother--told you to stop daydreaming, when really you're listening to a conversation in your head? I understand that--scary, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSarah--daydreaming, I guess, is a symptom of being a writer. A doctor's office is the best place to people watch and make up stories about them. Oh, if they only knew!
ReplyDeleteI am proud of your niece. Our boys love to come visit because I give them the tv remote and say, Knock yourselve out. Two of them could sit there 12 hours straight in a stupor mode, staring at the tv. But the third one gets tired of it. He'd rather talk to somebody--he and I have had some great...if not a little weird...conversations.
Thanks!
Yes, I am easily bored! At 60, I'm just learning that I've had ADD all my life. That explains a lot, lol.
ReplyDeleteLove that picture of boredome. Yep, I get like that, too!!!
Debra--I understand the wandering. Maybe that's a way to rest your brain until the right thing comes along.
ReplyDeleteIf I do get bored, it's with something that must be done and I don't want to because I'd rather do something else. That makes sense, doesn't it?
Thank you for visiting.
Jannie--you're not the only adult I know who is ADD-- She's an author and knows why she acts like she does sometimes.She's developed a life-style that works for her...yet at times does feel out of sorts.
ReplyDeleteI have an ADD relative, a young teenage boy, and he has such a hard time finishing anything. He'd much rather talk and chatter than anything.
Read up on it. You might find that very creative people are often ADD--Tom Cruise, for one.And they are most often highly intelligent. Now, don't you feel better? I hope so.
I'm never bored either. The moment my mind clears, characters start talking and pull me back into my WIP. Great post.
ReplyDeleteCelia, I've read the comments here and it is obvious authors are NOT bored people. How could we be with all the people in our heads? However, I am frustrated by not enough hours in a day, nor years in a life to do all the things, read all the books, visit all the wonderful places I'd like to. I suppose as the saying goes, "mans reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a heaven for?"
ReplyDeleteLisa--I so understand--I cannot think about characters or a wip when I'm racing around doing other things. Just keep your mind as clear as you can--not easy, I know, with our modern lifestyles. Good luck to you!
ReplyDeleteLinda- I love the saying. That's exactly it, isn't it? I cannot imagine sitting down, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for something to happen.
ReplyDeleteWe are the ones who make things happen. Often at the end of the day, I lie down that think...my lands, I hardly took a deep breath today.
And still..there's so much I want to do! To write! To see published!
I understand you completely, my friend.
Definitely never bored, Celia. I love writing, and am getting back to doing it again after a long illness. If I have a problem, it's that I have a short attention span and, if not controlled, I'd being doing 100 different things at once. So, I'm being very tough on myself and am devoting most of my time to finishing several stories that are in varied degrees of finished. LOL
ReplyDeleteLynda
The Ocean Between – Romance for the True Romantic
I have been lucky enough to land jobs with some autonomy. I work best in this type of environment because I'm a self-starter. If someone watches over my shoulder or is endlessly critical of my best work, I get antsy, but not bored.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom taught me early on that I could do anything I set my mind to, so I have taken on some big tasks for a small-town gal. I'm too busy to be bored!
We don't allow the word 'bored' to be used in our house. If someone uses it, it seems the world breaks loose on us - so, we simply have banished it. I am hardly ever the 'b' word. I don't have time and can't understand people who are and give up on life. There is so much to do and so much to learn, why wouldn't you take advantage of it? I also used to continue stories on after I'd finished a book and a lot of time rewrite endings of shows and books the way I think they might work better. Sort of arrogant of me. :)
ReplyDeleteI've never been bored in my life. I have, like you, always had stories in my head, or I translate poems into foreign languages, or just look at something and think about how you would recreate it in a painting. And I can't just sit without doing anything. I'm always knitting while I read, or doing a puzzle. Come to think of it, maybe Vince is right. I live in fear of being bored!
ReplyDeleteI'm never bored. I often say, I wish I had enough time to get bored. I’m the type who continuously creates new entertainment, fun, parties, trips, books, you name it. Today I walk up saying to my DH, let's do something different. Let's swim at 8 am in the ocean. He said no way. I went on my own and enjoyed a different little adventure. BTW I look up the word piddle in my dictionary. No, I don't have time to piddle!
ReplyDeleteLynda--I'm glad to see you back and healthy. I did not know you'd had an illness, but I actually did wonder why I did not see your name anymore.
ReplyDeleteI understand starting more than one thing at a time--I'm not ADD, but I've always had more than one story going at a time. Always conflicted about which to work on.
So nice to see you again.
Maggie--well, I knew you were never bored! You have many irons in the fire.
ReplyDeleteI do best in autonomy, too, and believe it or not, teaching did provide that. Principals and administrators did not look over our shoulders. Good for that. I would have hated it.
Thanks for taking a minute to comment!
Paisley--the phrase "giving up on life" is a scary sounding idea. But truly, I do know a couple of women who have done that. No imagination, no activity, no nothing. But a person must help herself...no one can fix another one's problem.
ReplyDeleteI like the thought that you re-write the endings of books and shows. If only you could really do that!
Jenny--I do believe you are much more creative and capable than I will ever think to be! You translate poems into foreign languages? Wow. and Double Wow.
ReplyDeleteI think we have a group of very busy, involved authors and friends, here. It's great!
Thanks for your input--
Mona--oh, goodness, I don't even know the definition of "piddle." I guess I'd better check it out.
ReplyDeleteWhatever it's called, it's a kind of wasting time on trivial things. I do it to break some train of thought I might not like, or just to move around and do something here and there.Very hard to describe--Thanks--now to my dictionary.
Celia,
ReplyDeleteGrowing up as an only child, I was constantly inventing things to do. Sometimes I got in trouble. Anyway, I was one who invented stories when I was young and started reading books as soon as I knew how. I nevwer remember being bored.
I was an only child, growing up in the pre-television era, so I learnt at an early age to entertain myself. It has stood me in good stead over the years - but I too like to piddle around every so often too!
ReplyDeleteI'm never bored. At any given moment, I have at least four things to do to choose from, in a variety of settings...mental, physical, spiritual...I'm constantly asking myself "what is the best use of my time RIGHT NOW?" and that determines what I do next. File some papers, write a blog, call a friend, go grocery shopping, water the plants, clean a closet. Don't get me wrong...sometimes it's rest, or even take a nap, but bored? Never.
ReplyDeleteIlona--I always thought only children would be bored. But my niece was an only child, and she had a fantastic imagination. It's interesting. I had a little sister very close in age, and we were each other's playmates with everything. Until Jr. High...then the big split came!
ReplyDeleteIt's also intriguing that people who are never bored have more things at once they want to do.
Thanks for your note...
Paula--another only child. Ilona is, too. You and I grew up alike in that it was before television days. Everything we did had to be made up, didn't it? No staring at a tv screen and wasting time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input-and thanks for visiting.
Liana--weird, isn't it, that even cleaning out a closet keeps us from getting bored. We're doing that very thing--going through closets and cabinets one at a time. But only one a day--with days inbetween. My dh asked, which closet do you want to clean out next? I tell him...I don't know. I have to wait until it hits me and I can't stand it until I clean it out!He doesn't quite get that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input--