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8 Inspirational Quotes About Being Bored

8 Inspirational Quotes About Being Bored

6 September 2017

If you’ve ever found yourself staring blankly at a wall or failing to come up with something to fill your time, then you’ve experienced boredom. Boredom is a very common feeling. Despite the fact that we have more activities and information filling our days than ever before – work, family, friends, travel, the internet, books, movies – boredom is still a part of life.

Boredom is usually associated with tedium, monotony, fatigue, routine and even laziness. However, boredom can also be productive, motivating, or even peaceful. We’ve rounded up our favourite 8 quotes about being bored. These aren’t boring quotes; they’re interesting ones that reveal the many different aspects of boredom.

  1. "Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?"
    The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, scolding us for indulging in boredom.
  2. "There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people."
    The writer G.K. Chesterton, reminding us that boredom comes from within.
  3. "You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you."
    The artist Andy Warhol on finding excitement in the everyday.
  4. "Boredom is the dream bird that hatches the egg of experience. A rustling in the leaves drives him away."
    The philosopher Walter Benjamin, on the magical inspiration to which boredom can lead.
  5. "If we allow our ‘high creativity’ to remain alive, we will never be bored. We can pray, standing in line at the super market. Or we can be lost in awe at all the people around us, their lives full of glory and tragedy, and suddenly we will have the beginnings of a painting, a story, a song."
    The writer Madeleine L'Engle, on the latent creativity hidden inside boredom.
  6. "I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring."
    The late, great David Bowie on his idiosyncratic wanderings.
  7. "People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day."
    The author A.A. Milne, writing about embracing and accepting boredom in his classic Winnie-the-Pooh.
  8. "To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace."
    The writer Milan Kundera, emphasising the potential peace that boredom brings.

As these quotes about being bored show, there are many ways to approach boredom and your approach will dictate how you deal with it. Boredom can encourage you to do some soul-searching, push you to make necessary changes in your life or inspire you to create something amazing. There are lots of things you can do when you are bored, including starting a new hobby or taking an online course.

If you want to put your boredom to good use, why not sign up to volunteer with the Army Cadet Force? Working with us a couple evenings a week and occasional weekends is a great way to fight boredom while gaining new skills and giving back to a community of young people. The ACF has over 9,000 adult volunteers across the UK who train young cadets and manage organisational processes. There are lots of opportunities to get involved, and we promise – you won’t be bored.