BOREDOM. · High-Ticket Synthesizer School

Jul '23 (edited) in Other

BOREDOM.

and it made me think, our generations biggest problem is overstimulation (probably this is why videos about Dopamine Detox and Outwork Everyone By Being Bored gets so much views). We are aware of the problem, and even the solution, the only thing is that the solution is too painful, and after a while I find myself going back to old habits enabling the recommended feed on youtube, re-following people on Twitter and I'm back at the same position,

I think this is a belief problem, we believe that watching educational youtube videos are more productive than boredom, and we justify to our brain to indulge in pleasure. but in reality, you already know what to do you already have the necessary information, it's just your brain creating the perfect sales letter on why you should watch that Sam Ovens video again instead of working.

I believe the answer is boredom and dopamine detox mode.

but first on boredom, our current default state is distraction, when we spend all day in front of the computer and it's our default state we will find ourselves checking emails and social media between tasks, I believe instead we should be more intentional about our tech use, and only sit down in front of the computer when we need to do something, and there is a clear intention, if you don't have any intention just go on a walk, sit down, be with your thoughts, and journal, this will help you be more mindful and consume content more intentionally (if you decide to do that)

Now onto dopamine detox mode: it's a period of your life, when you are super conscious about the cheap dopamine you let into your life. Do you really need to bring your phone to the toilet? Put that mayonnaise on the food? Or listen to that business podcast while you do chores around the house?

sometimes the answer is yes, but more often than not, our brain just justifies these stuff, to get more dopamine but avoiding the cheap dopamine maybe more productive than the stuff you learn in that business podcast. I believe mindfulness is more important than the extra knowledge because if we are always busy we won't let our brains come up with new creative ideas.

You may say that boredom is painful, okay but compared to what? Dopamine addiction is also painful, when you can't watch a 1hr video in full without checking your phone or when everything feels grey and boring, if you embrace that little boredom everything will become interesting if you give into that boredom everything else will become boring it's a choice we make every day.

I think you probably don't have a problem with gaming, p*rn or fast food because it's hard to justify for your brain, and there is no clear upside but I'm pretty sure you are struggling with social media to some extent, I think this is the hardest one to beat, binge watching youtube, checking Twitter and your emails can be justified and there are upsides and this is why it's so hard to get rid of these stuff (I don't say you should get rid of them just be more intentional of how you use it.)

So here is the best and weirdest strategy to beat social media addiction:

unfollow everyone
delete and turn off history (on youtube)
follow accounts that you are not that interested*
delete the app from phone, block it on computer

* this is an interesting step because if you follow accounts that you are not interested in you will quickly give in and go back, if you follow accounts you like the app will be addictive, so you have to find the stuff in between, lets say you follow some car theme pages and some lame motivational pages (for me this is stuff that I don't hate but I also don't like so it feels like if the algorithm just wouldn't work.)

so basically after you follow all these steps you delete the app and you try to stay away from it, but if somehow you find yourself redownloading it or logging in again, you will come to the conclusion that actually this is pretty boring and it's not as fun as you remembered. So you delete it again, and you never go back, this is how I beat my Instagram, Tiktok and Twitter addiction, because till you believe there is something interesting in that locked room you will always find a way to pick the lock and get in, but once you realize that there is nothing interesting you will no longer need to lock the door and it will be effortless to stay away from it.

note: I believe it's still important to consume content so we can understand the world better and so we can grow, the important thing is to do it intentionally, I'm also not some guru, I write this down, because I'm also struggling with this, and it's a reminder to myself, and maybe someone else will also find this useful.

learn more:

Boredom

Do Nothing

Intentionalism

PS: I don't think I fully understand this topic, so if you discovered something useful that you would want to add or debate feel free to do it, if it's useful I will add it to the post.

23 comments