Boredom
By Izak Smit busters
A not entirely unexpected consequence of the COVID-19-lockdowns is the surge in new hobbies . Being incarcerated in our homes prompted many to engage in a variety of often new pursuits .
You may know someone who has started gardening , baking , brewing ( necessity is the mother of invention when alcohol is banned !), reading , writing , painting or birdwatching . And after being let out from their homes after the hard lockdown in 2020 , many more discovered the joy of hiking , walking , cycling or jogging .
In my household , salad from our little garden , homemade bread and kombucha ( a fermented drink made with tea and yeast featured in the previous edition of The Professional ) from our own brewery , were often on the menu .
Winston Churchill once mused that “ human beings may be divided into three classes :
Those who are billed to death , those who are worried to death , and those who are bored to death ”. Many of us fit all too well into one or all of these categories !
Professionals often find that as they get stuck into their careers , they give up on some interests and hobbies . The result is predictable , but tragic : boredom , restlessness , anxiety , and even depression .
We should not allow this . We should stay curious , never ceasing to learn , study and discover , never losing our sense of adventure . Keeping a sense of adventure and curiosity assists us to lead more interesting and exciting lives , ensuring that we never stop growing and retain our youthful ability to live in the present .
Most children are naturally adventurous and curious . In their imagination they are great explorers or archaeologists , even when they are confined to digging in the backyard . In their worlds they are master painters , actors , singers , dancers , sculptors or scientists .
Paradoxically , as adults , when we finally have the freedom and resources to take on some of the kinds of adventures and interests that we dreamt about in our youth , we lose our drive to take action , to study something new , we lose our comfort with risk . We fall
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