Boredom PDF

¨ I can’t be bothered…I’m just not into this…I’m tired of focusing on this…it’s too simple for me…it’s too complex to understand…this is too repetitive…this is too new and I can’t follow it…it’s ‘killing me’ ¨ Boredom can happen in relation to content but largely because of the rate-of-informationpr...

¨ I can’t be bothered…I’m just not into this…I’m tired of focusing on this…it’s too simple for me…it’s too complex to understand…this is too repetitive…this is too new and I can’t follow it…it’s ‘killing me’ ¨ Boredom can happen in relation to content but largely because of the rate-of-informationprocessing… too fast & boredom ensues; too slow & boredom results…. – our whole academic system revolves around ‘learning pace’… what courses you’re allowed to take based on which ‘prerequisites’ ¨ What is boredom? How do we understand and measure it psychometrically? I often find myself at “loose ends,” not knowing what to do Trouble finding cohesion (opposite to MIL) Many things I have to do are repetitive and monotonous. Trouble finding purpose (opposite to MIL) I don’t feel motivated by most things I do. Trouble finding cohesion/purpose/mattering A Short Boredom Proneness Scale (continued) Struk et al., 2015 In most situations, it’s hard for me to find something to do or see to keep me interested… cohesion Much of the time, I just sit around doing nothing… purpose It takes more stimulation to get me going than most people…. cohesion ¨ Subjective state ¨ Linked to better mental and physical health Coherence Purpose Mattering Multidimensional State Boredom Scale MSBS ¨ Is Boredom the opposite of Flow? Flow Revisited challenge-skill balance (competent to meet high situational demands) [must seek & confront situations with high demands] action-awareness merge (‘doing’ spontaneously without having to think first) clear goals (strong sense of what one wants to do) [must find out what it is you want to do] unambiguous feedback (knowing how well one is doing while performing) be unafraid to confront the truth of unambiguous feedback] sense of control (control over what one is doing) concentration/focus on task-at-hand (complete task focus) [must develop attentional control] loss of self consciousness (minimal pride, vanity, pretentiousness - the ‘doing’ is most rewarding) 8. transformation of time (time passes differently, less tediously and more interestingly than normal) 9. autotelic experience (flow experience is rewarding). (Csikzentmihalyi and Csikzentmihalyi, 1988) No autotelic activity…no enjoyment in ‘doing’ Time passes slowly Stuckness Moodiness Loneliness Indecisiveness Agitated Want fun..can’t find it Attention span shortens MSBS Nothing exciting unfolds without some boring preparation Our ability to master ‘boring prep’ determines how exciting life can be There is a training function in our brains that becomes uniquely devoted – to sports, music, science, relationships, spirituality, etc…doing ‘your thing’ Overload – too much novelty and too little time to ‘digest’ the new information Underload – repetition with insufficient novelty to arouse interest Too much & you experience disadvantages; incoherence in lifestyle – lack of achievement, control, and agency Boredom involves relinquishing agency and control – what you don’t know about you can’t control or interact with creatively How to decide on what to focus on? Motivational Interviewing: Preparing for Focused Change Reviewing Miller & Rollnick, 2002 ¨ ¨ ¨ Empathy is derived from the (empatheia) Starting with ‘empatheia’ German philosophers created a word translated by American psychologist, Titchener as ‘empathy’. Self-empathy is a central term in non-violent communication (NVC) where the aim is resolving conflicts from internalized ‘micro’ levels to macro levels of organizational change ¨ Self-empathy reflects varying levels of self-awareness, assessed by four questions: - What am I now Observing? - now Feeling? - now Needing? - now Requesting from someone else or myself ? People lose self-empathy (& interest) when distressed Instead of well-regulated responses, they engage in emotionally driven behaviours discrepant with held values The incoherence is anxiety provoking, and people avoid confronting their ‘discrepancies’ A fragile self acceptance results and discrepancies are suppressed & repressed Discrepancies are associated with emotional upsets re: personal change that cause people to become stuck in an ambivalence that impedes conflict resolution Past discrepancies result from premature, unfinished instances of decision-making that influence a pessimistic view In MI, discrepancy is met with increasing awareness Eventually the intensity of the ‘discrepancy experience’ overrides status quo inertia (i.e. ‘stuck’ ambivalence, suspended decision-making)..one engages in meaningful change MI methods achieves this shift within your self rather than relying on external or coercive motivators (e.g., pressure from parents or spouse, threat of unemployment) ¨ Pros of Doing and the Pros of Not Doing become ‘counter-balanced’ Inaction and non-attentiveness results ¨ Yes, I do want to = ¨ Stuck in neither doing nor not doing ¨ No, I don’t want to ¨ ¨ ¨ Deciding on whether the ‘Yes I do’ outweighs the ‘No, I don’t’ or vice versa Deciding rather than staying stuck in ambivalence Engaging rather than Disengaging – or decisively Disengaging so one can Engage somewhere else LOW IMPORTANCE, LOW CONFIDENCE ¨ ¨ Don’t see change as important Don’t believe you can succeed HIGH IMPORTANCE, LOW CONFIDENCE ¨ ¨ Desire to change Low confidence about changing LOW IMPORTANCE, HIGH CONFIDENCE ¨ ¨ Don’t consider change as important Confident you can change HIGH IMPORTANCE, HIGH CONFIDENCE ¨ ¨ Change is important Confidence is high about changing Confidence Rulers What number are you at ____ & not 0? What would it take to go from ____ to a higher number Importance Rulers Why is importance at ___ & not 0? What would it take to go from ____ to a higher number? Evocative Questions What would be a good first step? What obstacles do you foresee? What could you try differently here? } Reviewing Past Successes } } } Look for changes you did on your own Ask about the ‘whys’ & the attributes of past successes Personal Strengths & Supports } Ask yourself to identify personal attributes & resources that helped you change ¨ ¨ ¨ What concerns you most about…(your status quo condition)? in the long run? Suppose you continue as you have been, without changing, what do you imagine are the worst things that could happen? How much do you know about what can happen, if you continue (with the status quo behaviour) ? ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Guide yourself to remember times before the problem emerged & compare them with the present: “Do you remember when things were going well? What changed?” “What were things like before you started [SQ behaviour]? What were you like back then?” “Can you identify the differences between the ‘you’ of 10 years ago & the ‘you’ of today?” “How has your [problematic behaviour] changed you as a person, or stopped you from growing & moving forward?” ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Looking forwards entails envisioning a changed future Relevant questions: “If you decide to change, what do you hope might be different in the future?” “How would you like things to turn out 10 years from now, 5 years from now?” “Suppose you don’t change, but continue as you have been. What do you think your life will be like 5 or 10 years from now?” ¨ ¨ Clarify values by asking yourself what you hold most strongly? What goals / values are central? Which values clarify this choice point (Status Quo vs. other) at this time? How would each possible resolution move you towards or away from important values and goals? ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ When there’s struggle with the practical aspects of change, elicit hypothetical thinking: “Suppose you succeed & are looking back on it: What was ‘it’ that most likely worked? How did ‘it’ happen?” “Suppose this one obstacle wasn’t there. If the obstacle was removed, how might you go about making this change?” Using your imagination, in trying again (to change), what might be the best way to try?” ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Simple ratio of positive-to-negative experience, obtainable from a simple 1 – 10 mood score It reflects the fact that people rarely feel 100% positive or negative about life Even if feeling 90% positive, there still can be a 10% proportion of experience causing some (minimal) distress The same is true when feeling 90% negative. There’s often a 10% sector of experience that’s positive & potentially useful in attempts to transform the other 90%. ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ AB is closely connected to decisional balance (how ready a person is to change) It’s hard to be decisive about attempting change when feeling negative, generally. The more negative the present AB is (the closer to 1 and the furthest from 10), the less motivated & confident you’ll be The more likely your decisional balance will be negative (why try anything new when everything seems to turn out negative?) or neutral ¨ ¨ Attend to your AB (affect balance) & support improvement (towards more positive/less negative cognition & affect) Few changes can positively influence AB as much as the prospect of a valued positive change ¨ ¨ ¨ The less you ‘give in’ to boredom prone-ness, the more control you have to decide what you’re interested in and to pursue and cultivate interests…the more interested you are, the more MIL evolves via cohesion, purpose and mattering The more interest…the more capacity for flow You are in control and applying motivational interviewing methods can move you from the deadness of ambivalence to the vitality of ‘flow’ and Meaning In Life