Read the article and watch the video at http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181016-how-to-boost-your-mood-with-one-10-minute-exercise Discuss the presented ideas/concepts. Share with us your experiences and knowledge.
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I agree with the importance of boredom. If you are never bored how can you appreciate doing something?
ReplyDeleteI found that the best ideas come when I just let everything go.
It can be a solution to a problem that I face or just some new creative idea - and when it happens - boredom goes away and it's replaced with joyfull and creative work.
I think that smartphones and all the social media are a big problem for creativity.
They constantly distract us with notifications and they always keep us busy looking at something.
Because of that we don't have a possibility to think, gather thoughts and really focus.
That's why I do my best to minimalize usage of my smartphone to only usefull purposses.
I improve my mood by talking with somebody. Other people usually can notice other side of my problem or misery. Doing everyday a journal will not work in my life. I have problem with doing such thing regularly. Once I listened to audiobook of Richard Wiseman and there were similar advice. It sounded convincingly, but I didn’t apply it in my life.
ReplyDeleteObservations about boredom are very accurate. Sometimes I think about problems while doing something which not engaged my mind for example cleaning and it really works.
I agree with techniques mentioned in the article. We need to truly appreciate doing nothing more often. We are constantly rushing in our lives, with new tasks, jobs or even friends instead just focusing on why we do this. We don't remember why it felt good or don't give enough time for this.
ReplyDeleteFor myself I try to meditate and think about good things that I am grateful for at least every second day. I am not saying that I'm doing this everyday but I'm trying to achieve that.
It also helps to turn off your laptop and phone after the day at work to not be tempted and disable notifications on lock screen of your private phone to not be distracted.
I also have to agree with most of the article. At first, I've got similar experience at work, when I had to do tons of manual, boring tasks which lead me to came up with algoritm solution just to move on from it. As well as I can clearly remember when I suffer lack of internet connection for few days - magicaly I found out energy to study or to do my daily obligations. Asking yourself questions same or similar to presented above can also cheer us up about our day/life as whole.
ReplyDeletePart of the article that I've got least common with is setting up mood by described emotions. I don't work this way and basicly I'm trying not to be so offended by the things that happens on daily basis which lead to be more happy in longer period.
The presented article is very revealing to me. I completely forgot that it is worth freeing your thoughts, which can be helpful in solving a difficult problem.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to improving well-being, in my opinion the cause of sadness is very important. As mentioned in the article, keeping a diary is not a recommended way to treat the clinical form of depression. In my case, the reduced mood is related to not doing what i have to do, postponing such actions. I do not think that keeping a diary and noting small things that made me feel better for the moment, would result in a lasting improvement in well-being. Perhaps I am a slave of the following scheme: an unfinished task -> feeling unwell, finished project -> well-being.
The article inspired me to try to go beyond my scheme.
I like the point that boredom increases creativity and productivity :D I must to show that idea to my boss, then maybe he will let me and my coleagues to rest for some time in a work-day, to our productivity and creativity at the end of the day our productivity was increased also. I liked the idea so much that I have still a smile on my face.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless I think mood depends of many factors, personal and exterior ones, subjective and objective ones, and there is no magical 10 points to get rid of all issues to get mood better in every situation. But for every situation we could find some adjusted solutions for sure. Also there are some universal coefficients which influence our mood regardless on situation and they are f.ex. good diet, making sport, keep attitude focused on self-development etc.
Despite the above I additionally like to meditate sometimes. Personally I think, to have a good mood most often, we should work on it all the time, with discipline, not only for short moments from time to time.
I agree with the idea of "rewinding" the day to find as many positives as possible but I think we shouldn't exactly stick to the questions mentioned in the article.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, a lot of people don't receive praise or feedback but it doesn't necessarily means they day was wasted. Some everyday activities just aren't noticed that easily.
I also agree with the theory that boredom may increase creativity but I believe it's not really new concept. We all know the anecdote about Isaac Newton and apple tree which is great example that even few hundreds years ago people noticed boredom boosts creativity.
I agree with the importance of boredom. But not the full meaning of this concept.
ReplyDeleteWhen I come back from work, I like to "get bored". Sit on the couch, turn off thinking. Quiet and stay alone. Far from people.
I think that social media are a big problem for people. Especially for concentration.
Always someone is writing, any notifications etc. how to learn in such conditions? How to rest? How to focus attention, for example, on a book?
I've been thinking about it for some time, that's why I first uninstalled facebook from my phone and then deleted my account on this website. The world has become better.
I don't agree with the article. Personally, boredom depresses me and causes even greater aversion to work or creativity.
ReplyDeleteI work best when I have a lot of work. Even fatigue can be building up for me.
Of course, there is also time to rest, not too long, because I getting lazy again
Probably because I'm lazy by nature to give 100% of myself, I have to work a lot.
The best mental rest is the sport that gives energy to act. Physical fatigue fuels the mind. But I agree with the meaning of boredom. If you never get bored, how can you appreciate doing something? But it goes both ways because if you've never had a hard job you can't appreciate rest/boredom.
I completely agree with Ewelina's point of view. I really don't like to be bored, I tried to have more then one type task that need to be doe during a day, some are creative and some are repetitive, this allows to to divert to the other type of task when I feel tired or stuck on something. Of course its also important to have a break, but I wouldn't call that getting bored, it rather a time to think without any more inputs then I already collected, sport is good for that, taking a dog to walk (and leaving your phone) works as well.
DeleteAs for the boosting up mood article, I think this are just trick to fool you mind, and if you come back to the reality you may find yourself event more down then before. If your in a bad mood it means that there is something that you need to fix rather then fool.
I think that "retrospection" of everyday life is a good idea. But personally, I don't think I can use this technique every day.
ReplyDeleteI can't answer all six questions every day.
However, on a weekly basis, I will be able to answer all these questions without any problems.
And at least in my case it will be more beneficial.
Boredom is an important aspect of everyday life. I think boredom can bring freshness and creativity to our work.
I used to hear about research that checked the speed of solving mathematical problems. There were three groups of people.
People resolving tasks without a break, people with a break of several minutes and people playing video games during the break.
It turned out that the fastest tasks were solved by the people who played during the break.
This proves that boredom and relaxation helps to solve everyday problems.
I actually have mixed feelings about boredom. Indeed, while doing nothing, the most briliant ideas can crop up out of the sudden, usually as a solution for the problem I for instance facing at work. However, it does not work particularly well when I am in low spirit, then boredom can only deteriotate my depression - strange, distressing thoughts can come to my mind (I believe the same applies to other people as well). In such a case, I resort to social medias, and contact my friends to talk/meet. The other way of improving my mood and working off bad emotions is to do some workout - what is important, with physical exercises, good ideas may also pop out into my mind.
ReplyDeleteFeeling bored is one of many feeings human beeing experience in everyday life. Boredom isn't good or bad, rather can be seeing as negative one becouse people believe that modern society requires you to be active all the time. In my opinion just thinking about stuff while daydreaming is not enough to help people with anxiety. After taking a break doing nothing you should at least take an idea you come up with and do next step. It can be a note or sketch of your concept but will give you some much more then just a tought becouse you have something tangible to work with. Brilliant idea begins with a simple tought but evolve in time when we solve problem and its so much easier to work when we have something on paper.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really good idea to implement these 6 parts daily journal to live. This exercise can help you to think about day better, no matter how rough it was. Sometimes we don’t appreciate how much good people life is giving us and we are only focusing on bad things that happened.
ReplyDeleteRegarding to boredom I can’t really relate to. Most of my life is spinning around work and learning new things. If I don’t work/learn I’m resting. So in that case I think that boredom is luxury for only few people that can experience it. Despite this I think it is really good medium to focus on bigger things and rethink your day maybe to focus on good things that happened to you today 😊.
Generally, boredom can increase our creativity and motivation but it should be used properly, for short periods of time.
ReplyDeleteThen we can just relax and think about something more important than our daily duties or find some solution when we're stuck with some decision. But it depends, some people prefer to spend time in many various ways or even wasting time on social media just to avoid situation, when they have nothing to do.
Also, I can agree that helping others and for example cooking simple dinner for your family makes you satisfied much more than preparing something fancy only for yourself.
Will use mentioned six hints from the article on my daily basis and would check how it could work in my life.
To be honest I’m sceptical to Ten Minutes to Hapiness program. In my opinion depression is a serious disease that should be treated seriously. Six short questions shouldn’t be treated as a cure. Although I'm not negative to that exercise because it's not made for that. Maybe I will add this to my routine and start my own daily journal. I also would like to express my opinion about Mann's research on boredom. Modern technology gives lots of entertaiment. It's used to get rid of boredom but using it too often can be addicted and in the end damage reward system in our brain. In my life I have noticed that nowdays young people have problems with keeping their focus. They are easily bored with social games and instead they prefer to spend time playing mobile phones games. That’s why in my opinion boredom may be used as a form of relax and break from internet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with techniques mentioned in the article. Sandi Mann, a lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, in his book shows how to stop stressing and take hard situations calmly. Everyday stresses that involve work or private life have an impact on our health. I think, young people do not pay attention to it, because they are in constant motion. Sandi Mann will show us how to avoid it. The author makes a case for taking a few minutes to jot down things that go well every day. I think this simple exercise may works well.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of spending 10 minutes a day to feel more joy in life is great. As I read about it it seemed pretty easy - just remember the good stuff. In reality, changing one's mindset is very difficult and it takes some time before it starts working.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was preparing presentations I came across TED talk about stress. There was said that stress is not harmfull itself, but the way it is perceived can be dangerous. I can say from my experience, that if you remember every time you feel stressed to say to yourself, that stress is not an enemy but your ally to help you with an important task, it is really esier cope with a sressfull situations.
Second idea of fighting boredome by just letting yourself to be bored and wait for creative ideas to come is something new to me. It reminds me of a quote 'I will always choose a lazy man to do a hard job because a lazy man will find an easy way to do it'. Lazy people tend to get bored with a big task quicker so it is easier for them to find new solutions, shortcuts maybe, but in a positive way.
I’m rather optimistic man so I think, I don’t need any special techniques to boost my mood. Also, idea of daily journal sounds is not a perfect solution for me ;) It’s better for meticulous type of people. In my opinion, there is no better cure for sadness like friends. Generally good people around you. When I have worse time, they always know what to do and how help me :) Regarding to the part about boredom - I have no chance to be bored at work. But I can imagine that could help in some cases. Especially if you have to find solution of the problem without any help from other people. It's might be good idea to refresh brain :)
ReplyDeleteThese methods mentioned in the article are pretty interesting and I have even practiced some some of them on myself. Such things should be implemented in our lives which are focused on consumption, rushing for goals, climbing our careers, much more often. We keep on forgetting what makes us truly happy and why are we doing such stuff. I used to enjoy boosting my mood simply by meditation, using one of the mobile Apps called Waking Up. Also it's perfect if you can spend some time with your friends or family, this helps a lot in almost every case if you want to clear your mind and boost your mood. Recently, I hardly had any time to actually rest a little. I kept on doing multiple tasks during a day, not leaving even a minute for resting. I've been doing that for 3 months and after that time I felt completely exhausted physically. In my life there is nothing like feeling bored, I simply do not give it a chance ;) I will check on those six hints from the article and try to have them implemented in my life, we will see if it works!
ReplyDeleteI agree, that changing our way of thinking, can also have an impact on our lives. I think, that being nice to other can also improve our self-esteem, and make us feel better. Even acting nice to complete strangers is good for our surrounding. People who experience
ReplyDeletekindness tend to pass it along.
I was surprised with the ideas, presented in the text.I have never seen the positive sides of boredom, for meit was always something to avoid at all costs. Boredom is only a temporary phase, in which we sometimes find ourselves, it's between one action or state, and the next one.
Boredom is like stress - we don't like them but we really need them. Nowadays people have a really big problem with resting. They put their brains on a constant effort. If they don't work, they text with somebody, they watch something, they play games etc. Sometimes it's good just to close your eyes and rest a little. Regarding mood boosting, I really like to spend time with my friends, have a chat with my flatmate for example. It always turns my thinking up-side down, and shows me the brighter side of truth. And also some sport helps me with mental condition. I'm not a guy who believes in some psychological techniques.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting point. I never thought of boredom as a good thing. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why meditation is growing in popularity too. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I heard it kind of helps to order our thoughts and improve our creative thinking, I think it might have similar effect to what was explained in the article.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this article I will need to try it on my self, and maybe finally try meditation too ;)
I don't really agree with all that article says, maybe it depends how somebody prefer to spend his free time. For example I have few activities which give me a lot of joy, happiness and sometimes they are boosting my creativity very effectively. One of my favourite activites is driving in the night, pointing random target on map and driving straight to this point through unknown. During this I'm not bored at all, I feel a lot of joy and thinking about problems from work or private and how to solve them.
ReplyDeleteI think that activities that give us joy and a lot of differential surroundings or stories (for example tv series, comedy show) are inspiring us and boosting our creativity much more than boredom.
I used to write a journal and I observed many benefits. I became more calm and unflappable. Also reading old posts can be a great fun, especially if you remind yourself who you were a year ago or so. Thanks to that I can clearly see how my mindset and attitude to life is changing over time. Based on my prior experience I can strongly agree with Sandi Mann. I’m thinking I might try to write journal using this template. Positive psychology is quite a long time with us and it’s definitely worth to consider its achievements.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know that boredom can be so helpful, but I did know how continuous scrolling can have negative impact on my mood and level of satisfaction. It’s incredible how these little devices influence us all the time. Currently I don’t use social media too often, just from time to time to catch up with some news and I feel more freedom in my life and more… boredom (in a positive sense).
I didn't know that boredom is good for us. But I'm too busy to take time to be bored. Also I don't need to boost my mood.
ReplyDeleteI think, that we just need to take time to think, border line between work and private life to right balance. I don't understand people who says "I'm bored"... If they are they just don't know how to manage their time efficiently. They just should find some hobby or develop their skills more often.