Substitute nuance for novelty ... a commitment to "boredom" & gentle joy
Channel: George Kao
Date: 14/05/2016

Recently I've been addicted to a video game on my iPhone.  It easily sucks an hour of my time, leaving me feeling regretful, knowing I could've spent that time with a healthier (and, still enjoyable) alternative.

To overcome this addiction, I've had to make a "commitment to boredom".  

I'm tempted to play the game when I'm feeling a bit stressed, or tired, or bored.  Instead of indulging in such unproductive time-sucking activity, there are healthier alternatives:

* Taking a quick nap
* Playing with my dog
* Doing an energy reboot
* Finding a light-hearted way to approach the challenging project in front of me

However, choosing any of these alternatives requires a momentary boredom, which I experience when I choose *not* to indulge in an exciting (though ultimately meaningless and regretful) activity.  The excitement is a mirage, an illusion, of short-term thinking / behaving.

So I decided to try committing to boredom: No matter what, I will not play that game, and instead, choose to experience boredom for a moment, then take the next healthier step, such as the ones I've listed above.

It's working.   I'm getting used to that momentary boredom and the resulting mindful choice.   It simply takes getting used to.

Recently, I heard a wonderful podcast episode -- http://freakonomics.com/podcast/grit/ -- where the speaker Angela Duckworth (an expert on "grit") introduced the phrase "substitute nuance for novelty."

What a wonderful idea. 

Instead of allowing our monkey mind to chase novelty all the time, to make a mindful decision, when we know it's healthier, to instead choose nuance over novelty.

To notice the nuance of the current moment.  To look for a subtle, gentle joy that is available right now.

This is what I am practicing.  Instead of thinking about the *not* playing of an exciting game as "boredom", I think of it as looking for nuance, subtlety, a gentle joy.  

Through this practice, I believe our consciousness becomes more nuanced and subtle.  As a result, we are more able to sense the guidance of that "still, small voice" within us... the guidance of a higher self.

**

To receive George Kao's best articles via email, go to:
http://georgekao.com/email