第1653期:Should boredom be boring?

How bored are you? Having nothing to do, or doing the same task again and again, can certainly be demotivating. And if boredom persists, you can lose your lust for life, and it can even affect your mental health. But does being bored have to be boring?

你有多无聊？无事可做，或者一次又一次地做同样的事情，肯定会让人失去动力。如果无聊持续存在，您可能会失去对生活的渴望，甚至会影响您的心理健康。但是无聊就一定是无聊的吗？

A lack of stimulation can lead to boredom – this is when we start to yawn and our mind wanders. It can happen at home or at school, but it’s at work where some experts think being chronically bored can have damaging consequences. This situation has been termed ‘boreout’ and is the opposite of ‘burnout’. Writing for BBC Worklife, Bryan Lufkin says this happens “when we are bored by our work to the point that we feel it is totally meaningless. Our job seems pointless, our tasks devoid of value.” It can be caused by working in a demoralising physical environment or feeling under-challenged. Studies show depression from boreout can affect workers outside the office and lead to physical ailments from insomnia to headaches. But Bryan adds that “being able to identify it in us, is critical for tackling it.”

缺乏刺激会导致无聊——这就是我们开始打哈欠和走神的时候。它可能发生在家里或学校，但一些专家认为长期无聊会在工作中产生破坏性后果。这种情况被称为“boreout”，与“burnout”相反。 Bryan Lufkin 为 BBC Worklife 撰文说，“当我们对工作感到厌倦，以至于我们觉得它完全没有意义时，就会发生这种情况。我们的工作似乎毫无意义，我们的任务毫无价值。”这可能是由于在令人沮丧的物理环境中工作或感觉挑战不足造成的。研究表明，无聊导致的抑郁会影响办公室外的员工，并导致从失眠到头痛的身体疾病。但布莱恩补充说，“能够在我们身上识别它，对于解决它至关重要。”

When it becomes mind-numbing and extreme, some people joke about ‘dying of boredom’. According to Luis Villazon, writing for the Science Focus website, boredom is just a state of mind which won’t kill you, though it can depress the immune system in some people. He says “The greatest risk from boredom stems from the things you do to combat it. People who are easily bored are more likely to engage in dangerous sports [...]”, for example. But some experts say boredom is a natural thing and it should be seen in a more positive light. If we see it as an opportunity, it could ignite our creativity. And if our boredom is at work, it could force us to engage with mentors, career counsellors or even our bosses. And Lotta Harju from EM Lyon Business School told the BBC, “boreout can mark a transition into something else: a different career entirely, or a different role in the organisation. If people only take its cue.”

当它变得麻木和极端时，有人开玩笑说“无聊死了”。根据 Luis Villazon 为 Science Focus 网站撰稿的说法，无聊只是一种不会杀死你的精神状态，尽管它会抑制某些人的免疫系统。他说：“无聊带来的最大风险来自于你为对抗它所做的事情。例如，容易感到无聊的人更有可能从事危险的运动 [...]”。但一些专家表示，无聊是一种自然现象，应该从更积极的角度来看待它。如果我们将其视为一个机会，它可以激发我们的创造力。如果我们的无聊在工作中起作用，它可能会迫使我们与导师、职业顾问甚至我们的老板打交道。 EM 里昂商学院的 Lotta Harju 告诉 BBC，“boreout 可以标志着向其他事物的转变：完全不同的职业，或者组织中的不同角色。如果人们只接受它的提示。”

词汇表

bored （感觉）无聊的
demotivating 失去积极性，令人泄气
boredom 厌烦，无聊
lust for life 对生活的热爱
boring 乏味的，无聊的
stimulation 刺激，激励
yawn 打哈欠
wander 走神
chronically 长期地，慢性地
boreout 闷得发慌，极度无聊
burnout 劳累过度
meaningless 无意义的，没有价值的
pointless 不值得做的，白搭的
demoralising 令人丧气的
under-challenged 缺乏挑战性
insomnia 失眠
mind-numbing 非常枯燥乏味的
dying of boredom “无聊得要死”
state of mind 心境，心态
immune system 免疫系统
transition 过渡，转变