I think it’s safe to say that one of the most commonly heard phrases, especially in people around my age group and younger folks (You dern whipper-snappers and your selfie-sticks), is “I’m bored”. Earlier today, after having completed my tasks for the day and then-some, I found myself thinking exactly that. I’m bored.

Somewhere between stopping at the liquor store to purchase the other ingredients required to make a Blood & Sand–a decision I entirely support, especially after making one and enjoying it quite thoroughly–and contemplating dinner, it occurred to me just how awful saying “I’m bored” is given just how much I could be doing with my time. I’m not talking about endless writing or spending hours promoting things on social media, interspersed with the conversations I’ve grown famous/infamous/unknown for having. Louis C.K. said it better than I ever could, in fact, and so I found a convenient image on the internet with his words placed on it to share to make my point here.

There’s a lot of fantastic truth in this quote, and it got me thinking even further. There is, at no point, really a good reason to be bored. I’m not going to preach about the miracle of consciousness. I think it’s more about finding the things that matter most in this sea of constant information and distractions. 

Tonight is a pretty solid example for me, or at least I think so. I took a nap, as I’m still far more tired than I should be from ruining my sleep schedule. When I woke up, I decided to mix myself a Blood & Sand cocktail with the ingredients I picked up today (and some of the 18 Years Of Age Glenlivet I have), and then I went about figuring out what to make for dinner. My usual productivity seemed unlikely, which is something I chose to excuse since I have tomorrow pretty well mapped-out. At some point, for whatever reason, I decided I would throw together something that resembled fried rice (I’m proud to say it tasted very good and was probably quite bad for me). I watched Elementary with Brianne, relaxing with a drink and my spur-of-the-moment dinner, and everything was pretty much excellent. Not a moment was spent feeling bored. I can think how normally, during the brief periods of inactivity between the previously mentioned events in my night, I would have gotten bored. I instead chose to occupy my mind with other things.

Also, I created a new twist on Blood & Sand by using Wigle Small Cask Rye Whiskey, which has now (thanks to the folks at Wigle Distillery) been named ‘Burgh and Sand.

My plan is as follows: instead of succumbing to boredom, I will occupy my mind with other things. I will find ways to busy myself, no matter how particularly productive they are so long as they are at least somewhat productive (read as “I will actively avoid being the human equivalent to a piece of furniture”). All of this is in hopes I can both eliminate the whining, miserable bullshit of saying I’m bored while also finding new, exciting ways to challenge myself to accomplish more.

Being bored is essentially a passive state of letting the world happen around you while simply existing. It is the process of being acted upon without reacting, whether in a solitary or group environment. The very definition of boredom, at least by my words, is boring. What the Hell is the point of it when those precious minutes could be used for any number of things. I’m talking creative things, practical things, any sorts of things.

Life is short, and there almost always feels like there’s not enough time in a day to get everything done. I think, if I manage this as hoped, I’ll find myself getting a lot of those hours back in the name of living instead of just existing.

In closing, I’d like to ask a few questions (surprise, it’s an interrogation) – When is the last time you found yourself to be bored? What could you have done instead of letting the boredom happen? Who else is willing to challenge themselves to be something more than bored? Let me how you plan on battling the lazy, bloated beast called boredom by doing more.

I, however, have the rest of my ‘Burgh & Sand to enjoy alongside Amy Poehler’s fantastic book Yes Please.