I learned a better way to be bored

While doing the Dancer’s hair this morning she kept insisting that it was boring. I could tell she was actually just annoyed at having to sit still and have her hair done while she was trying to do something else. I thought it was interesting that she applied the word boring instead of frustrated or irritated.

It reminded me of an article I read recently here about how Norwegians call annoying things boring, or kjedelig.

The language we use has a very real impact on how we interpret the world around us. Our words give us a way to frame our experiences. The paradigm they create can literally escalate or diminish our frustrations.

Using the word boring diminishes an experience and frames it as unimportant rather than irritating, allowing us to brush it off without becoming emotionally involved. And watching the Dancer use it this morning reminded me that I should put it into practice myself.

Throughout the day, calling things boring, in particular traffic, made a big difference. Road rage, especially, was averted as I labeled the offending experience not worth the effort of getting upset. I will definitely continue to use this helpful Nordic trick.

What did I learn from this?

Minimize frustration by framing things in a non-emotional context.