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How to Renew Your Interest in Pretty Much Anything
A simple thought exercise for when you’re experiencing boredom or burnout
Over the weekend, I walked into my living room to see my kids bored to the point of physical incapacitation. They were strung out across the sofa, apparently crushed by the weight of, I don’t know, having all of their basic needs met. Their sighs were deafening.
For kids their ages, five and nine, boredom is an existential crisis. So I proposed an existential solution.
“Pretend this is the first time you’ve ever been to this house,” I told them. “This is an AirBnb now, and you just walked in the door. What would you do if it was your first day here?”
And you know what? It worked.
Kind of. They weren’t exactly bouncing around the house, but they were no longer bored. They rediscovered toys. They played. They overcame inertia. For like, an hour, but still.
At the risk of infantilizing both of us, I’d like to propose asking this question any time you’re experiencing burnout or boredom. A job. A relationship. A vacation on the fifth day when you kind of want to wake up in your own bed. Anything, really.
Pretend it’s your first day all over again. Pretend the landscape you see before you is…
