Whether we accept it or not, boredom is a feeling that strikes us all. In every waking moment we will find a way to invest our energy and attention. We start this from the time we’re born. 
We look for ways to entertain kids and we fail to often realize we do the same for ourselves. It’s crazy but it’s like we’re all really just big kids that have learned to guide our actions to fit into the environment we’re in. Kids are just real. So when they’re tired they show it, when they’re hungry they show it, and when they’re bored they show it. IMG_6928
One of the most important questions you have to answer honestly to yourself is, what do you do when you’re bored? When you are alone, there’s no one around, how do you spend your time? No, not the answer you give to everyone else when they ask, the truth. Once you answer that question, think about why you do it. Sometimes the answer to this question is that the activity simply occupies your attention. It’s important that we acknowledge when we’re bored. Make sure an activity resulting from boredom doesn’t end up with a lasting negative impact on our lives.
A researched way to change habits (The Power of Habit, 2012) is changing the activity in the Habit Reward Loop. Every activity leads to some type of reward. The reward can be relaxation, entertainment, the feeling of accomplishment, companionship, pleasure, etc. When you have an activity that you participate in and you understand the purpose of that activity you can strategize activities that can serve as a replacement while still reaching the same benefit that you desire. For instance, if you have a vice that is detrimental to you or relationships in your life like drinking, smoking, gambling, etc. and you understand why you do it you can start to find a positive adjustment. 
Maybe you drink for social reasons, gamble for competitiveness and the feeling of winning, or smoke for stress relief. Once you understand this maybe you find a social activity to replace drinking, join a recreational sport league to fulfill the desire to gamble, or take up yoga for stress relief.
One of the activities that take place when I’m bored at home is walking around thinking out loud. I’ve spent so much time doing this, and I always just figured that I’m a thinker and this is just an activity that results from it. While this may be true, really it’s just a way to take up my attention when I have time and space to myself. Is there a better way to achieve the result of getting my thoughts out and occupying my attention? How about writing? Writing actually leads to a result of expression and prevents a ton of time being spent on useless thoughts that either repeat year after year, or just flee away because they hold no value.
Early in my career when I was bored at work my form of entertainment became gambling in the stock market. For the longest I told myself that the stock market was a quest for a career and money. I started to trade on a market simulator (play money) and noticed I became just as invested. Same with poker when playing on a phone app (fake money). 
This was a clear sign that I wasn’t just trading the market for financial gain, I trade it to compete, to feel accomplished, to feed a dream, and to feel the excitement of gambling. How much could I have benefited from this realization in my past? The understanding that my trading was just an expensive habit to entertain myself would’ve prevented me from putting so much money into it. That doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t trade the market, it means that I need to be able to decipher between researched investments and quick trades that are being made for a thrill. Knowing the difference serves as an indicator for the level of funds that should be dedicated to the decision.
We’re all human and we’re going to do what we do. You will find a way to utilize your attention span in every waking moment. You cannot sit in silence with an empty mind for long. Just as a child needs something to constantly take up their attention adults do as well. But as an adult you have to set boundaries and make sure that you are finding ways to keep your mind occupied without ruining valuable aspects in your life. It’s best that we focus our energy and attention on something that will produce positive results. Don’t be a victim our human tendency to need something to occupy our attention span, profit from it.
Don’t make a habit of choosing what feels good over what’s actually good for you – Eric Thomas