When I was one of those blissed-out teens, it took me four semesters to pass History 101. Testing days meant skipping class. Obviously, I was underwhelmed with the subject matter. Not so obvious was being disengaged with my sense of self.  Despite taking 5 classes and working 30 hours a week, I was bored.

To expand on this sensory dynamic: consider a dog chasing its tail. There's a similar rationale to why dogs chase tails with why bodies seek (or avoid) stimulation. The reward a sensation provides is making meaning of what seems illogical. Yet, it’s actually soothing or calming a frantic nervous system.

The lesson: your bod is most often smarter than your brain.

The ability to focus on sensory messaging that’s important and immediate is something we generally learn at a young age. Emotions are a plan for doing something and in the context of self-protection, it might make sense to do something illogical or self-sabotaging. Not using an effective solution may actually be helping you — at that particular time.

When the neural circuit that moderates boredom is active, it focuses on what not to do.  It’s our inner critic, police officer, and accountant all rolled into one. This “don’t want” system’s motivation is to avoid pain and discomfort.  It’s recognizably active by thoughts along these themes:

• Criticism or scolding hurts me quite a bit.

• I feel pretty worried when I think or know someone is angry at me. 

• If something matters to me, I feel embarrassed if I don’t do well. 

• I hate making mistakes. 

• I’m afraid of failing. 

• I think a lot about things before I act.  

A more sensible, sustainable plan of action is to calibrate your desires with reality.