I ran into an old friend at the dog park when I was walking Woody the other day. During one of our conversations, he said (the friend, not Woody) he felt he was beyond boredom. I was fascinated. What did he mean?

He was referring to the fact that his life was very full and that he simply didn’t have time to be bored. I was curious, though, to find out what happened when he did have holes in his day. I asked him.

“Oh, that’s when I eat!” This friend is overweight, and it was clear that eating was his strategy to avoid boredom (when filling his time didn’t work). It got me thinking. How do we deal with empty moments? Do we fill them? Do we fill ourselves? Do we zone out in front of the TV? Probably all of the above…but there’s a more potentially enlightening approach.

Henry David Thoreau, in chapter two of Walden, wrote:

…Spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry…If the engine whistles, let it whistle till it is hoarse for its pains. If the bell rings, why should we run? We will consider what kind of music they are like…

Every emotion that tugs at us is like the train whistle, the bell, the crying child. Why run for them…or from them? Why not just sit quietly and “consider what kind of music they resemble.” In other words, why not allow the emotion of boredom to arise and pass, all the while observing the moment in which we are living, appreciating its richness.

As I often say, we can either observe our emotions or obey them. Don’t let them force you to do something that’s not in your best interest. Make peace with them by practicing the art of mindful witnessing. When boredom, or any other emotion cease to freak you out, you won’t have to overeat, drink to excess, or avoid the situations that provoke them.

Imagine what that could mean in your business and personal life. No longer shackled by fear of rejection!

So, let the whistle blow until it’s hoarse for its pains!

To learn more about Dr. Steve, go to www.stevetaubman.com