why you're always bored

Summary

In this engaging exploration, creator Liam delves into the modern phenomenon of boredom despite endless entertainment and consumption options. The video discusses the paradox of choice, explaining why having too many options can lead to dissatisfaction and perceived lack of excitement. Liam argues that true excitement and satisfaction come not from consuming but from creating and engaging meaningfully with the world around us. Through studies on choice, personal anecdotes, and philosophical insights, the video encourages viewers to shift their focus from passive consumption to active participation in life.

Highlights

• The paradox of choice makes decision-making harder and less satisfying. 😵
• More options don't always lead to happiness, as seen in studies with jams and chocolates. 🍫
• Modern apps bombard us with choices, contributing to relationship and lifestyle dissatisfaction. 📱
• Boredom is not about a lack of activities, but the perception of excitement. 🔍
• Shifting from consumption to creation can break the cycle of dissatisfaction. 🛠️

Key Takeaways

• Boredom often stems from too many choices, not too few! 🤯
• The paradox of choice: more options can make us less satisfied with our decisions. 😵
• True excitement comes from creating, not just consuming. 🎨
• Modern technology and apps can overwhelm us with options, leading to indecision and dissatisfaction. 📱
• Find excitement by actively engaging with life, not just passively consuming it. 🚀

Overview

Liam kicks off with a personal note on his minimalist lifestyle, yet he's far from bored. The exploration begins by highlighting how, despite living in 2025 with endless activities at our fingertips, many still find themselves feeling bored. Why? The problem isn't a lack of things to do but the overwhelming amount of options that paralyze us with indecision.

He introduces the 'paradox of choice,' where the abundance of options makes it harder and less satisfying to choose. Studies show that the more choices we're given, the more likely we are to feel regret about our decisions. This concept extends beyond shopping to aspects of modern life like dating apps, travel, and social interactions, which can lead to a sense of perpetual dissatisfaction.

Liam offers a solution by suggesting a shift from consumption to creation. True excitement, he posits, comes from engaging actively with life rather than passively consuming it. By focusing on making and doing rather than having and watching, we can rediscover happiness and break free from the trap of perpetual boredom and dissatisfaction.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Personal Habits The chapter, titled 'Introduction and Personal Habits', presents a personal reflection on a lifestyle that is significantly detached from common indulgences and modern distractions. The narrator details a conscious decision to avoid movies, apps, drugs, porn, clubs, watches, consumerism, and gossip. They drive a car that is older than themselves, adhere to a simplistic wardrobe, and engage in reading, meditating, and journaling for enjoyment. This minimalist lifestyle fosters a sense of excitement and fulfillment, despite abstaining from typical sources of entertainment or indulgence. The narrator suggests that their life feels more vibrant without these distractions, posing a contrast to times when they were engaged in such activities.
• 00:30 - 01:00: The Modern Era's Endless Stimulation In the chapter titled 'The Modern Era's Endless Stimulation,' the narrative explores the rapid pace and constant stimulation of life in 2025. People now change their phone numbers less frequently than their addresses, signaling a shift in societal norms. Despite varying opinions on this change, it is undeniable that life has become more exciting. The chapter observes that there's rarely a moment of boredom due to the endless stream of texts, videos, and other digital distractions. Even in mundane situations such as waiting rooms, there is always something to engage with, highlighting how modern life has significantly reduced opportunities for boredom.
• 01:00 - 02:00: The Paradox of Choice The chapter explores the overwhelming options available to consumers, particularly illustrated by the numerous choices at a grocery store. Instead of being bored due to lack of activities or options, individuals are actually overwhelmed by the abundance available. The concept of 'The Paradox of Choice,' which suggests that too many choices can lead to stress and decision-making difficulty, is introduced.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Effects on Relationships and Lifestyle The chapter discusses how an abundance of options can affect decision-making. A study is mentioned where a jam display with fewer options resulted in higher sales compared to one with many options, demonstrating that too many choices can overwhelm consumers. Another study involving chocolates supports this finding, showing that people given fewer choices are more decisive. The concept illustrates how having more options can complicate decisions, impacting personal choices and potentially relationships and lifestyle.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Perception of Boredom and Consumer Culture The chapter discusses the concept of choice overload, highlighting studies where groups with fewer options reported more satisfaction with their selections compared to groups with more choices. In consumer culture, having more options does not necessarily lead to better decisions or happiness, as seen in examples like jam and chocolate selections. The broader implication is that this phenomenon can affect various life choices beyond consumer goods.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Finding Fulfillment Through Action The chapter reflects on the challenges faced by young adults in the contemporary dating scene, specifically the paradox of seeking low-commitment yet seemingly exclusive relationships. It highlights the overwhelming number of potential partners available through dating apps like Hinge and Grindr, which leads to a hesitancy to commit. The author draws a comparison between the current generation and their grandparents, who had far fewer options, implying that the abundance of choice today complicates commitment not just in dating but in broader aspects of life.

why you're always bored Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 i don't watch movies or have any apps on my phone i don't do drugs or look at porn i haven't been to a club and I don't own a watch i never buy things almost never i don't order food or have any subscriptions and I couldn't care less about gossip in other people's lives i drive a car that's older than me i wear the same thing every day i read and meditate and journal for fun and I only drink twice a year and yet I can't remember the last time I was bored so why does my life feel more exciting now than it ever did when I cared about that [Music] [Applause]
• 00:30 - 01:00 stuff look it's 2025 and we live in a world where people change their phone number less often than they change their address things are different than they used to be but however that makes you feel we can't really deny that life is more exciting now than ever before think about it when was the last time you were stuck in a waiting room with nothing to do there's always a text to reply to a video to watch or a suspicious looking breath mint to try and regret trying within 5 seconds we have no reason to ever be bored anymore but you still clicked on this
• 01:00 - 01:30 video so what's the problem here to be honest I don't think we get bored because there's nothing going on i think it's the opposite of that we're drowning in it have you ever gone to a grocery store with a list of things to buy but then you get there and realize there's about 14 options for everything and you can't really tell any of them apart like what's the difference between a cara orange and aing orange i don't know like $6 if that's you you're not the problem there's this idea I came across called the paradox of choice and anybody who's
• 01:30 - 02:00 done any marketing has probably heard of it the concept is pretty simple the more options you give people the harder it is for them to choose there was a study done where researchers set up a display of jams in a grocery store sometimes it would have 24 flavors while at other times it would only have six as you might expect more people stopped to look at the bigger display but the people who stopped at the smaller one were way more likely to actually buy some jam i don't know who would fall for that but it gets crazier another study I read about gave people chocolates to sample before choosing one some people got six samples and some got 30 and you'd expect the 30
• 02:00 - 02:30 group to feel more confident about their choice in the end but the complete opposite happened the group who got fewer samples were way happier with their choices so if you put those studies together you're left with some pretty interesting takeaways not only do more options make it harder for us to choose but they also make us feel less happy with what we choose in the end now in the case of jam and chocolates it's probably not the end of the world and you could even argue that the more similar two choices are the less it really matters which one you pick but just think about how that same idea can affect your life if you're around your
• 02:30 - 03:00 20s like me you probably have a good idea of what the dating market is like now everybody wants a low commitment exclusive but open relationship where you're together enough but not two together where you have to delete the apps if that sounds crazy it's because it is and that's by design apps my friends use like Hinge and Grinder expose us to more jams and chocolates in a day than our grandparents would get in a year okay that sounded racist but you know what I mean like is it any surprise that people can't commit to relationships when they literally have a million potential upgrades in their pocket and it's not just dating think
• 03:00 - 03:30 about the difference between how people travel now verse how they did 20 years ago instead of being in the moment and pulling out a camera only to capture the very best highlights your food's getting cold right in front of you while you take a boomerang doing cheers for the sixth time today but I'm not here to go on about the good old days that I was barely even alive for i'm trying to make a clear point here boredom to me isn't a lack of excitement it's the perceived lack of excitement and there's a really big difference here one of the first things you learn when you start a business is that people will only buy something if it's valuable enough to
• 03:30 - 04:00 them so there are two things you as a business owner can do about that one actually make the thing more valuable or two make people think it's more valuable now the details of that could be their own video in itself but the incentives here are pretty clear in a world designed to get you to buy more lots of people make money off of you feeling like you need more but that's the problem at the root of why you're always bored and unsatisfied with your life when you focus on what you lack you lose what you already have so as always I want to know what can we actually do
• 04:00 - 04:30 about it i heard this quote that I love from an old author named Will Durant he said let us ask the gods not for possessions but for things to do happiness is in making things rather than in consuming them remember how I said boredom is just the perceived lack of excitement well you can use that to your advantage excitement doesn't have to come from a quick dopamine hit or a crusty DAP pen in fact those are just making you feel worse did you ever notice that most bad habits are just you tricking your brain into feeling something without actually getting up off the couch like everything else the
• 04:30 - 05:00 only way forward is to stop waiting and to start doing and I'm not trying to be like David Gogggins from Teimu here because honestly you don't need to meditate or never go clubbing or drive a 25-year-old car with a cassette player and you don't need to delete all your phone's apps or run away from alcohol you just need to catch yourself in those moments of boredom and ask one simple question are you really bored or do you just not know where to start [Music]