August 2005

Have you ever noticed that when you get bored, you make poor choices? Hmm, I have nothing else to do, I think that I will eat, do drugs, drink, call someone who is unhealthy? We seem to have a need to fill up our time. If we do not have something healthy to do, then we will do something unhealthy. In fact, if we have a choice, we will often do something unhealthy before the healthy choice!

So, what do we need to do to help us make healthy choices? The first step may be in acknowledging that there are healthy choices available. I often suggest to people that they make a list of healthy activities. You can walk your dog, read a book, garden, listen to music, journal, call a healthy friend, cook something tasty and nutritious, meditate, do yoga, visit someone in the hospital or nursing home. Tell someone that you love them, give a hug or ask for one, go to a park, people watch, sing a song, dance a dance. Well, you get the idea. There are thousands of things that you can do that are healthy.

The trick is to remember what they are. The second trick is to have a variety of choices so that you can say, “No, I do not want to do that” to the first dozen or two, but then something else will strike you.

So, if you are bored, start making up your list right now. Ask friends to contribute their ideas. Ask acquaintances what they do to stem their boredom. Keep updating your list. And the next time that you get bored you can have other things to do than those old unhealthy ones! Instead, you can take a walk or play on the computer or play a game with your children or paint your fence or?