by Chris Haigh
Everybody knows one, maybe a handful if you’re unlucky: boring people seem to be omnipresent, and while they’re certainly not harmful, they can be dull, dreary, and not very good company in any circumstance. Is it the fact that they seem to be self-involved and self-directed? Is it that boring people never seem to want to try anything new, even if it’s just a song or a film or somewhere different for lunch? Or is it that boring people never seem to be good at telling a story?
Whatever it is, here’s a top-ten guide to what the extremely boring people of the world always seem to do. Take it as a cautionary tale to avoid doing the same.
1. They always talk about themselves – and only themselves
Boring people always seem to find themselves the most interesting point of conversation. They never think about what might be interesting to other people, or about the issues or viewpoints of the rest of the world. Boring people just can’t get beyond the viewpoint that if it doesn’t immediately effect them or their immediate family, then it can’t be of note. Nothing is worse than a boring person who cannot stop but talk about themselves, or always manages to circle the conversation back around to their views and opinion.
2. They never expand their personal horizons
Boring people always stay stuck in their ‘hinterlands’ – their own personal, psychological and physical boundaries. They never try anything new, or adventurous, or potentially amazing for fear of failing somehow or for finding that they don’t like the aim of their experiment. It never occurs to a boring person that they would connect more with different people and different experiences and improve their quality of life by expanding their horizons.
3. They cannot tell a good joke
Yawn. There’s a reason boring people are never called upon as the jokers and the fun-makers of any office party or social setting. Boring people just cannot tell a good joke to save their lives, largely because they don’t engage themselves in any situations that allow them to experience something fun. They spend too much time in the same old routines, with the same old stuff day in day out. When the greatest joke you have in your arsenal is something you pulled out of your cracker last Christmas, then you need to revise your priorities to avoid becoming one of the boring people.
4. They never practise or use empathy
Boring people are pretty bad on the empathy scale, always failing to see things from someone else’s point of view. Oh, they might well understand that someone else has a different point of view, but in terms of actually stepping inside someone else’s shoes and feeling… well, anything, boring people have their work cut out for them. For them, their world begins and ends at their front door and office, ensuring that the chance to go out and experience a modicum of empathy for anyone else is sadly, low at best.
5. They never have a real opinion on anything
Yes, boring people can’t express a real opinion on anything. They have no real passions or loves in their lives, and, as the sign of a life well and truly being ruined, they spend no time in getting informed about anything of real worth. The events of the world pass them by completely, and this is of no consequence to the boring individual.
6. They stay in the exact same routine every day
The same routine, day in day out. Is there anything more depressing? Well, for the boring person, they never consider to try something new or expand their horizons. They wake up at the same time every day, eat the same stuff, do the same stuff, and just never want to change anything, even down to having something different for breakfast that day.
7. They never do anything fun in their lives
Not that this going without saying, but boring people just never have any fun. They never explore what truly makes them happy and what makes them tick – therefore they spend all time either working or doing stuff that they don’t enjoy doing. They never consider that life is supposed to be fun and full of enjoyment, and instead put it off in lieu of working non-stop. Boring people never stop to smell the flowers, and that’s truly sad more than anything.
8. They complain about their lives
Boring people never, ever stop complaining about their lives, and how everything seems to be going wrong for them. Boring people never consider how things might be for other people listening, and how lucky they may actually be, especially when compared to other people who are enduring worse and yet remain upbeat, positive and engaged in life to the fullest. The popular social media trend ‘first world problems’ seems to come to mind here.
9. They cannot tell a good story
Is there anything worse than boring people telling stories? Well, in a social setting no, because boring people have no real concept of what kind of story is fascinating and brilliant and hilarious, and what kind of story and manner of storyteling makes watching paint dry seem like a rollercoaster ride. Boring people never consider what they’re saying and how it will affect other people on an emotional level, particularly in terms of enjoyment.
10. They never express passion for anything
Boring people just never explore their own passions or desires, and so are left unfulfilled. Imagine if they’d got a chance to actually do some introspection and discover tastes, passions, and loves that they might as well possess. Boring people are stuck in the conventions of widespread, mainstream society, and never delve into what is different and unusual and unique, in order to cultivate their happiness.
(via Life Hack)
