--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people are bored, it is primarily…" description: "\"When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.\" — eric hoffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/eric-hoffer-343_boredom_when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-wi_1706074.jpg" --- # When people are bored, it is primarily with their own… ![“When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.” quote by eric hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/eric-hoffer-343_boredom_when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-wi_1706074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/eric-hoffer-343_boredom_when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-wi_1706074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/eric-hoffer-343_boredom_when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-wi_1706074.jpg) > “When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.” [eric hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Boredom often stems from self‑focus, suggesting inner restlessness. **In simple terms:** Boredom is self‑directed. Key Takeaway Cultivate external engagement to alleviate boredom. Themes boredom self-awareness engagement Mood thoughtful inspirational Type self-help philosophical When to use this quote - creative projects - volunteering - travel - learning new skills Key Concepts psychology mindfulness behavioral science Questions to Reflect On - What internal needs drive your boredom? - How can you redirect focus outward? A Different Perspective External distractions may not address underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ## Related quotes > [When people are bored it is primarily with themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-with-themselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“Boring people get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-barton/boring-people-get-bored/) Brad Barton > [There are all sorts of topics and themes that just recur time and time again, which either means people have less imagination or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-henry/there-are-all-sorts-of-topics-and-themes-that-just-recur-time-and/) [Buck Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-henry/) > [I am just taking the top fights out there for me. People will get bored seeing me every day knock someone out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennox-lewis/i-am-just-taking-the-top-fights-out-there-for-me-people-will-get/) [Lennox Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennox-lewis/) > [The fascination to go into space has existed for hundreds of years. But as we do things and they're successful, people get bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lovell/the-fascination-to-go-into-space-has-existed-for-hundreds-of-years/) [Jim Lovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lovell/) > [Idle people are often bored and bored people, unless they sleep a lot, are cruel. It is not accident that boredom and cruelty are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/idle-people-are-often-bored-and-bored-people-unless-they-sleep-a-lot/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [Haii people…so bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keys/haii-people-so-bored/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keys/) > [“This ignorance of what to do with time is the number one reason why people get bored so easily when alone with nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/this-ignorance-of-what-to-do-with-time-is-the-number-one-reason-why/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [There's a high point in your career, and then people get bored; they want something else to come along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-temple/there-s-a-high-point-in-your-career-and-then-people-get-bored-they/) [Peter Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-temple/) > [Only boring people are bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/only-boring-people-are-bored/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [Most filmmakers aren't very interested in history. They worry constantly that people will be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-ward/most-filmmakers-aren-t-very-interested-in-history-they-worry/) [Geoffrey Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-ward/) > [I'm convinced people are bored of generic travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-prior/i-m-convinced-people-are-bored-of-generic-travel/) [Matt Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-prior/) > [There are things in low comedy that make people uncomfortable, and there are things in high comedy that make people bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorne-michaels/there-are-things-in-low-comedy-that-make-people-uncomfortable-and/) [Lorne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorne-michaels/) > [If you have the same guys at the top of the card all the time, people get bored of it. They don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-barrett/if-you-have-the-same-guys-at-the-top-of-the-card-all-the-time-people/) [Wade Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-barrett/) > [“Only boring people get bored. Life may be tedius, but not if you brought a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mailer-anderson/only-boring-people-get-bored-life-may-be-tedius-but-not-if-you/) Robert Mailer Anderson ## More by eric hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-creative-mind-is-the-playful-mind-philosophy-is-the-play-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-best-part-of-the-art-of-living-is-to-know-how-to-grow-old/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 eric hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Bored quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/) [Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When I get bored I say fck the police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-get-bored-i-say-fck-the-police/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was taking all prints and I brought them to the Magnum meetings, trying the old Josef Koudelka trick: Give them to photographers, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/i-was-taking-all-prints-and-i-brought-them-to-the-magnum-meetings/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [“She wouldn't pick up a fight him just because she was bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/she-wouldn-t-pick-up-a-fight-him-just-because-she-was-bored/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [...sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I get bored. And sometimes all I want, more than anything else in the world, is to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/sometimes-i-get-tired-sometimes-i-get-bored-and-sometimes-all-i-want/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) [Browse all 2,067 Bored quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "eric hoffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-with-their-own-selves-that-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bored" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-with-their-own-selves-that-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/eric-hoffer-343_boredom_when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-wi_1706074.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/eric-hoffer-343_boredom_when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-wi_1706074.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/eric-hoffer-343_boredom_when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-wi_1706074.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.” — eric hoffer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "eric hoffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When people are bored, it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-with-their-own-selves-that-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-people-are-bored-it-is-primarily-with-their-own-selves-that-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```