--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Boredom is what happens to people who…" description: "\"Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.\" — Rebecca Stead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/rebecca-stead-11010_boredom_boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-ha_2579968.png" --- # Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over… ![“Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.” quote by Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/rebecca-stead-11010_boredom_boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-ha_2579968.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/rebecca-stead-11010_boredom_boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-ha_2579968.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/rebecca-stead-11010_boredom_boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-ha_2579968.png) > “Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.” [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lack of mental discipline leads to boredom, as idle minds wander without purpose. **In simple terms:** Boredom comes from uncontrolled thoughts. Key Takeaway Cultivate mental focus. Themes self-discipline mindfulness creativity Mood reflective motivational Type advice self-help When to use this quote - studying - creative work - daily routines - meditation Key Concepts psychology attention control Questions to Reflect On - How can you train your mind to stay present? - What activities spark your focus? 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It happens when you feel challenged but not so challenged that you become overwhelmed. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-jelbert/flow-happens-somewhere-in-between-stress-anxiety-and-boredom-it/) [Will Jelbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-jelbert/) > [According to Gur's theory of boredom, everything that happens in the world today is because of boredom: love, war, inventions, fake fireplaces - ninety-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/according-to-gur-s-theory-of-boredom-everything-that-happens-in-the/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Your cameras can't control the minds of those who know, that you'll even sell your soul just to get a story sold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/your-cameras-can-t-control-the-minds-of-those-who-know-that-you-ll/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I do not understand why people want to control their minds. I want them to liberate their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/i-do-not-understand-why-people-want-to-control-their-minds-i-want/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [“Ben Says: When we learn to control our minds on how we think...we will begin to control the direction of our lives. So begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/ben-says-when-we-learn-to-control-our-minds-on-how-we-think-we-will/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [The objective of false prophets and teachers of whatever stripe is...the influence and control of the minds of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-dart/the-objective-of-false-prophets-and-teachers-of-whatever-stripe-is/) [Ron Dart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-dart/) > [“It's easy to get lost in our own heads. It's easy to allow the thoughts and worries and plans and hopes to take on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-walsh/it-s-easy-to-get-lost-in-our-own-heads-it-s-easy-to-allow-the/) [Tom Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-walsh/) > [“When you truly study top performers in any field, what sets them apart is not their physical skill; it is how they control their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-stan-beecham/when-you-truly-study-top-performers-in-any-field-what-sets-them-apart/) [Dr. Stan Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-stan-beecham/) > [We cannot expect to be in control of the circumstances in our lives when we cannot control our minds for five minutes. Meditation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-cannot-expect-to-be-in-control-of-the-circumstances-in-our-lives/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [Fear is but another name for lack of power to control our minds, or, in other words, to control the kind of thought we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prentice-mulford/fear-is-but-another-name-for-lack-of-power-to-control-our-minds-or-in/) [Prentice Mulford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prentice-mulford/) > [We have to learn how to control our minds. We have to learn self-control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/we-have-to-learn-how-to-control-our-minds-we-have-to-learn-self/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Amusement is a way of boredom-avoidance through external stimulation that fails to exercise our minds. It's mere diversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/amusement-is-a-way-of-boredom-avoidance-through-external-stimulation/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Success is like food caught in your teeth: much more noticeable when it happens to other people. If it happens to you, other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/success-is-like-food-caught-in-your-teeth-much-more-noticeable-when/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) ## More by Rebecca Stead > [“We have lunch at ten-forty-five,” Colin said. A stupidly early lunch. At our school, the older you get, the stupider your lunch period.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/we-have-lunch-at-ten-forty-five-colin-said-a-stupidly-early-lunch-at/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [I feel lucky that I read so many books as a kid because I know that no matter how much I appreciate a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/i-feel-lucky-that-i-read-so-many-books-as-a-kid-because-i-know-that/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [For me one of the most important things is not feeling like you have to protect yourself if you're with a real friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/for-me-one-of-the-most-important-things-is-not-feeling-like-you-have/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [I don't know. I just feel stuck, like I'm afraid to take any steps, in case they're the wrong ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/i-don-t-know-i-just-feel-stuck-like-i-m-afraid-to-take-any-steps-in/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [She's called the secretary, but as far as I can tell she basically runs the school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/she-s-called-the-secretary-but-as-far-as-i-can-tell-she-basically/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [“What's the burn scale?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/what-s-the-burn-scale/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [Pajamas are good for the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/pajamas-are-good-for-the-soul/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [When you trust your readers, you're hoping they will see what you see. Not every book is for every person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/when-you-trust-your-readers-you-re-hoping-they-will-see-what-you-see/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [“It was hard to imagine him sneaking around and leaving a rose on anyone's doormat, but I guess boys will surprise you sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/it-was-hard-to-imagine-him-sneaking-around-and-leaving-a-rose-on/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [Life is really just a bunch of nows, one after the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/life-is-really-just-a-bunch-of-nows-one-after-the-other/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [Many of the books on my list are, in my opinion, amazing. Some I didn't like. But I give them all five stars, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/many-of-the-books-on-my-list-are-in-my-opinion-amazing-some-i-didn-t/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [“Dad is looking at the bookshelves, deep in thought, deciding which book should go where. Once, Mom came home from work and discovered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/dad-is-looking-at-the-bookshelves-deep-in-thought-deciding-which-book/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [Well, it's simple to love someone," she said. "But it's hard to know when you need to say it out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/well-it-s-simple-to-love-someone-she-said-but-it-s-hard-to-know-when/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [“Trying to forget really doesn't work. In fact, it's pretty much the same as remembering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/trying-to-forget-really-doesn-t-work-in-fact-it-s-pretty-much-the/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [If I'm afraid of someone on the street, I'll turn to him (it's always a boy) and say, "Excuse me, do you happen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/if-i-m-afraid-of-someone-on-the-street-i-ll-turn-to-him-it-s-always-a/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) [Explore all 61 Rebecca Stead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) ## More Boredom quotes > [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/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [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 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 don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca Stead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-have-no-control-over-their-minds/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boredom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-have-no-control-over-their-minds/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/rebecca-stead-11010_boredom_boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-ha_2579968.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/rebecca-stead-11010_boredom_boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-ha_2579968.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/rebecca-stead-11010_boredom_boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-ha_2579968.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.” — Rebecca Stead", "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": "Rebecca Stead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Boredom is what happens to people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-have-no-control-over-their-minds/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/boredom-is-what-happens-to-people-who-have-no-control-over-their-minds/#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 } } ] } ```