--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Boredom is the feeling that everything is…" description: "\"Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.\" — Thomas Szasz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-szasz-3801_boredom_boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-i_915929.jpg" --- # Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time… ![“Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.” quote by Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-szasz-3801_boredom_boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-i_915929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-szasz-3801_boredom_boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-i_915929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-szasz-3801_boredom_boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-i_915929.jpg) > “Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.” [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Boredom perceives time as wasted, while serenity finds value in stillness, highlighting contrasting attitudes toward existence. **In simple terms:** Boredom sees waste; serenity sees value. Key Takeaway Embrace stillness to find meaning. Themes boredom serenity existential mindset time perception Mood calm thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative work - meditation - daily routine - stress relief Key Concepts philosophy psychology mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - When does stillness become stagnation? - How can boredom be transformed into productive reflection? A Different Perspective Serenity may be mistaken for passivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Boredom Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom-feeling-1378784/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Feeling Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-waste-1378785/) [Serenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serenity/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Waste of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste-of-time/) [Waste time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste-time/) ## Related quotes > [“Depression is the feeling that everything is a waste of time. Joy is KNOWING that nothing in this Life is a waste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-d-longoria-jr/depression-is-the-feeling-that-everything-is-a-waste-of-time-joy-is/) [Raymond D. Longoria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-d-longoria-jr/) > [It is important to grasp that boredom is one of the most common - and undesirable - consequences of 'unicameralism'. Boredom is a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/it-is-important-to-grasp-that-boredom-is-one-of-the-most-common-and/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [My drive to put myself on the line comes from boredom. From that feeling when you go to bed and think, 'What did I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/my-drive-to-put-myself-on-the-line-comes-from-boredom-from-that/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [Facebook isn't a waste of time, it's important, it um, let's me, um, yeah OK it's a waste of time but you do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/facebook-isn-t-a-waste-of-time-it-s-important-it-um-let-s-me-um-yeah/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [Regret is an appalling waste of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/regret-is-an-appalling-waste-of-time/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“It's a waste of time worrying about something that worry won't fix. It's about as useful as trying to feed your pet rock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/it-s-a-waste-of-time-worrying-about-something-that-worry-won-t-fix-it/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I recently read an article on how I was dropped from a film because I couldn't dance! It was so ridiculous that I decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kajal-aggarwal/i-recently-read-an-article-on-how-i-was-dropped-from-a-film-because-i/) [Kajal Aggarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kajal-aggarwal/) > [Arguing with someone that hates you is a waste of time. It will just go on and on because they won't ever admit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/arguing-with-someone-that-hates-you-is-a-waste-of-time-it-will-just/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Worrying is a waste of time. It doesnt change anything. It messes with your mind and steals your happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worrying-is-a-waste-of-time-it-doesnt-change-anything-it-messes-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you’re waiting for my good looks to fade... it’s a futile waste of time. Give up at once. - (Christian Wright)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-delucy/if-you-re-waiting-for-my-good-looks-to-fade-it-s-a-futile-waste-of/) [Jennifer DeLucy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-delucy/) > [Thank you for the lies, drama, heartache and most of all for being a huge waste of time :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thank-you-for-the-lies-drama-heartache-and-most-of-all-for-being-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Why Worry? It's a total waste of time and it doesn't change anything. All it does is steal your joy and keeps you busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/why-worry-it-s-a-total-waste-of-time-and-it-doesn-t-change-anything/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Trying to find this industry's tendency to celebrate the physical is a waste of time. So I'm happy to play the game. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/trying-to-find-this-industry-s-tendency-to-celebrate-the-physical-is/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Thomas Szasz > [Institutional psychiatry is a continuation of the Inquisition. All that has really changed is the vocabulary and the social style. The vocabulary conforms to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/institutional-psychiatry-is-a-continuation-of-the-inquisition-all/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [By pretending that convention is Nature, that disobeying a personal prohibition is a medical illness, they establish themselves as agents of social control and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/by-pretending-that-convention-is-nature-that-disobeying-a-personal/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [We shall therefore compare the concept of homosexuality as heresy, prevalent in the days of the witch-hunts, with the concept of homosexuality as mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-shall-therefore-compare-the-concept-of-homosexuality-as-heresy/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The basic ingredients of psychotherapy are religion, rhetoric, and repression, which are themselves mutually overlapping categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-basic-ingredients-of-psychotherapy-are-religion-rhetoric-and/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [For Jews, the Messiah has never come; for Christians, He has come but once; for modern man, He appears and disappears with increasing rapidity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/for-jews-the-messiah-has-never-come-for-christians-he-has-come-but/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [I submit that the traditional definition of psychiatry, which is still vogue, places it alongside such things as alchemy and astrology, and commits it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/i-submit-that-the-traditional-definition-of-psychiatry-which-is-still/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [I believe the time has come to acknowledge that the practice of routine circumcision rests on the absurd premise that the only mammal in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/i-believe-the-time-has-come-to-acknowledge-that-the-practice-of/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [He who does not accept and respect those who want to reject life does not truly accept and respect life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/he-who-does-not-accept-and-respect-those-who-want-to-reject-life-does/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The passion to interpret as madness that with which we disagree seems to have infected the best of contemporary minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-passion-to-interpret-as-madness-that-with-which-we-disagree-seems/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [We should pledge ourselves to the proposition that the irresponsible life is not worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-should-pledge-ourselves-to-the-proposition-that-the-irresponsible/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [A child becomes an adult when he realizes that he has a right not only to be right but also to be wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/a-child-becomes-an-adult-when-he-realizes-that-he-has-a-right-not/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [We have, in our day, witnessed the birth of the Therapeutic State. This is perhaps the major implication of psychiatry as an institution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-have-in-our-day-witnessed-the-birth-of-the-therapeutic-state-this/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The homosexual is a scapegoat who evokes no sympathy. Hence, he can only be a victim, never a martyr.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-homosexual-is-a-scapegoat-who-evokes-no-sympathy-hence-he-can/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [People dream of making the virtuous powerful, so they can depend upon them. Since they cannot do that, people choose to make the powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/people-dream-of-making-the-virtuous-powerful-so-they-can-depend-upon/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The greatest analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic - in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-greatest-analgesic-soporific-stimulant-tranquilizer-narcotic-and/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) [Explore all 121 Thomas Szasz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) ## 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 the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Szasz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-is-a-waste-of-time-serenity/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boredom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-is-a-waste-of-time-serenity/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-szasz-3801_boredom_boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-i_915929.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-szasz-3801_boredom_boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-i_915929.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-szasz-3801_boredom_boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-i_915929.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.” — Thomas Szasz", "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": "Thomas Szasz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Boredom is the feeling that everything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-is-a-waste-of-time-serenity/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/boredom-is-the-feeling-that-everything-is-a-waste-of-time-serenity/#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 } } ] } ```