Boring!

Cass Brown is a regular contributor to the Gen Plus Blog. Take a minute and you'll draw several grins and possibly a few hearty chuckles.

Cass' own blog in the UK, the very popular, VERY funny, and very personal Cancergiggles, has drawn over a quarter of a million visitors over the past two years. In his words, "Cancergiggles is an idiot's guide to accepting, living with, laughing at and dying from cancer. The very, very last bit I can't be absolutely sure of, but then who the hell can? I could have written some beautifully crafted, grammatically correct essays but I hope you will understand, that when I say "I don't have a lot of time" I mean it far more literally than you do. I just wanted scribble a few thoughts to maybe light a spark in people - and then it became a book about Cancer, Life, Death, Illness and Politics". His book is available through http://www.genplususa.com/shop.aspx, www.lulu.com, or directly through his site.

If your invisible friend threatens to leave you because he/she is bored with you, then you know it's time for a rethink and equally, those without an invisible friend are in need of a major shake up.

There are two sides to being boring but they are inextricably linked. Firstly, if you are bored with yourself, life can be really, really dull. Waking up each day, knowing that you aren't likely to do, say or think anything of a non-boring nature, is the same as having your life support switched off. Why bother going through the whole rigmarole of living, if you are effectively a human cardboard cut out? Clearly there are two options here - leave the planet or start using the grey stuff. Ridiculous things are the best and easiest start because they make you laugh and laughing people don't bore themselves. When you can look at yourself as being ridiculous, it's even better - this is worth gold.

The second side of being boring affects those around you, and possibly more critically, those who may want to employ you. Given equal job qualifications I will always employ the person who comes to work on a camel, over the greyish blur of a creature who was in the same interview line. I can honestly say that the times when I have been the most productive and have really achieved the impossible, have been those when humour was in control. The reason for this is that the chemicals released into the brain by laughter are so much stronger and effective than those released by fear and they are also entirely positive. Have you ever noticed that after being seriously frightened, many people laugh hysterically? So why not cut out the middle man and go directly to the enjoyable bit.

There are obviously many other ways not to be boring, but these are all for advanced pupils who have already mastered the basics and they can be dangerous if attempted by novices. The first step in assessing your current level is quite simple. Go look in the mirror. If you didn't smile or laugh, you have a lot of work in front of you.

My quote for today
"I always keep a stimulant handy in case I see a snake - which I also keep handy." WC Fields