Why 'the Bored Millennial?' (OLD)

Discover the story behind my journey.

AI image generated with DallE by me

It's 6 AM, pitch dark, while I'm stumbling out of bed as quietly as possible.

I don't want to wake anyone.

I'm on a ski holiday with my family in the Austrian Alps, and I want to write this email in silence before everybody wakes up.

Many of you who follow me on LinkedIn might know my story and understand the name 'The Bored Millennial'.

But it doesn't hurt to explain how I ended up here. Writing this email at 6.24 in the morning.

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Born in 1991 (hence 'Millennial') and raised in West Flanders (Belgium), I happily grew up in a warm, loving family with a wonderful dog. I had great times at high school and university and it wasn't until I entered the 'real world', my problems started.

I was bored to death at work. (Hence 'the Bored')

In 2015, I started working a sales job in a bank office in a small town. Eager to learn and ambitious to grow, I threw myself into it. Soon, I was labelled as having high potential and took the next step on the hierarchical ladder.

My colleagues and boss noticed nothing, but I was getting bored. The job was too repetitive and unchallenging for me.

Every day, I thought, 'There must be something wrong with me. Everyone is so busy, why am I not?' I became very insecure. I asked for more work and change, but they said I wanted too much and fast. So I kept going, afraid of being caught doing nothing or losing my job.

I became a shadow of my vibrant, active self.

I had no energy left, didn't sleep well, worried endlessly, had headaches, didn't feel like doing anything, and my social life suffered. I no longer saw any challenge and didn’t believe I mattered. My self-esteem plummeted. Slowly but surely, I lost myself completely. I scrolled through all the social media feeds, and the hours seemed to go on forever.

This went on from 2016 until in december 2018, I read the article 'Do you have a bore-out?' I recognized every point.

I saw a doctor, and she told me to stay home and find myself again.

My recovery journey started with a therapist, psychologist, and career coach. I slowly climbed out of the deep, dark hole. I rediscovered my passion for reading and creativity (which I believed I didn't have) and reconnected with nature, myself, and my friends and family.

It took me 6 months to feel better.

However, I didn't get an answer to why I got bored so quickly. No further questions were asked during therapy sessions, doctor appointments, or career coaching. I didn't wonder too much and thought this would be a one-time thing. So I took a new job as a consultant, and I was sure I was all fixed and ready to kick some ass.

Soon, boredom struck again.

So what did I do? I blamed the environment and changed jobs again, now as a freelancer.

Very quickly, I ended up in a negative spiral - bored again.

I started to spend my time differently: listening to podcasts about personal growth, reading, walking a lot, a little morning routine, setting priorities, etc. Nothing helped.

I refused to let it get as far as my previous bore-out and sought help.

I began working with a business coach who combined personal and business growth. It was a transformational experience. This coaching program gave me the confidence I needed to start writing online. In December 2022, I published the first post of many on LinkedIn.

Yet again, boredom sneaked back into my professional life. And writing became something to fill the empty time.

How is this possible? What the hell is wrong with me?

I started to get angry and frustrated. All I want is to work according to the potential I know I have in me.

At this point, I was sharing my story online, and others shared their stories with me. Something that kept popping up was boredom and highly intelligent people. Was it possible this was also the case for me?

'No, impossible. I cannot be.'

'Or can it?'

Could neurodiversity be the reason for my years of boredom?

Next week I'll take some tests and find out more.

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It's now 7.20. The family just got up.

Time to wrap it up.

All I want to add is this:

I'm a searching person. I'm content with what I have, but there's an undeniable longing for more, for pushing myself to another level. A longing for finding freedom and joy, and an immense joy in doing what I love. I want a job or a business of myself that does something meaningful and is worth fighting for.

I believe many people can identify themselves with this feeling.

With the Bored Millennial, I hope to reach that next level and share the ups and downs with you.

Follow the honest journey of a real person who's not writing this with AI. She only creates her images with AI.

I promise, this is coming straight from my brain and my fingers typing on this (slightly dirty) keyboard.

Thank you for reading!!

I highly appreciate any feedback, it would help me grow only more.