I have a question for you. What is a sure-fire sign that an activity, and it doesn't matter what it is, is going to be boring?

You can be sure that an activity is going to be boring, if the person who is doing it is bored. Now this may sound perfectly obvious - but let me tell you a bit more about what I mean.

When I was in college, I took a class in Shakespeare that I enjoyed a great deal. One day, when we were discussing King Lear in class, one of the students made the comment that he thought our textbook, "The Complete Works of Shakespeare," was boring. Well! The professor drew himself up to his full five feet six inches and said something I have never forgotten. "Young man," he said, "there are boring books and then there are bored readers reading fascinating books. I am afraid you are one of the latter."

I believe boredom is a subtle form of negative thinking. I've heard it defined as hostility without enthusiasm. It often contains elements of fear or anger, or both.

So when you find yourself feeling bored, ask yourself if there is something you are anxious or angry about. Look beneath the surface and see what is draining your enthusiasm, what you are resisting. Boredom can be a signal that you may be just a step away from doing some real growing.

Remember: boredom, like beauty, is strictly in the eye of the beholder.