The human mind's tolerance for repetition fascinates me. No matter how hard I try mentally, there is not much room for deviation in a routine of commuting to an office and sitting on a chair and staring at a screen for eight hours a day, five days a week. I've been doing this for about three and a half years now, and it's crushing my soul. So when I hear of people working in an office for 20, 30, even 40 years, I really don't know whether it deserves admiration or pity.
The most striking example of repetition tolerance in my work environment is the contentedness with which people can listen to commercial radio stations that play the same 12-15 obnoxious tracks day after day after day. How is this possible? It may be that they don't notice how strange it is, and I'm wondering if I've just been burdened with a sensitivity to noticing these things. Either way, thinking about it logically it simply has to be considered an odd thing for society to have taken on, especially considering the wealth of choice available. I understand people maybe not having the same insatiable inquisitiveness that I have to find real quality beneath the surface, but do people really not want to consume anything that's not marketed loudly and harshly right in front of their eyes?
I imagine the reason for my intolerance of repetition is that my mind naturally seeks adventure and variety whereas I appreciate for a lot of people this may not be the case, so they are perfectly at ease with a repetitive routine. So why have I put myself through it for so long? A decent wage. Too lazy and cowardly to push myself further. I am proud that I can at least see this and admit it. And I'll be looking to change it over the coming months. One thing I have realised is that repetition is easy. It is a shallow way of living. I know this because I do it myself in some aspects of life. I'll cook the meals I already know how to cook because it's easier and quicker than making something new. On the rare occasion that I'm watching TV I'll watch a repeat of The Simpsons where I already know what happens instead of seeing if there's anything new and interesting on. Which to be honest there probably isn't on free-view.
Consciously and constantly shunning repetition outside of work is tiring and time-consuming but it's worth it. There's so much to explore and know in this world. It's limitless and so is my lust for knowledge and fresh enjoyment. I'm not saying enjoying repetition is boring because I've realised that whether it makes you comfortable or not is down to personality, not necessarily a lack of imagination. However, I'd say things like wanting to listen to the same songs on a radio station for months on end does make it likely that you are inherently boring in certain ways. Still, each to their own.
