Modern culture is dead set against boredom.
It leaks in our common speech: “Bored to Death,” “Bored Stiff,” “Bored Out of my Mind”.
But it’s not because there’s nothing to do. Especially these days, there’s really so much to do.
Really, when we’re bored, what’s happening is that nothing appeals to us.
We’re underwhelmed, and that’s why we feel restless, disinterested, and tired.
When we’re not doing anything, our mind wanders.
And because we’re not occupied with anything, it naturally wanders around our current and recent life circumstances.
And, for many, that’s an uncomfortable experience because they’re not happy with the way things are—with the way they are.
So, they look for an escape.
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter—you know them.
From app to app, screen to screen. Time ends up passing like we’re in a dream.
Anything to take the attention away from the present moment, from present feelings.
What do these constant stimuli do for us though?
They don’t change our circumstances, and they surely don’t make us feel any better.
It turns out, studies show that ‘being bored’ is actually really beneficial, and, in fact, necessary to create a good life.
Boredom promotes creativity, encourages us to make positive changes, and allows us time to think about the bigger picture of life.
The feeling of boredom itself is a clear indicator that we’re not living life the way we want to be.
So, if we let it, boredom can act as a powerful motivating factor to encourage us into switching things around.
When we’re constantly looking for an escape, we’ll rarely contemplate the bigger picture of our life.
We probably will never set long-term goals for ourselves, let alone create plans on how to achieve them.
It seems small and insignificant, but the next time you find yourself feeling bored, why not just let yourself be bored?
Why not let yourself see what the present moment has for you?
If it helps, see it as a test of courage to face the emotions that arise. Or even an experiment to see what the unknown holds.
Who knows, you may just uncover that one thing that’s been holding you back all this time. Maybe even get that one idea that changes everything—sets you on a completely different life path.
Or, you might just come back to your Facebook feed again.
…In which case, I’ll likely have something new for you, since I allow myself boredom to come up with stuff like this.