When you pay attention to boredom, it gets unbelievably interesting. – Jon Kabat-Zinn
People don’t like being bored. It’s a feeling most try to avoid. Today, fortunately, we can stave off boredom because there is always something to entertain us. But is it really such a good thing? Turns out that boredom actually has a very important purpose.
Boredom is essential to our creativity. A common issue today is that we are overstimulated. What does this mean? That our brain is constantly receiving and processing information. Think about it. You are listening to music, browsing social media, which bombards you with a thousand bits of information per second, watching videos, walking through a city space that is full of ads, all colorful and bright, demanding your attention. You constantly have to check your email and your notifications, you are probably in a dozen conversations at any given time! All this means that your brain is always busy processing information. While this is going on, you probably can struggle to focus on other things.
Maybe you want to be creative, but you don’t get any ideas. Maybe you try to make things of your own and find that it’s harder. All these things show that you might be overstimulated, as your brain is always processing information that comes from the outside.
One great solution is boredom! Boredom is not a pleasant experience, and your brain will immediately try to push through it. If you focus on your phone and social media, then things will go as they always do. But if you don’t try to tamper down on boredom through something external, after a few minutes you will begin to notice magical things.
When you don’t immediately scratch the itch with an easy solution, your brain becomes more creative. It starts to produce things of its own. The only thing you need to do to reap these rewards is to allow yourself to be bored for ten, fifteen minutes. After this, you brain starts working and producing.
Boredom is not fun, and it’s not supposed to be. However, it is very useful. It is the state that promotes creativity. Even a short time of being bored encourages your brain to come up with ideas. So, the next time you are facing a creative block, just give yourself time to be bored and don’t try to remedy it with social media or games. Embrace the boredom!
