The importance of boredom
Photo by Min An
Hello again my love.
Why are we all so distracted?
Why does constant distraction result in our minds and bodies feeling restless and unfulfilled instead of happy and healthy?
Is boredom the problem… or is it the solution?
Nowadays we rarely allow ourselves to feel bored.
We rarely allow ourselves to sit alone in silence with nothing but a stream of thoughts running through our minds.
Rest isn’t even considered real rest anymore, because our minds are consumed by a screen the whole time.
Distraction gives us instant gratification. It relieves us from having to feel any uncomfortable thoughts or emotions present in our awareness. It provides a steady stream of dopamine in our brains, keeping us hooked and wanting for more.
We’re addicted to distraction, and distraction is not serving us.
From a young age, we’re taught that boredom is a problem that needs to be solved.
Go play outside, go read something, go do something useful with your time! By all means, don’t just sit there doing nothing!
This same messaging is present once we become adults. I have to clean the kitchen and then the garage, I have to finish next weeks assignment, I have to run errands! By all means, I can’t just sit here doing nothing!
But boredom is one of the most valuable emotions that we have to utilize in order to increase our presence and fulfillment.
Boredom allows us the freedom to observe.
It gives us the time we need to question things, and to listen long enough in order to hear the answer.
It allows us time to seek perspective, to confront what we are actually feeling. Boredom helps us strengthen the skill of imagining, daydreaming, and letting our minds fully wander.
We are so compelled to fill the open spaces in our day with as many tasks as we possibly can achieve.
And in the small windows we do take a moment for ourselves, we grab our phones or turn the tv on instead of taking a second to just be bored.
We would be far more productive and efficient if we set aside more time to simply feel bored.
To let ourselves be. To do… nothing at all.
Our higher functioning brain works better when it has time to process and unwind.
Our lower, primitive brain just wants the dopamine because it’s afraid it’s going to die soon.
I suggest you listen to your higher brain.
Consider your higher more efficient self the next time your primitive brain wants to reach for the phone or the remote.
Doing nothing isn’t meaningless.
Doing nothing is really healthy.
Here’s the deal, our brain’s are so fearful of feeling uncomfortable emotions and confronting our suppressed thoughts.
But doing these things is not scary.
It’s actually transformative.
It’s life giving.
And it’s something you can start doing, today.
Your friendly coach,
Ellicia
