The power of boredom

What do you do when you are bored?

When I was little, I read a book titled, “I am so bored.” It was a story of two teenagers who said, “I am so bored.” The parents told them to go outside and find something to do. They lay down on the grass and looked at the sky. Then they saw some tools near the garage. So they started building seats and wings and went inside the house to grab some sheets to cover the plane. Then they took the engine, along with wheels, from the dad’s car. They built a plane and painted it. While the parents were looking for missing items, they noticed their boys flying the plane around the house, which eventually crashed near them. The parents were mad that they were so irresponsible. They sent the kids back to their rooms. Then the parents sat on the couch and said, “they have a such great imagination.” The story ends.

When you are bored, your brain begins to be creative, finding things for you to do. It allows you to look at things differently. This is why you have great ideas when you shower or go for a run. You are forced to be bored. You may be moving your body, but your mind is given the time and space to be creative. This is where you come up with good ideas and solutions for challenging problems. This is where you get your inspiration, and you can’t wait to get out of the shower to do something with your ideas.

You are inherently creative, and our world is distracting. You may even feel it is wrong to feel bored because you have a computer in your pocket. You have a device that holds songs, podcasts, movies, tv, and videos. In your mind, you probably think that you shouldn’t be bored, but you need boredom. If you want to be creative, you need boredom. If you want fresh ideas, you need boredom.

It is unnatural, but you have got to try to be bored. Let your mind wander, and see what comes out of it. You have a creative mind, don’t kill it with distractions and noise. Let your creativity come out by being bored.