When I was a kid, the singular worst thing in the world was being bored.
I would rather…
…have been tortured by rabid possums.
…hang out near bees (And I hate being near bees).
….do ANYTHING but be bored.
There was always this internal drive that I needed to be doing something and (even to this day) lived by Lemony Snicket’s advice to “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them”
This isn’t new. I’m sure many of you, Dear Readers, feel the same way.
French philosopher and namesake of a triangle, Blaise Pascal wrote:
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone,"
He wrote that in the 1600s.
Now, things have changed to put it lightly.
Our minds are always engaged by the constant barrage of information from all sides.
…and I have to admit…I miss all those chances to be bored.
The thing is, always being constantly occupied is missing an important part of the creative process. An engaged mind can’t come up with new ideas. It’s so focused on the task or thing at hand that it’s impossible to think.
Meanwhile, a bored mind is left to its own devices. It has to figure things out for itself.
It has to make connections between thoughts and ideas and everything that’s all self contained in our minds.
Try to schedule more time to be bored.
Author and very productive human Chris Bailey writes about the idea of “scatterfocus”.
“Habitual scatterfocus” or being bored, “is the practice of letting your mind wander freely and see where it ends up.”
According to Bailey, this does 3 things:
replenishes mental energy
helps identify and accomplish goals
provides you with space to dream up your most brilliant and rare ideas
Sounds pretty good, right?
So go. Make space to do nothing.
Your creativity and best ideas may depend on it.
Liked this post? Share it with someone. Go ahead. I dare you. Do it, you won’t.
Today's reading recommendation:
Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey: https://amzn.to/3rQsgZV