The Power of Boredom
When you hear the word boredom, what do you think of?
For most people, the word has a negative connotation. Boredom is uncomfortable. Even the Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “bored” as “feeling weary and impatient because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity.”
So why would we ever want to be bored? Especially if we don’t need to be.
We live in a highly stimulating world. These days, boredom is a foreign feeling that we only experience on rare occasions. Every waking second, we find a way to stimulate our brains by scrolling through social media, watching sports, movies, and TV shows, or listening to music or podcasts. These activities keep us from falling into the dark and scary pit of boredom.
But what if we dove straight into the pit… on purpose?
This blog post is a guide to everything you need to know about boredom, including its powerful benefits and how to start being bored.
But first, let’s diagnose the problem we are facing.
The human mind is built to evolve and progress, so it looks for tangible ways to do so. We turn to books, classes, articles, videos, and other types of media to find the best way to proceed in life. We try to squeeze every unassigned second of their lives into something that we think will bring us more value. We listen to personal development podcasts at double speed on our commute to work. We binge YouTube tutorials while washing the dishes. Yes, these media can be very useful. But we’re often overlooking our most powerful asset: our mind. More specifically, our mind when it is undistracted and free from high stimulation.
This is where boredom comes into play.
Being bored is an expansive activity. It allows the mind to run free and wander wherever it pleases, which fosters creativity, and new ideas. Shahram Heshmat, writing in Psychology Today, said, “In the absence of external stimulation, we use our imagination and think in different ways.”
Boredom can result in heightened clarity and vision for life goals and decisions. While it might feel counterintuitive, inefficient, and unproductive to not do things, boredom can save you heaps of time and repetitive frustration. Let your mind run free, and it will guide you.
I never realized any of this until I started sitting on benches.
This past August as I was preparing to leave for my 6-month trip, I encountered a few travel problems. For the entire day, I scoured the internet in search of a solution. It wasn’t until I left and sat on a bench that the answer came to me, clear as day.
At that moment, I realized the power of boredom. I was more productive in 15 minutes on a bench than I was for 6 hours behind a computer. Since then, I’ve noticed that my greatest ideas have come while staring at walls, folding my laundry, and of course, sitting on more benches.
At this point, I know you are dying to find out how you can start being bored too. Luckily, boredom prices these days are not too bad. You can find a solid boredom program for around $15-$20/month. No, for real though, my favorite part about boredom is that it will cost you zero. Yes, you read that correctly! Being bored is free. However, if you would like to purchase Boredom Premium, you can spend a few bucks on a coffee and a banana to accompany you as you wander aimlessly through your mind.
Boredom is not only free, but also accessible as well. My favorite method of achieving boredom is to find any ordinary public bench and bring nothing. Listen, I love benches, and by no means is every bench-sitting experience going to be boring.
However, they are also a wonderful place to be bored, and that’s one reason I love them so much! They are neutral, low-stimulating environments that are perfect for experiencing boredom. It’s the kind of boredom where you might initially feel restless or impatient, but if you sit with it long enough, your brain starts to work through ideas and problems in new ways. So I implore you: go sit on a bench, get bored, and let your mind run free. What a treat.
