Jordan Peterson noted we should “Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street”, I would like to go a step further and urge you to embrace boredom. This is not another critique at social media, more one at our inability to sit still and do nothing.
I recently noticed a strange thing about being an adult; You are rarely, if ever, bored. This is especially true because of mobile communication devices and it’s endless supply of entertainment. As I look around myself we seem to have become afraid of boredom. Somewhere in 2018 I decided to put my phone somewhere random when I got home instead of having it handy. This forced me to sit still and focus on what was at hand. Just a few weeks ago I tried something new and started being bored on purpose before I go on to the next piece of distraction. I still fly my racing drone, read books, watch movies and so on. However, preceding this distraction I try to be bored for a bit.
Over the last couple of weeks I noticed an increase in my ability to focus and an overall increase in peace of mind. During stressful situations both at work or at home I’m more able steer my emotions instead of having them steer me.
Even though I was a bit reluctant at being bored before I tried it, I’m avidly using it in my life every chance I get. I am not expecting to become an expert at being bored but as a novice I’m already convinced of its use.
I won’t be judging anyone who is unwilling to be bored, I would however ask anyone reading this to give it a try. It is often referred to as mindfulness or meditation, both terms loaded with spirituality and ‘woowoo’. So if these terms scare you away just think of it as I do, be bored even if it is just for a few minutes.
As I have written this I noticed a post by Dereck Muller (Veritasium) which is very comparable to mine. I urge you to have a look!