Embrace Boredom and Live Your Best Life

Existing in boredom is becoming harder and harder by the day.

When we were young, boredom was welcome. I remember going on road trips with my family where my sister and I would make up games to keep ourselves entertained. One of the games was called ‘double numbers’. We would tap each other every time we saw a car with, yes you guessed it, double numbered car plates (or more). I’m not sure if we made up the game or learnt it from one of our friends but it was a fun way to stay observant and ‘kill’ time as we avoided continually asking our parents, ‘Are we there yet?’

Being a kid, boredom birthed room for play and creativity. But as an adult, boredom is dreaded to the point that we rarely (if at all) give it an opportunity to make an appearance in our daily lives. Our weekends are packed with activities and any free time we have, where boredom attempts to rear its head, is filled with mindless scrolling or Netflix and chill sessions.

About a week ago, I found myself in a similar situation. It was a Saturday morning and I had nothing to do and nowhere to go. This was my first free weekend in a couple of months and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I resorted to what I do best in such trying times, Netflix and chill, 'What else is there to do?’

Right in that instance, I caught myself and realized that I actually had a choice, Netflix wasn’t my only option. I placed my yoga mat on the floor, put on some background music and just sat there. As the music was playing in the background I had no idea what to do with myself. Do I wash the dishes? Arrange my room? Go house shopping? Ideas of what I could do to preoccupy my time came to mind but I decided to sit there instead with no plan in mind and ride out the discomfort.

A few minutes later, I was googling song lyrics and singing along trying to find the right key and bursting out in laughter when I failed miserably. I’d also break into dance and make up moves along the way, tiring myself out. A few hours later I was journaling about random life and business ideas, things I want to accomplish and anywhere my thoughts would take me. I wrote with no plan/intention in mind.

Sitting through the first few minutes of having nothing to do were excruciating. I’d find myself fidgety, subconsciously reaching for my phone or the TV remote, anything other than this, seemed like a relief! But once I got over that hurdle, I ended up having a much more beautiful and fulfilling morning than had I chosen the ‘distraction’ route.

Learning how to be still is slowly becoming one of our generations’ rare skills. We always have to be going somewhere and/or doing something. Simply existing with nothing to do or anywhere to go is looked at as a ‘problem’ that needs to be fixed. Sometimes we even go a step further by filling all our free time with productive things because we struggle to sit with ourselves and do nothing. A struggle that many of us can relate to.

Doing nothing is much harder than it seems. We have thoughts we are trying to avoid or responsibilities we are running away from, that boredom can sometimes be seen as a threat to our sanity. I argue that embracing boredom actually helps us restore our sanity.

Boredom, most times, is accompanied with silence, which then creates room for us to hear our thoughts that are often muffled by all the external noise. Boredom provides an opportunity for us to sift through our thoughts and listen to ourselves discovering what really matters to us. It also provides room for us to engage in play, nurturing our child-like self and eventually our creativity. Lastly, boredom allows us time to decompress. We consume so much information and external stimulation on a daily basis that a break from the constant overload will do your brain some good.

Boredom, though uncomfortable in the beginning, is something that I believe we should all try to schedule in our day-to-day lives. Once we fully create room for boredom in our lives, we will not only be happier and healthier but this deliberate time away from distractions will also lead to an improvement in our ability to focus. A side-effect that we could all benefit from.

As the year comes to an end, I hope that you will create time for ‘doing nothing’ and ride the boredom wave. Once you get over the restlessness and the ‘I need to be doing something!’ urge, creativity, play and relaxation will be waiting for you on the other side.

I wish you all the best on your journey to embracing boredom!

#ChooseToThrive