People should embrace boredom

THE ART OF BOREDOM People are too afraid of boredom, but there are loads of benefits to doing nothing

CARLY WOODHILL

opinions editor

Amajority of people hate being bored. That’s a simple fact of life, but what if I told you that being bored was good for you? Boredom is a concept repeated in self-help books buried under three hundred pages of filler, marketed in pathetic excuses for documentaries that talk about “learning to appreciate the small things” and touched on in scientific studies that are immediately pushed aside by the fast-paced news cycle. However, boredom is a skill that should be learned.

In a world where expectations are high and wages are low, people desperately want distractions in their lives. What could be better than the technology specifically designed to hold your attention for as long as possible? You don’t have to think about any of the bad things while you’re constantly being fed distractions. This makes it no wonder that people will reach for their phone at even the slightest hint of boredom in their lives.

This isn’t an argument about how phones are bad in the slightest. Despite how political cartoons depict the modern lifestyle, technology alone does not take the blame for these people’s inability to accept boredom. Using technology in a state of awareness isn’t a problem; the issue is that this awareness is becoming more and more scarce. People have come to accept the endless scrolling and advertisements hidden around every corner just as a part of life, which is exactly what the developers of this technology and marketers want.

So what can we do to combat our desire to constantly be preoccupied? The first is becoming aware of that our obsession with distraction is unhealthy. Then, it’s all a matter of boredom and learning how to accept it. Not every second of every day needs to be occupied. Take some time for yourself. Do nothing; meditate, if you can. As someone who meditates for thirty minutes a day as per recommendation from my therapist, I can attest to the fact that it is difficult to do. I have ADHD; my thoughts do not stop. This makes it hard to focus, hard to sleep and above all, hard to meditate. Meditation involves doing nothing, and when I inhabit a body that screams at me, if my hands aren’t moving, sitting on the floor and having my eyes closed suddenly becomes a task of Herculean proportions. I would rather do anything other than meditate, because at least I would be doing something.

The problem is that doing nothing — the thing I have so much trouble with — is exactly what I and many others need. I need to learn how to let myself be bored, and you probably do too. Boredom and the ability to do nothing are skills. So, I implore you: train them. p

BENEFITS OF BOREDOM Boredom can be helpful; here’s how

Boredom improves mental health

Being focused on nothing offers our brains a break from all the information it is constantly processing, and these breaks help relieve stress.

Boredom creates need for novelty

Humans naturally are adventure-seeking and curious creatures, and when we’re bored, we’re more likely to want to delve into these inherent traits.

Boredom increases creativity

When we’re bored, our brains will usually start to wander, and letting our brains wander can help facilitate new ideas.

Boredom teaches self-control

When you allow yourself to be bored, you are helping control the natural impulse to mentally stimulate yourself, which improves your self-control.