Boredom, Creativity, and Sense of Self
A recent Pearls Before Swine comic strip used the above image to make a point about writing. For me, it brought up thoughts about how stuck we often feel in today’s culture. How inadequate and unable and lost we feel.
With so many ways to distract ourselves today, it’s no wonder we struggle to create new ideas or be comfortable as we are. Boredom is a necessary ingredient for the creative process and for self-exploration but when was the last time you allowed yourself to be truly bored? Our culture admonishes the idea of boredom as a waste of time. Why sit still when we can be productive or at least just busy? Ever thought any of these:
- It’s so quiet, I’ll just check my email
- Why is the doctor making me wait so long, I’ll just scroll social media
- This show is okay, but I can play my game while I watch
Often, we are so overstimulated and under-inspired that quiet and boredom breed fear. Technology and social media tend to discourage our willingness to express individualism with others/ads/news constantly telling us “that is wrong” or “that isn’t good enough” or “look at all these people who are doing better than you.” The message that we are not enough breeds fear of laziness and a lack of accomplishment. The “itch” to move and fill the holes in our days, weeks, lives, selves keeps us from actually enjoying all we do. In fact, when was the last time you felt true excitement or joy instead of just commitment? The sad truth is that we avoid the strong, scary emotions (sadness, fear, loneliness) so much that the strong, fulfilling emotions (excitement, joy, love) have also been deadened.
I challenge you to give yourself permission to be bored on occasion. Log off for an hour or two a week and just sit with the quiet. Allow the discomfort and pain to just be, while you explore and get to know yourself again. Some ideas to encourage that exploration:
- Get a blank notebook and just write
- Get a sketchpad/canvas and just do art
- Get outside and go run, garden, play
- Have a dance party alone or with family and friends
- Get in the kitchen and create a new dish
Have the courage to do something new knowing that failure and frustration are part of the process. They only provide information to allow us to keep growing. What new thing would you like to try this week? 💜
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Empowered Counseling 