Let’s Get Bored!

Most people avoid boredom. When I was little, one of my most frequent complaints to my parents was, “I’m so bored!” I always wanted to be doing something. Today, with the ease of access to the news, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. I can easily fill all my bored space with something interesting. Were I to do this, however, it would be a costly mistake. 

It turns out that there are many benefits to boredom. In a short talk, Dr. Arthur Brooks provocatively states, “You need to be bored. You will have less meaning and you will be more depressed if you never are bored.” He shares that when we think about nothing, our minds wander and think about “big questions of meaning.” If we are never bored, we don’t allow space to answer the most difficult and meaningful questions of our lives. This can lead to anxiety and a “feeling of hollowness.” 

In his book Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport discusses a similar benefit of boredom. When our brains are not engaged with any particular task, they tend to default to processing our social relationships. When we are bored we increase our understanding of the people in our world, what they mean to us and what we mean to them.

This week, I invite you to ask: 

How good am I at being bored? How much time do I allow myself to be bored? How might my life change if I were to open up more space for boredom? What would I need to give up in order to allow for more boredom? 

God bless,
Dan