Let’s assume for a moment that motivation is the key fuel to take action in life. We live in such times where there’s no dearth of motivational videos and we are all diving into the world of motivation from left, right and center. Be it weight loss, positivity, earning income, learning English, building confidence, etc.
The world might not have seen Harry Potter had JK Rowling been getting bored on a long train ride. Research also says that in 1666 Sir Isaac Newton had to work from home for more than a year due to the great plague of London. At that time, Newton was a student at Cambridge. It asked students to study from their homes. Guess what happened that time? He found theories on optics, calculus, motion, and gravitation. That year was called Newton’s year of wonders. So, when boredom strikes creativity can actually take off. Fascinating isn’t it?
Have you ever felt stuck in such a situation and when do you feel bored?
Why do people find jobs and work? I feel that humans need something to dwell on in their day-to-day lives. During our childhood we get busy with our school life, then college, our career, and so on.
The problem comes after 50 when our kids have flown off their nest, we have kind of achieved few of our goals, spouses in a marriage have nothing much to talk about or when youngsters are jobless while their friends are working, etc etc.
Now, everybody does not have the knack for making this mental state productive. So, what do most people do to counter their boredom? Some resort to filling in this void with food, shopping, watching Netflix, engaging on social media, and chatting for long hours on the phone. We are spending endless hours at home binging on food and Netflix, waiting for life to happen. Fair enough. But do these things improve the quality of our lives? Think about it.
When we are busy doing these mundane things, we escape from the fact that we don’t want to think about where our lives are leading us to. But this is the time when we have ample time to think and plan our life, make a road map and take baby steps that can lead us to our desired life. This is the real phase when we can actually “think”.
Years back as my kids started becoming independent, and my husband busier in his work, boredom seeped into my life. While my girl gang was busy shopping, I went and gave job interviews. It is due to those boring days that I have a ten-year career which gave me my identity.
I am sharing this all because my personal experience says that all is not lost when you are alone or there’s nothing much to do. Maybe it’s time to discover yourself. So why miss this opportunity?
So, here’s what boredom can do to us
- Boredom can give you sparking ideas and eureka moments.
- You can plan for the future.
- It can increase productivity.
- Explore new places or develop new skills.
- You think and get life-changing ideas.
So, It is only boredom that can make you think divergent and make your creative juices flow. Many artists and musicians have used boredom to their advantage. It helps them to CREATE. From my experience, I can just say that "For the wise, boredom is play. For the ordinary, it's hell!" Which one are you?
