Title: Why Boredom Is Good for Your Creativity
Context: If you ain’t bored, you ain’t being creative.
Synopsis: I have kids so I know all about dealing with bored people. God forbid 5 minutes goes past without something horribly stimulating beeping, buzzing or flashing within their field of vision and debilitating boredom starts to set in. “Dad! I’m boooooooored…” I resist the urge to explain to them that they aren’t going to be 10 years old forever and instead tell them to go find something to do. This usually leads to some loud sighs and even louder foot stomping but this shortly gives way to silence. And then – amazingly – about 15 minutes later there comes another, much more pleasant sound: laughter. From the depths of their cruel and crushing boredom emerges imagination and fun fueled by the innate creativity being suppressed by so many mechanized distractions. In case you haven’t done the math, that’s us too. TV. Internet. Mobile phones. All of it blocks our creative nature in the name of “interestingness”. Do not give in. Embrace your boredom and revel in the creative epiphany that is sure to follow.
Best Bit: “[T]he right kind of boredom is the kind you experience in spite of the fact that you know this is something you really, really want to do – i.e. work on a big creative challenge. That should alert you to the fact that it’s only a smokescreen for Resistance.”
via 99u.com
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