No, I am not poking fun at the Rediscover vouchers, and I ought to use them soon really. Instead, I’m wondering if I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be bored. With the internet in our pockets, being preoccupied has become the new default state of being. Doing “nothing”, now feels uncomfortable and strange, and within moments, we feel the pull and gravitate towards whatever can occupy our time in that instant. Anything but doing nothing.
That’s basically me. I’m always finding something to occupy myself, no matter how mindless it is. When I’m travelling, I’m on my phone, I listen to music or I (very rarely) read a book. In my downtime at home I browse the interwebs, binge YouTube and Netflix, or play games. Sometimes I would rather do these mindless things, than simply have an early night. There rarely are any pockets of time where I’m not actively or passively engaged in something. Does that mean boredom is dead? Has entertainment and leisure triumphed?
Well, not quite. To no one’s surprise really, boredom is still a thing.
Today when we talk about boredom, the conversation is usually something along the lines of “Yeah Instagam is so boring”, “There’s nothing to watch on Netflix” or my personal favourite, “I’m bored but I don’t wanna do _____”. So it turns out that these things which we have been using to combat the boringness of doing nothing, is more often than not, just as boring. Who would’ve thought?
But why are trying to so hard to combat boredom anyway? Is boredom really such a bad thing? I would assume too much of it is not a good sign, but perhaps the little pockets of boredom littered throughout the day are not as bad as we make them out to be.
So, here’s what I propose, for myself at least. The next time I’m bored, I’m going to… do nothing. Okay not exactly do nothing. I can do many things. Get lost in thought. Be present in the moment and take in my surroundings. Look up at the sky and stars, you can actually see them sometimes! Sure at times, my mind wanders to a place of anxiety and worry, but I don’t think distraction is a good cure. I’ve found that what worked for me, was dwelling a little longer in my thoughts and walking myself through these thoughts rationally. But I digress.
As a start, I’m going to stop listening to music while travelling, because I guess that is still passively entertaining me in a way. Instead, I will focus wholeheartedly on my noble pursuit of doing nothing. Wish me luck.
lowercased C 