The Simple Reason Why Embracing Boredom is Key to Your Next Creative Obsession
Recently, I found myself feeling really down on myself, restless, and frustrated. I kept thinking about all the things I have going for me in my current life.
Things like my day job, my creative business, my art practice, my marriage, my pets, my friends, etc. Basically, all the things that anyone looking from the outside in would feel grateful for. However, no matter how hard I tried to be positive, I just couldn’t get out of this funk.
This resistance also shows up as not wanting to step away from my work, taking breaks, or resting when I need to. It’s like the more stuck I feel, the more I want to think my way out of the problem.
This is usually my cue that things are about to spiral out of control unless I force myself to step away. This experience is not uncommon amongst curious and creative types.
So many of us struggle with overworking and feeling guilty when we want to step away from it all. Mainstream society will have us believe that the only way to achieve success is to work to the point of exhaustion before we can earn our right to rest.
Capitalism and technology have trained us to believe that everything is urgent and we must always be available to others. We are constantly on, consuming, and addicted to being entertained. We have forgotten the art of being bored.
Contrary to popular belief, boredom offers us an opportunity to get curious and rediscover things about ourselves, our interests, and our lives if we are open to it. Boredom serves as a space for the creative mind to rest and recharge.
We need space to process what we have been consuming, to step back from producing, to observe what has already been created, and make room to connect with the deeper parts of ourselves.
The more we allow ourselves to practice being bored, the more this becomes a part of our creative process. We don’t see it as an obstacle but more as an opportunity to get off the hamster wheel and appreciate our existing progress.
We give room to our curiosity and can begin asking different types of questions. Boredom can show us the areas where we’re staying comfortable and challenge us to try new things so we can experience a renewed sense of excitement, motivation, and drive.
The key to working with our boredom is to allow it to exist without attaching a disempowering story to it. The more we learn to integrate boredom into our process the more natural it will become. Boredom can be a catalyst to our next greatest adventure, discovery, and/or creative project.
The next time you’re feeling bored don’t run away from it and start looking for your next dopamine fix. Simply acknowledge your emotional state and honor it. Take that nap you desperately need, go out for a walk, and let yourself be uninspired. You’ll survive it, I promise!
You might even be surprised at what comes out of your time away from work and inactivity. Let me know how it goes.
Renata is a creativity coach guiding women of color creatives to breakthrough creative block with therapeutic art making. She’s currently offering a free copy of her therapeutic art making workbook when you sign up for her email list. Sign up here to get your free copy.
