Have you ever felt that being idle and doing nothing is always terrible?? Then think again. As u read this my piece on boredom u discover that it's a period you should always look forward to everyday.
Boredom.
A new emotion born into the world as a result of expanse of hours doing nothing, chasing distractions and external stimuli caused by lack of interest. This new emotion which our forefathers lambasted has come as a desire that hunts us to this day. Our primitive ancestors saw life as a constant trudge entailing endless labour to secure his need and amenities, had little or no time for leisure and for any reason it surfaced it was used to perform rituals that had an effect on their hard life and struggles. Unfortunately boredom wasn't a choice. At work or ritual ceremonies, the mind was filled with unaccomplished task to be executed. Fortunately, civilization and artificial intelligence was born, which has helped us work faster and easier granting us lots of free time, and with this much free time and being alone in one’s house, the mind meanders however it pleases.
Are you bored or experiencing boredom? is a rhetorical question that will help define our need for satisfaction. As G.K Chasterton said “there are no uninteresting things only uninterested people”. It becomes evidently clear that boredom is not a lack of stimulation but a lack of interest while being bored is a mental state to avoid self reflection. A condition not to be avoided,we tend to eschew it by engaging in tricky forms of entertainment (being busy) and by fortifing ourselves against it we hinder our potentials from drinking from the most powerful elixir of our mind’s endless spring. As John Eastwood said “boredom is a crisis of meaning”. I believe that escaping this uncomfortable feelng via the aid of social media or worse only leads to the surpressing of the creative part of the brain and silencing of our inner voice from speaking to us.
“Most people cannot handle boredom, that means they can’t stay on one thing until they get good at it and they wonder why they are unhappy”- Curtis Jackson (50cent). To be the best, achieve those large goals, grow and succeed, you have to learn a craft or an art, educate yourself and develop the required skill. All human activities involve a process of mastery. You must learn the various steps and processes involved in proceeding higher and higher levels of proficiency. This requires determination, discipline and dedication- the ability to withstand repeative activity, slowness and anxiety from the challenge. Becoming a master, you must see boredom as a form of privacy which leads to flight of fancy but ultimately self discipline. It must be a part of one's schedule to engage in autographical planning. A period of time to go through our failures, listen to those heartbreaking critics, review those praises and plan our future. To get better and attain mastery we must accept the silence and mind travel that comes with it, because those short periods of time we find ourselves are en route to discovery.
In a nutshell, boredom is a moxie which teaches us that life is not a parade of amusement but is the birthplace of Genius.