Boredom is good

Boredom is good:

Boredom is good.

It’s nice to sit without technology paying attention to the world around you.

We forget to do that these days.

How many people do you think can sit without their phone or a screen next to them for 10 minutes?

Not many.

We’re always on it.

Attached to the ‘world.’

But are we?

Are we really more knowledgeable about what’s going on around us?

We know more about politics and current events, but at what cost?

The news makes you miserable.

When was the last time you watched the news and felt good about yourself after?

Same with Instagram, Twitter, or any form of social media?

Do you really enjoy it, or is it just a time pass?

It’s a time pass.

I was having this conversation recently with my sister.

We’re currently on vacation. She wanted to go to the beach to take photos for Instagram and brought me along with her.

When we went, we saw these 16-year-old girls taking pictures for over an hour.

No lie, they spent one hour in the same pose taking hundreds of pictures to get the ‘perfect’ shot.

It reminded me that growing up today as a kid in the world of social media is completely different than how I grew up.

Now status is about what you have online.

Your digital persona is perceived as more important than your real persona.

You could look like a star online but in real life, you’re too afraid to talk to anyone and are insecure about who you are.

But your digital persona is not really you.

No ones is.

When was the last time you were around a group of people who weren’t checking their phones for longer than 10 minutes?

It’s so rare these days to have people, especially in a group, truly present.

We’re all trying to leave the current moment.

We’ve forgotten what it’s like to enjoy what’s in front of you.

Learn how to be bored.

It helps you figure out how the world really works.

It allows you to ask questions of the world and yourself that you would otherwise never ask.

Like ‘how do I become happier?’

One thing I learned is relationships with others are the bedrock of happiness.

Seriously.

The longest study ever done on happiness by Harvard University concluded the number one predictor of happiness is good long-term relationships.

Here’s the TED talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KkKuTCFvzI

Sadly, the people you want to spend the most time with like your friends and family are sometimes the ones you see the least.

We’re too focused on work and advancing ourselves that we sometimes forget to enjoy the moments with those that will always be there for us.

Denzel said something that stuck with me.

‘If you died tonight, your employer would advertise to fill your job by the end of your month. But your loved ones, chosen family and friends, would miss you forever. Don’t get too busy making a living that you forget to work on making a life.’

Spend more time with those that matter, and less with those that don’t.

You don’t need to be friends with everyone. You don’t need to everyone to like you.

You have to decide how you want to spend your time.

If you’re constantly giving for other people, what time do you have for yourself?

So make time for yourself.

Allow yourself to be bored.

It’ll allow you to follow your curiosities and be the best version of yourself you can be.

Boredom is good.