There's incredible freedom in boredom. We live in a world where we have access to 24/7 entertainment for the low price of $7.99 to $13.99 a month, depending on which streaming service you like most.
When we get bored, most of us go into one of three defaults. We put in ear phones (or Air Pods for the Apple enthusiasts), we turn on Netflix, or we scroll through social media. While killing time, we're also killing opportunities to set ourselves apart. It's easier than ever to be a creator.
Self-publish a book, start a blog (like this one), spin up a podcast and interview people on interesting topics, read a book. There's countless opportunities to do something that will benefit yourself and others.
I grew up in rural Louisiana, and my nearest neighbor was several acres of soy bean fields. Most of my school friends lived at least 20-30 miles from my house, and my parents didn't find it worth the time, effort, or gas money to drive me out to the "big city" and pick me up after we had our fill of socializing. Needless-to-say, I had plenty of opportunity for boredom.
I loved sports, but after hours of basketball and pitching to the brick wall siding of our house, I'd fall into that same default of gaming consoles, television, and social media (AOL instant messenger was the jam back then).
But one day I got so bored, I was watching the circus perform on ESPN. There was rarely anything good on television in the middle of the day, and streaming services didn't exist back then. You can only watch the same DVDs and VHS tapes over and over until you can quote them all word for word.
But the circus intrigued me! I always wanted to learn how to juggle, so I studied the clowns for almost thirty minutes until I understood the patterns of the items they were juggling and how they transitioned between hands.
I grabbed a few of my baseballs and got to work. If you saw my old room today, you'd still notice the dents in the walls from where I wildly misjudged where the ball should go. But after several hours on that random afternoon, bored as can be, I had figured out how to juggle. It wasn't pretty, but over the years I was able to refine the skill. It's now quite easy. If you see me in person, I'd be happy to oblige.
What I learned that day is that boredom wasn't a bad thing. Boredom can be used as a gateway to discovery. As the pace of the world continues to increase, I encourage you to seek out those moments of boredom and use that time to learn something new or work at creating something.
I credit boredom to getting promoted four times in three years in my first real job after college. I had a degree in Agricultural Business when I entered the workforce, but the degree was only half business classes. I didn't have the vocabulary or experience I needed to be successful, so I learned all I could and took online Coursera courses when I had downtime. I tried to immediately apply what I learned on Coursera in my job and it worked. The combination of the experience I was getting as a contractor for a major semiconductor brand, coupled with the continued learning I was doing in my downtime is why I experienced such fast professional growth in those first few years.
While your co-workers play on Facebook, watch TikTok videos, or check their Instagram, what could you be doing to turn boredom into freedom?
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