I am someone who took pride in keeping myself "busy".
All the stories I have been told pointed me to it.
These words ring in my ear to this day...
👉 "An idle mind is a devil's workshop"
👉 "The opposite of happiness is not sadness. It's boredom"
👉 "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."
👉 "Boredom is only for people with no imagination"
👉 "Boredom is nothing but the experience of a paralysis of our productive powers."
🤩 With years of diligence and practice, I have gotten really good at being "productive" every waking minute of my day. It has served me well.
And so whenever I used to see someone just 'laying there', my judgment was quick to kick in. I would think (and sometimes even say)...
👩🏾⚖️ "What a waste of time! Get up and do something!" 👩🏾⚖️
Over the years, as the pace of the world has accelerated, I have found myself "doing" my "somethings" faster in order to keep up. The faster I moved, the faster the world moved.
I found myself saying things like,
😳 "I need more hours in the day."
😩 "Where did the time go?"
🥴 "I wish I had more time."
Often, it would leave me metaphorically breathless and impatient.
Until I read a newsletter from my friend Jay Malone (New Haircut), whose work and ideas I admire. He talked about sitting in15 minutes of boredom during his refresh and renew weeks.
15 minutes of doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!
Intrigued, I decided to give it a try for a few Sundays in a row.
15 minutes of doing NOTHING was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Those 15 minutes were the LONGEST 15 minutes I have ever experienced.
But here is what I noticed...
🤗 The week that followed felt abundant!
I was able to do all the things I could do before AND other things I wished I had time for - like taking a leisurely walk, reading a book, watching a show, and slow cooking dinner without feeling breathless or impatient. I had more TIME!
I am curious if my hypothesis that 'Boredom can activate abundance' will be validated by others. In any case, I am going to make it part of my routine.