However unreal as it may seem, boredom has its own share of benefits. People grow up believing that an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. But given the current scenario, your mind needs to be kept idle a couple of minutes each day for it to refresh and resume its activities for the day. Here is when the benefits of boredom set in.
Boredom is another way of implying that you have nothing better to do than sit idle. This is good. Sitting idle and letting your mind wander off on its own is better than allowing your thought-process to be influenced by social media and the internet. Here are a few undeniable and less-known benefits of boredom that many people are not quite aware of.
Gives you a reality check:
Being bored has a new meaning to it these days. There is plenty of chaos all around us both physically and emotionally, and you will hardly find boredom in the lives of people. Attending schools, colleges, or working long hours take up a huge chunk of our days’ time.
The rest of the time is taken up by surfing the internet, using social media, and watching YouTube videos. These are all ways to kill any spare time you might find. But being bored without a gadget or a digital screen gives you a reality check. In reality, very few people have an idea of what to do when bored.
When bored, you tend to ponder over your thoughts and actions and visualize your goals better. It gives you time to slow down and grasp the happenings of your surroundings. The benefits of boredom make you realize what you are missing out on life. Boredom also encourages you to admire and appreciate little details better than before.
Enhances creativity:
In a slightly different aspect, boredom is required in today’s day and age. Being stripped away from all things that keep you engaged will result in revealing the side of you that is always kept covered. You may like reading, writing, painting, or any other type of craft or creative work. But due to all the things that keep you busy, one may not find the time for it.
College, office, and digital media are responsible for taking up too much of our time which leaves almost no time for us to dwell on our core habits. And this is one of the biggest benefits of boredom. Being bored will definitely unleash the creative side in you resulting in the best at the end of it.
Gratitude sets in:
We are constantly surrounded by things that keep us engaged. Be it digital screens, gadgets, smartphones, or television, we are continuously hooked on to them, both for entertainment and occupational purposes. If nothing else, we always have somebody to talk to either on the phone or in person. But boredom comes into picture when all of this taken away due to some reason.
It is only then that you realize how blessed one needs to have access to the digital luxuries of life. It makes you nothing but grateful to have these options at your fingertips to use them as and when you please. Instead of being complaining that ‘I am feeling bored,’ try and be grateful. Being grateful when bored makes you kill your time in a better manner. It also leads you to appreciate what you have instead of whining about what you don’t.
Best way to meditate and reflect:
There is no time better than the time that you are bored to meditate and reflect on your own deeds and life goals. A daily meditation time slot is important in order to give us a direction to move and keep our senses aligned. However, a majority of us have little to no time for meditation.
In that case, one may not know what to do when bored. It is better to use this free time to meditate and use some prep-talk for yourself. A good self-motivating and meditation session has tremendous benefits and leaves you refreshed, rejuvenated, and energetic to take on the rest of your day’s activities with a newly acquired will.
Other oblivious benefits of boredom:
- Boredom leaves you with enough time to spend with your family and rekindle lost relationships. You can make a phone call to a friend you haven’t spoken to in ages.
- You can sit down and have a nice chat with your parents or grandparents, or even a stranger.
- It allows you to view everything in slow-motion and leaves you dwelling deeply on the happenings in your surroundings.
- Being bored and giving your mind a break is the best way to subject yourself to a great mental workout.
Conclusion:
There are plenty of other ways than the ones mentioned above in order to make the best use of your free time. You may even advise these habits to people who say I am feeling bored most of the time. Just make sure that you don’t end up spending your time on something that won’t give you good and effective results in the long term.
Remember that boredom is an important thing to witness in the era that we are living in. The benefits of boredom are many, and all you need to do is look out for them. Allow every aspect of boredom to push you into becoming a better version of yourself each day.
