Dopamine. It makes us happy, it excites us, it gives the world a certain glow. But, in excess, our brain starts to adapt, getting used to the instant gratification that our screens provide, turning the real world boring.
This time last week, I had no Wi-Fi. I know. Horror. And this time last week, that was my worst nightmare.
I didn’t realise that my fear of having no Wi-Fi was simply a fear of boredom. It turns out, I’m not alone. A study found that participants would rather induce an electric shock than be bored. People would quite literally rather be in pain than experience boredom. We are becoming hard-wired to crave dopamine. Our worst nightmare? Boredom.
The problem is, boredom is apparently quite good for you – it sparks creative thinking, enhances our focus, and reduces stress and anxiety.
It seems that ease – the ability to access anything you want as soon as you want it – is becoming a kind of currency in the modern world, and is killing our capacity to think creatively, and to be bored.
But I’m here to help you, because after my long Wi-Fi-less week, here’s what I’ve learnt: boredom is not going to kill you. Anyone would have thought with my reaction that a bit of peace and quiet was akin to being mauled by a tiger. However, when I sat with it, I learnt that boredom is not a death sentence to a life lived in black-and-white, but a transitional phase to better things. A simple five minutes of letting your mind wander will do it. Your brain is one of the most creative instruments on the planet – let it think for itself!
Sit with your boredom and it might just bring you something better than you could have imagined.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash.
