The case for boredom

How the outdoors has pushed me to practice existing without doing

We live in an age of resolutions. Of a need to always do more. To be more. As a society, we have this perception in our heads that if we’re not actively working toward something, we’re lazy, unmotivated, and completely off track from what it means to truly live a fulfilling life.

I’ll level with you. I fall into this trap all the time. I really find myself struggling with the concept of free time. An open weekend with no plans? Nope, it needs to be filled with running errands, getting that extra workout in, checking off the to-do list.

There’s this nagging voice in the back of my head that always seems to discourage the act of embracing boredom and the opportunity to simply exist.

One of the few times I find myself intentionally opting against choosing “busy” is when I get out outdoors. Those are the moments when I can completely detach from the every day and just pay attention to what most people likely consider the mundane moments.

The way my breath creates a cloud in the air on chilly mornings in the mountains.

The smell of the earth beneath my feet after a good summer rain.

The mesmerizing look of a cotton candy-hued sunset on an evening walk after a long day.

The deliciously scrunchy noise snow makes when you squish it with your boots for the first time.

These are the moments when I have no other distractions present, and I’m forced to pay attention and really be in it.

They’re the experiences that take me back to the days of childhood, where I could stare out a car window for hours on a family road trip, making up movies in my mind as the highway stretched out for miles, lined by endless rows of pine trees as far as the eye could see.

I get to meet the best version of myself when I’m bored. When I’m allowed a moment without the need to constantly switch from thought to thought, task to task, conversation to conversation.

And as someone whose life is very creatively-focused, there’s nothing that makes me more creative than giving my brain a second to step away and just wander aimlessly. It makes for better photos, better writing, and better ideas.

It’s just so wild to me that in our pursuit of perfection, optimization and productivity, we’ve completely discounted that maybe the thing that makes us better at everything we do is actually doing nothing at all.

There’s a time for consuming. There’s a time for creating. And there’s also a time for simply absorbing, observing, and relishing in the opportunity to “be” without needing to “do”.

And while our world is now so interconnected, and our phones are like an extension of our brains (a little depressing, honestly), we still have the ability to put it down for a moment and step outside, completely unplugged.

Whether it’s a hike in the woods, an afternoon skate on a frozen lake, or a morning spent on the screen porch watching the sun rise with a coffee in hand, take the moment. Exist in it without trying to make it into something else. Sit with your thoughts (all of them).

And who knows? Maybe you’ll like the person you become when you’re bored.