When You're Bored You're Actually More Likely To Think Outside The Box
When I get bored, I feel like breaking out and doing something -- anything -- different than whatever is constraining me from feeling the rush and excitement of life.
If you're like me, you have no bigger fear than being bored. There's something about performing mundane tasks, living a humdrum life and constantly being told what to do that just seems so unappealing to me.
But apparently, science says this very sentiment is what drives us to think outside the box.
Psychologist Dr. Sandi Mann studied creativity in college students at the University of Central Lancashire by having them perform the mundane task of collecting and recording numbers from phone books. Sounds like loads of fun.
Afterward, Dr. Mann had students try to find creative ways to use styrofoam cups. She found that students who were forced to perform the boring phone number duties created more uses out of the cups than the others.
Boredom is a fascinating emotion because it is seen as so negative yet it is such a motivating force. I am also acutely aware that being bored is not the bad thing everyone makes it out to be. It is good to be bored sometimes! I think up so many ideas when I am commuting to and from work -- this would be dead time, but thanks to the boredom it induces, come up with all sorts of projects.
She's absolutely right, too. Just like how I come up with my next greatest hits in the shower, I definitely tap into the most creative side of my mind on my commute to work.
Here are some creative things to help you tap into yours:
Citations: Boredom makes people more creative, claim psychologists (The Telegraph)
