The modern day brain has been programmed (quite literally) to desperately avoid boredom.
I overheard a child say to their parent the other day, “Mom, I’m so bored” in a play area that had books, puzzles, coloring sheets, crayons, colored pencils, magna-tiles, blocks, and so on.
…And what was the child hoping they could get access to to cure their boredom? …That’s right—their parents’ phone.
And as sad as that might sound… what you should consider is whether or not you and your loved ones are any better off.
What do you do when you crash on the couch after a long day? Or when you’re stuck in line at a restaurant? Or when you’re waiting for your child to finish their club/ class/ activity?
Because I’ll tell you what the majority of parents do while they’re waiting for their son or daughter to finish martial arts class… as soon as even an inkling of boredom occurs… they open up their phone.
This is not meant to be a criticism. It’s simply meant to be an inner work prompt. What is your relationship with boredom? Do you and boredom ever sit with each other for any amount of time? Or do you avoid boredom like the plague? When’s the last time you did what you encourage your kids to do (if you have any) and use your imagination to build, draw, or create minus the screens?
I’ll tell you what… there’s a magic in boredom that no screen game can touch.
…Just look at how a bored child can turn three blocks into entire worlds that are travelled and explored for hours and hours and hours at a time.