The Paradox of Being Busy and Bored At the Same Time
“The great paradox of our time is that many of us are busy and bored at the same time. While running from one event to the next, we wonder in our innermost selves if anything is really happening.” — Henri Nouwen.
I felt busy but didn’t do anything. I knew how to do it, but where should I start. It was a Sunday night, I finished my vision for what I wanted in life and was planning my upcoming week.
Some time was planned for reading. Some for writing. Nutrition was a topic I wanted to look at. Wait, before I am going to learn anything it would make sense to learn how to learn more efficiently. No, I need to be able to control my brain better, learn about meditation first. I’ll wake up before that, so my morning routine should be perfect. That is what all the successful people do right?
What I was really doing was sitting in my room, stressing out for potentially missing out. I was considering every option I could chase and in return got lost in seemingly infinite thoughts.
How many times do you hear people, including yourself, talking about how busy they (you) are? Busy doing what? Everyone has the same 168 hours in a week. It is up to you how you spend time. Stop saying you are busy and start being busy with the things that matter to you.
Solving this problem can be very easy.
Just start.
So why didn’t I?
A creative block, wanting to be perfect and the feeling of comfort were blocking me. I was stuck mentally. There were many things I could do. However, I was stuck in my head, afraid to start.
That feeling that when we say we can’t write or do something creative is really the feeling we have when we say we can’t write anything that’s perfect.
We are certainly capable of writing poorly no one has writing poorly block. If you write enough poorly your brain will give up and sooner or later you will start writing well.
This is what Seth Godin says to people that are afraid to start or have imposter syndrome:
“Show me all your bad writing, if you can show me 50,000 words of bad writing then maybe I’ll tell you you’re not a writer but until you’ve done 50,000 words of bad writing you have no idea if you’re a writer or not.”
Start now. You can’t become a great writer if you haven’t written 50.000 words poorly first.
This article is part of my 168 series
Each week has 168 hours. I have the ability to choose to make the most out of these hours. However, I often regret how I spend my time. How can I give more to those things I value and less to those I don’t?
