My week of overthinking and underachieving
where creativity got bored but found something else instead.
This week hasn't been one of the best; it is very average, and that's okay. I understand it is part of feeling the gaps between good and great weeks, especially after returning from an agitated month of seeing, discovering, and experiencing. However, the one thing that is bothering me is my lack of creativity. I feel stuck and bored, so please excuse my boring words in trying to make sense in the following paragraphs.
After long trips and holidays, an empty feeling always daunts me when returning to my routine, which is weird because I love routines. I am the kind of person who has specific things every day at that time, which makes me feel grounded. And sometimes, when traveling for more extended periods, I feel some sort of anxiety because of the lack of routine. Humans are never satisfied, right?
As I returned to my day-to-day activities this week, everything felt extremely hard. And this is my second consecutive week back from vacation, not my first, which makes me wonder even more if there's a problem happening that I cannot see. Another layer to add to this week is extreme overthinking, resulting in nothing. Or at least until now, as I am trying to do here: find answers.
I even googled the dictionary meaning of boredom:
→ boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotion characterized by uninterest in one's surroundings, often caused by a lack of distractions or occupations.
I believe we need to feel bored to be creative, but being bored this week hasn't taken me anywhere or any conclusions; that's what is worrying me.
My grandmother is the queen of boredom; whenever I visit her, I wonder how she can only exist during some hours of her day. She likes to stare at something while existing, that's it. And she can do it for an hour. I guess it's normal for older people because they are used to this feeling of "existing" as they didn't have as many distractions as we have now during their lifetime. But whenever my sister and I saw our grandma existing, we felt very odd. Our first instinct was always to ask her, "Is everything okay? Do you need something?" she constantly replied, "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?". I believe it's her way of meditating.
As I kept overanalyzing my boredom with everything and everyone this week, I started thinking about my grandma and how she might interpret these moments. What exactly am I missing? Naturally, I decided to do some research. In the book Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom, neuroscientist James Danckert and psychologist John D. Eastwood describe boredom as a cognitive state—a sense that something is missing, even though we can't quite identify what it is. They described precisely my feelings. But again, what is it?
I never felt like this constantly and for so long. I have moments where I force myself to feel bored, yet filling this void this week feels impossible. Many creatives believe in the power of boredom as being the most significant step to creativity. Boredom is, as Tolstoy defined it, "a desire for desires." In other words, the first step towards something, something the universe is taking a long time to tell me.
The curious thing about this period is that instead of trying to distract myself, I am embracing it; just like my grandma, I discover I can simply exist. My process has been staring at something, overthinking a million things, like my mind feels like exploding; no conclusions, just thousands of pieces of information processed at the speed of a second until I get to purely be.
The curious thing about this period is that rather than seeking distractions, I've chosen to embrace it. Like my grandma, I think I discovered the art of simply existing. My process is a bit chaotic: I find myself staring at something, my mind racing through a million thoughts, approaching on the edge of overload, no clear answers—just waves of information flashing by in seconds. And then, suddenly, I reach a place where I can just be.
And in that quiet space of just being, I realized something unexpected. All this time, I had been chasing after an elusive, abstract sense of creativity, hoping it would fill the void. But what I actually discovered was something much deeper: patience. I'm a fast-paced person—always planning, controlling, thinking, and overthinking. But this week taught me to stop, to pause, and to allow myself to merely exist. To understand a bad creative week is not the end of the world.
Instead of constantly pushing forward, I've learned that sometimes, the most profound discoveries come when we take a moment to stand still and let life unfold at its own pace.
I am not wasting my time; I am simply accepting to let it go and be patient.
And it's okay.
🟠 #INTERNETFINDS: weekly things worth sharing and consuming 🧠
There's A Psychological Explanation For Why You Get Sad Every August ➞ The end of summer is always a bit of a downer, marking the start of shorter days and cooler nights. Even though summer technically lasts until September 22, the sad vibes usually kick in on August 1, and everyone can feel it.
Boredom Makes Us Human ➞ Very interesting article I found while trying to find meaning in my boredom.
Favorite Podcast of The Week ➞ What do you do when your values are tested? Trevor and organizational psychologist Adam Grant discuss this very timely question, as well as the importance of discourse in reducing prejudice and the science of keeping an open mind.
Video of The Week ➞ How did Lego go from a children's toy to a collector's item? And why is it so expensive nowadays? - It’s a must-watch!
Hozier - Too Sweet—never thought he could do a stickier song than Take Me to Church ➞ You are too sweet for me!
“What complicates things is the idea that positivity must be present at all times in life.”
