BOREDOM - The Catalyst for Change!

Boredom is my friend, the kind of friend that gets in your face and speaks the truth whether you want to hear it or not. The one that presses all the wrong buttons, and begrudgingly, you know they are right.

“Rest Your Mind #8” Acrylic, toner on panel 14” x 11” ©Amy Guion Clay 2020 Email for more info.

Few things catapult me into change more than boredom. In fact I can say that all my great adventures in life and art have been instigated by boredom. When I could no longer continue in stasis, and the longing for change overtook the need for security.

Boredom isn’t just a lazy, slacker attitude. It’s a rock in the shoe, a niggling edge that has something to say. It knows before you do that the past is over and something new is beckoning. It can seriously mess up your life. In a good way if you listen.

Boredom is also a shapeshifter. It’s not always a superficial yawn. It overlays underlying falsehoods.

Some ways that boredom masquerades itself:

1. Lame excuses for staying small.
2. Being passive.
3. Playing the victim.
4. Whining about what is but not changing it.
5. Fear of change, any change.
7. More lame excuses for staying small.
8. Pleading stasis - “it’s easier the way things are”.

I have known all these excuses countless times so can speak with compassion and experience. In fact, as I write this, one or all of these are nipping at my heels trying to keep me in line, on the straight and well traveled path.

So what do you do with boredom? How do you discern between the low grade variety that just doesn’t want to clean the house (superficial boredom), and the meaningful kind that is kicking your ass (existential boredom)?

First of all, ask it - why am I so damned bored? What are you trying to tell me? What do I need to know to move forward in a more genuine way in my life? How can I get my energy/mojo moving again?

Then be prepared to listen.

Maybe it says what you already know. It is time to move on from (relationship, job, city). Of course it’s important to not be cavalier, and to deeply examine the above reasons before making a hasty change. Remember we are looking for the existential boredom.

Or maybe you have become rote in your creative process, timidly repeating the same old actions that create the same results. This is the artist’s conundrum - how to keep the work fresh and growing, especially when you have a formula that works in the marketplace? Boredom will let you know.

Being prepared to listen to the tough love answers to those questions is the key to taking the first steps toward transformation.

And at some point, the new path will become clear, and it will have it’s own momentum. Boredom will subside and a knowing excitement will lift your wings. Know that fear will always be present, so it’s critical to make peace with that frenemy as well.

So welcome Boredom, my old friend. But don't stay long, just enough to propel me toward my next creative adventure.