When was the last time you were truly bored?

Not “scrolling Instagram while waiting for a coffee” bored.
I mean nothing to do, nothing in your hand, just sitting with your own thoughts bored.

We’ve built a culture that treats boredom like a disease.
The second we feel it creeping in, we reach for a phone, a TV, a podcast, an email inbox—anything to fill the silence.

But boredom is underrated. It’s in those “empty” moments that our brain finally has room to breathe.
Some of my best ideas in business haven’t come in meetings or planning sessions. They’ve shown up while waiting in a line, stuck in traffic, meditating, or quite often while staring at the ceiling at 2 am, with nothing to distract me.

When you’re bored, your brain starts connecting dots you didn’t even know were floating around.
It drags old thoughts back up, replays problems, and often hands you an answer you couldn’t find when you were “focused.”

And beyond the ideas—it’s in boredom that you start to notice life again.
The couple arguing quietly at the table next to you. The way your kids laugh when they don’t think you’re listening. The texture of your coffee cup, the breeze across your face, the sound of someone whistling a tune in the distance.

When we strip away the noise—screens, notifications, constant chatter—we get to actually see the world again. We appreciate more. We enjoy more.

The Stoics would say: boredom isn’t the enemy. Distraction is.

Next time you catch yourself about to fill a moment with another scroll, maybe… don’t.
Be bored for a minute.
See what shows up.

Until next time,

Broden Johnson