In a world of constant stimulation, embracing boredom can unlock originality, enhance creativity, and help artists develop a personal style.
In our hyper-connected digital world, inspiration is abundant. We are surrounded by endless streams of art, literature, music, and innovation, each piece crafted to captivate, provoke, or entertain. While this proliferation of creative works offers a wide variety of ideas, it also creates a paradox: the very abundance of inspiration can lead to a homogenisation of thought. When we constantly consume others’ creations, even unintentionally, our ideas often mirror theirs, blurring the boundaries of originality and authenticity.
Yet, amid this overstimulated landscape lies an underappreciated truth: embracing boredom–or rather, engaging in moments of stillness and solitude–can unlock our distinct creative voice. This conscious pause from external noise fosters originality, allowing us to cultivate a personal style rooted in authenticity rather than imitation.
Caught in the Cycle of Perpetual Stimulation
The digital age has placed boundless inspiration at our fingertips. From scrolling through social media to binge-watching video essays, we are perpetually exposed to new concepts, trends, and artistic styles. While this environment fosters cross-pollination of ideas, it can also lead to an unintentional “creative echo chamber,” where originality is stifled by the overwhelming influence of what we consume.
Consider the phenomenon of visual trends on platforms like Instagram or Pinterest. Artists gravitate toward what’s popular–certain aesthetics, specific compositions, or recurring motifs. Writers, too, may find themselves unconsciously adopting similar themes or structures from the novels they admire. This ubiquity of influence can stifle the development of an authentic style, making it challenging to break away from convention.
While exposure to diverse ideas and stimuli can spark inspiration, excessive stimulation can lead to overwhelm, superficial engagement, and reduced creative depth. Here’s a closer examination of the issue:
• Constant input and decision fatigue- with a stream of ideas at their fingertips, it can lead artists to decision fatigue, where the sheer volume of options hampers the ability to focus on one concept. Instead of creating, artists may spend excessive time consuming, analysing, or comparing, which delays their creative output.
• Loss of originality- Continuous exposure to popular trends may unconsciously influence artists to replicate instead of innovate. Originality becomes harder when one’s mind is saturated with the work of others. Apart from that artists may prioritise relevance over authenticity, creating works tailored to current trends rather than their unique vision to go viral.
• Quick gratification culture- The demand for rapid content, especially on platforms like TikTok or Instagram, encourages quantity over quality, making it difficult for the artist to deeply engage with an idea or develop complex, meaningful works.
This is where the concept of ‘Boredom’ comes into play, certain studies and research along with personal experiences make me believe that we should all spend a certain amount of time being bored, unproductive or passive to let our minds refresh and explore ideas.
The role of boredom as a catalyst
Boredom, often dismissed as passive or unproductive, can instead serve as a fertile ground for creative breakthroughs. Psychologists and neuroscientists have studied how boredom activates the brain’s default mode network (DMN) [Sources 1, 2 and 3] The neural circuit is associated with daydreaming, introspection, and problem-solving. When the mind is free from external distractions, it wanders, exploring uncharted territories of thought and forging unique connections.
Stillness creates space for originality. For instance, think about how your best comebacks often come to mind in the shower, or how a solution to a problem that plagued you all night suddenly becomes clear during a peaceful walk.
Similarly, here are some examples of creativity born from solitude
throughout history— many great artists, writers, and thinkers have found great inspiration during isolation.
This pattern isn’t just found in the past, it continues to hold true in our own lives. When external noise quiets down, we often discover a deeper well of creativity within ourselves.
Thinking back to the 2020 pandemic and lockdown, it was a strange and challenging time for everyone. But also it turned out to be one of the most creative periods of my life, with so much of the world on pause, there was finally time and space to focus on making art without distractions. Some of the pieces I created during that time are still my favourites, not just because of how they turned out but because the process of making them helped me develop my techniques and style in art.
Speaking of personal style– How does boredom cultivate personal style?
When we step away from the constant influx of others’ ideas, we create a space where our minds can explore without constraint. This space is where authenticity thrives.
• Breaking the loop: solitude interrupts the cycle of replication by removing external reference points. For instance, when not drawing from reference, an artist may try and experiment with different techniques, styles and angles rather than adhering to current trends. Moving away from those habits could help creators develop their own unique styles, motifs and themes that are personal to them.
• Discovering personal themes: creators often uncover recurring motifs or ideas that resonate deeply with them when just doodling or freewriting. Recently a friend of mine discovered an affinity for lemons after noticing how frequently they appeared in her writings as symbolism for other personal things.
• Fostering introspection: Like the example above states, introspection about their own lives allows creators to examine their emotions and experiences, grounding their work in personal experiences. This not only helps distinguish their style but also resonates more deeply with audiences. For example— Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Redefining boredom as a strength invites us to reconsider how we view stillness. By reframing boredom as a “conscious pause” we can eliminate its negative connotations of passivity and wasted time. Instead, it becomes an active, purposeful state that fosters creativity and self-reflection. In this light, boredom is no longer an obstacle to overcome but a tool for creative empowerment, a necessary space where ideas can take root and flourish. After all, being a little less busy allows room for the kind of inspiration and insight that only stillness can provide.
In an overstimulated world, where constant input threatens to drown out original thought, this deliberate pause becomes even more essential. It allows us to step back from the noise, reconnect with our own ideas, and create with authenticity.