In my last video, I talked about how always having input of the mind and body - results me in feeling overwhelmed. I explained my theory behind processing time, in that each new experience needs some time to be digested by the mind. If we take too much on, the processing from each individual experience queues up – like a traffic jam.

If we slow down our rate of input, we are able to process everything and reach a state where there is no more to process. That’s what being “present in the moment” feels like. The problem is it’s also awfully close to another state of mind…

Being bored

It’s easy to say that socially, have become allergic to being bored. There are too many new, interesting or sensational things happening in the world and we are too connected to all of it, thanks to our pocket devices. To clarify it’s not the devices itself, but the connection to information that they offer.

What Happens when we Sever that Connection?

Here is the ultimately challenge: a two hour flight from Berlin to London. No book, no phone, no music.

I will get bored. I am hesitant, resistent and scared of being bored. I will write down how my brain scrambles to stay away from being bored in the next two hours.

Lift Off

We have positioned on the runway. Even the airplane interior is vastly boring to look at. I look to see if we’re flying. We’re not.

The airplane waits on the runway for a really long time. It's so long, it’s like the waiting you feel as a kid before you first have sex.

I'm in seat 22D. The two guys on my left are asleep. They look the party type. And it's 10am. There is a man two rows in front on the left whose lower face looks like a bulldog. He's got big hands and cauliflower ears. His eyes are kind. I look to see if we’re flying. We’re not.

On my direct left a guy can no longer wait and opens his in-flight Carlsberg. We're still grounded. Perhaps flying when it's been snowing so heavily, isn't a great idea. I heard Munich airport was closed because of the snow. Perhaps they're clearing any snow in front of us. I look to see if we’re flying. We’re not.

Finally, news of the hold up. I see a reflection in the wing of some kind of crane. Are they washing us? Or simply removing the snow off the plane? The captain says nothing.

Still waiting, I can feel the tension rise among the passengers. People are constantly looking left and right to check if we're finally in the air. A stewardess walks through the middle and people raise heads in anticipation. We all look to see if we’re flying. We’re not.

The steward at the front is no longer in “cabin crew seats for departure” mode. I guess we’ll be here a while.

I look to see if we’re flying. We are confidently in the air.

Without realising it, I had fallen asleep.

Key Takeaways

It’s not unlikely, I did wake up at 6am for this flight. I wonder if I would have had the much-needed nap, if I kept myself awake with entertainment.

Most interesting for me was that once I committed to being bored, my brain made its own fun by spinning up this tale from the environment around me. You could argue writing wasn’t part of the game. But I enjoyed being creative! I probably had more fun than if I would have gone on my phone. I hope you read into this story that being bored - was useful.