Our Economy is Faltering Because We’re Not Bored

What can be done to create more JOBS? ONE thing we can do is become more bored, because boredom leads to the kind of innovation that creates new kinds of employment.

Maybe one of the problems with the economy is that we’re all so busy cocooning with our Smartphones and ipads that we don’t have the chance to get bored! In the August 7th edition of the New York Times, Peter Toohey writes, "These days it often seems that it’s young people who complain most about boredom. Why so? Do the many means of stimulation in this age of instant entertainment make it much harder for them to keep interested and absorbed?"

In the August 6-7 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Scott Adams (the cartoonist who created "Dilbert") writes, "Experts say our brains need boredom so we can process thoughts and be creative. I think they’re right. I’ve noticed that my best ideas always bubble up when the outside world fails in its primary job of frightening, wounding or entertaining me. "Boredom should not be abused, exploited, ignored, sneered at, rejected or talked down to as a product of laziness or of an idle, uninventive and boring mind. It’s there to help, and its advice should be welcomed and acted upon. That many of us suffer from it should be no cause for embarrassment. Boredom deserves respect for the beneficial experience that it is."

If YOU’RE bored, pick up a good book or a great video (and have a nice mug of coffee or tea with it). Even better, become a subscriber (and we guarantee you’ll NEVER be bored again!)