You need to be bored.
We chase stimulation to feel alive, but it’s often in the quiet that we reconnect with what truly matters. Boredom isn’t a void—it’s a doorway back to presence, peace, and the people we love.
I was coaching someone this week who said something I haven’t been able to shake. He told me, “I want more time to enjoy my hobbies. More time to be bored with my dog and fiancée.” Bored. With the people and things that matter most.
He was telling me he didn’t want work to consume him or to fill every moment with noise. He wanted to just be—with no expectation to perform, produce, or prove anything. And that got me thinking…
Learning to be bored might be one of the most underrated skills in our overstimulated world. Boredom isn’t empty. It’s spacious. It’s restorative. It’s the quiet doorway to creativity, clarity, and connection. When we allow boredom, we stop outsourcing our attention to everything outside of us and start noticing the wonder within and around us. The curl of your dog’s tail. The rhythm of your partner’s laugh. The relief of not having to do anything…to mean something.
We spend so much of our lives busy being busy. But maybe the real flex is presence. Maybe the real success is peace. And maybe the most powerful thing you could do today is allow yourself to be a little bored.
And that got me thinking about my momma.
Many of you already know she has Alzheimer’s. And while there’s a lot I can’t control, I made a decision early on: I won’t camp out in the sadness. That doesn’t serve her, me, or the moments we still get to share.
Many times when I visit, all she wants to do is sit on the front porch. No plans. No talking. Just… sit.
And you know what? It can be boring. Wonderfully, beautifully boring. I often put my arm around her, we listen to the birds, and I remind her, “Do you know how great of a mom you are?”
In that quiet, I’ve discovered something I never saw when I thought we had to do something or say something. Just sitting with her—no agenda, no productivity, no performance—is everything I wanted and needed.
Presence is the gift. Boredom gave me that. It opened my eyes to the sacredness of simply being together.
TRUST TAKEAWAY
Trust thrives in presence, not performance.
When we slow down enough to feel bored, we create space—for connection, clarity, and care. It’s in the quiet, not the hustle, that we truly earn trust from others… and ourselves. The people who trust you most don’t need your productivity. They need your presence.
YOUR TRUST CHALLENGE
Cancel something.
Yep—just one thing. A meeting, an errand, a task that isn’t urgent. Use that space to do…nothing. Then notice how that small act of rebellion opens the door to deeper presence—with yourself or someone else.
WATCH JUSTIN: KEYNOTE SPEAKER ON TRUST
Justin Patton is a trust keynote speaker, leadership coach, and founder of The Trust Architect Group. Through his trademark motto Trust Starts Here™, Justin helps leaders build trust in themselves, with others, and across their culture — so they keep people coming back for more. Learn more at www.justinpatton.com.
