725. Why Boredom Is the Fertile Ground of Creativity

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18:36

Lesley Logan continues her two-part series on slowing down, because the detours and side quests that feel unproductive are often what a goal actually needs. She explains how boredom becomes fertile ground for the idea you have been chasing, and why rushing toward something builds pressure rather than the confidence it takes to get there. She also shares what leaving room in a suitcase before Paris taught her about leaving room in a schedule.


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In this episode you will learn about:

  • Why side quests often teach the exact skills you need later on.
  • The reason boredom is where your creative ideas actually come from.
  • What one curious detour in Sedona turned into for Lesley.
  • The problem with a schedule packed too tight for surprise.
  • The one unproductive hour challenge for you to try this week.


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Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

When we create space, we create room for confidence. So, if you are on a sprint, you're sprinting. You can only see what's in front of you, but when you slow down, you can actually take in what's in front of you into the sides of you.


Lesley Logan 0:15  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. 


Lesley Logan 0:58  

All right, my Be It babe, my high-achieving women, my recovering perfectionists and overachievers. Hi, how are you? Welcome back to the show. It's episode two in our slowing-down series. If you missed episode one, you should listen to it, or you could just skip ahead and then realize that that's a sign you probably should slow down. I promise they're not long. I promise. So our solo episodes are on topics that you are having questions about. You're sending into the Be It Pod, and you are wondering, needing help on that. We've had some really great guests on the show. We'll continue to have amazing guests, but sometimes we just need a 20-minute-ish chat about a topic, right? Where we can just go, oh yeah, that's that thing, right? Just like a nugget of reminding, and also to know you're not alone because hello, I see you, I see you. As a recovering perfectionist overachiever, I felt like everything, I remember feeling everything I did had to be productive of some kind. So, if I was going to listen to a podcast, it needed to be a business podcast or a self-development podcast of some kind. If I had to read a book, it had to be like that. It had to help me move the needle forward. If I was to go for a walk, I would always listen to something that would move the needle forward for sure. I'm not going to listen to just. I'm not going to just listen to the outside noise. Any space that I had in my life, I go, oh, now I can go work on that project that I've been willing to move the needle forward on. There was not just doing nothing. 


Lesley Logan 2:18  

A lot of dinners that I would do when I lived in L.A. Like they had to always, they were always networking dinners of some kind. When I moved to Vegas, and I took during the pandemic, so obviously in the pandemic, we all lost a lot. But I recognized that when I moved to Las Vegas, I was like, "Wow, if I'm not traveling for work, I don't see any friends. And now that we're months into this pandemic, those same people are not calling. So, did I have friends or just have a network?" Right? I also know that I'm in a decade where I have spent several decades working and working on moving the needle forward. And I don't have kids, but many of you do. And I've had business. I've had worked jobs while also running my own business on the side and trying to date at the time. All those different things. But some of you, you have business and kids and your partner and aging parents. And so honestly, if anyone were to ask you right now, what you want next or what sounds fun to you, if you draw a total blank, you're not alone. Actually, it was in 2020. I was talking with my therapist. I was like, "I don't have a hobby. I don't have anything. I just do for the fuck of it. For fun. I'm just like, what do you want to do?" I was, I don't know. And that's why I went hobby hunting.


Lesley Logan 3:39  

And if you've been with the podcast long enough, you know that I, it took me a long time, but we get so busy, we have no inner voice that we listen to that says anything nice. We're not able to listen to our intuition. Go listen to intuition series if you need that help. We are often just listening to the judgey voice in our head that's like, "You are not doing enough. You should be doing more. How silly of you to think that you should sit there and just watch a show or learn to row, all that stuff." So, I want us to dismantle that trap today. So, I'm happy you're here. Thanks for being here. I want to talk about why being as curious as possible is actually not going to derail your goals. That the side quests that it will take you on are actually often what you need to learn a skill, or to have a moment of freedom in your brain, so that the idea that you've been trying to figure out how am I going to do that comes to you, or so that you have time with friends to just be yourself and have joy, right, and not have something productive happening. So, I remember when I was in college, I saw these shoes we were selling at my store, and they were hand-painted. And my girlfriend and I were like, "We can. I don't want hand-painted ones. I want. I want to decoupage some." So we decoupaged some shoes. And then when we did that, our bosses were like, "You made those?" We're like, "Yeah. Do you want to make more?" And so then we made them to sell them. And by the way, every dime we made, we reinvested back into the business. And we learned the hard way to have a resale license and to have a wholesale license and to sell and to have a business, there's taxes and others, accountant, all this different stuff, but what happened is a side quest back in college with my best friend Clare, who's been on the podcast, us doing that, it really actually showed me all the different parts I would need to have when I start my own business. So even though it wasn't, it didn't make money. It one, gave me a really cool story. I used to make shoes, and by the way, the shoe company that we used to decoupage, they actually ended up knocking us off, and that's what killed our business. But at any rate, totally fine. We needed to get out of it, anyways. But because of that, it wasn't scary for me to start a Pilates business, right? 


Lesley Logan 5:55  

And so, when we think about little detours or side quests or pauses, often they're exactly what we need to gain a skill that will even not in the same thing. I'm not in the shoe business, but it will translate, right? I see this all the time in video games. There's these little side quests, and they often teach you a different way of using your character, and then there's different ways to get different gems or power-ups or things like that, and then you go back to the regular game, and now you have more skills, right? And so, side quests may not feel very productive, or there might not be an ROI that is measurable. But what they often give you is a boost in confidence, some self-trust, some self-knowing. I also just got to spend time with my best friend. When you're in college and you have a job, that's really hard to do. It's really hard to do. So when you go on a detour, you're giving your brain room to breathe, and that's what we need. Because often what happens is we just fill that space with stuff in our phone, schedules, social media. What's going on? What am I missing out on? Oh, I got to check that. Oh, I got to check with that person. And it's just a rush, and our dopamine brain need is being switched to cortisol injections, and they feel the same, but they are not. So even though my story is about making shoes, it was about getting bored.


Lesley Logan 7:18  

I do want to say that we need to talk about getting bored. Most of us listening to this podcast right now, remember a time where, as a kid, we got bored. Like we would say, "I'm bored," right? And let's talk to my yoga teacher, who's been on this podcast, Anthony Benenati. His kids, when they say they're bored, he's like, "Yes, congrats! This is a great place to be. This is where creativity comes from," right. So few kids are truly ever bored long enough to get creative because most of the time, when someone says, "Here's the kid's bored," they give them an iPad or something to do or some food. But boredom is the fertile ground of creativity that you have been looking for. That idea, that frustrating thing. Why can't I make this work? What do I need to do? When I am allowing my brain to just wander and follow? Oh, what if I did that? Wouldn't it be cool? We had episode one. Wouldn't it be cool if I did this? What could be better than this? Right? When you let your brain go on that path, you often come up with some brilliant stuff that you could never do in your stressed-out, rushing state. So, as I mentioned, side quests again, video game tip thing, right? 


Lesley Logan 8:28  

Let's look at that example from when you're my recovering perfectionist overachievers. We need to make our time that we do spend reading that business book or listening to educational podcasts, and what if we just swapped one of those things for something that had nothing to do with that? Brad and I stopped listening to political podcasts in exchange for the Fourth Wing series, right? And now that that series is gone, someone just gave us another book recommendation, and I am so excited to go through that because the reality is having something at the end of the day, one, to look forward to because I'm, I can't wait to get lost in that book, and two, that has nothing to do with anything that matters allows us to just put our brain into a place that can actually get some good sleep, right? So look, you don't have to be, a book, doesn't have to be a podcast. Maybe it is a hobby. Maybe you, my girlfriend, she is going into bedazzle mode, right? She is, I'm bedazzling this, I'm bedazzling that because it's fun. It has zero to do with what her job is, zero to do what her house needs, and it allows her to just have something that lets her brain just take a moment, be on a side quest, right? And you'd be surprised how that downregulates the nervous system in a way that takes your stress levels down. I mean, many of us need to be literally thinking about our stress levels, not just for perimenopause, but for our heart, right? For our sleep. If you are not getting good sleep, oh my God, you need a side quest. You need a side quest. Right? 


Lesley Logan 10:00  

I've talked a lot about curiosity. I talk a lot about this when it comes to teaching Pilates, but I really want to suggest that you take a kid-like approach to things. Get curious. Put question marks on things. Right? Too often we're like, I need a five-year plan on this thing that I'm doing. You just need to go, what happens if I do this? Right. We have, ladies, we've spent so much time taking care of so many people. We've often forgotten how to be curious, how to kind of flirt with our future selves. I wonder what I would look like in that style of jean that's out. Instead of going, oh, it'll never look good on me. Like I really thought I'm, I hate that the low-rise is back, but then I kept getting ads for these low-rise wide-leg pants, and I was, I don't know. So then after 72 ads, I was fuck it. I'm just gonna buy it. And honestly, with the long oversized shirts, the outfit looks so chic. It looks so good. It looks. It's also so comfortable, and that takes. But that takes curiosity. I wonder what I would look like in that. I wonder where I would wear that to. I wonder what would happen if I put these shoes on instead of these shoes.


Lesley Logan 11:06  

We get so used to being in our this is my usual, this is how I do things that we forget that there's this fun thing about being curious and trying things out, and often leads to other ideas and other adventures and other opportunities. When we're on tour, there's often some days we have time, and Brad and I will just pull off to a vintage shop and just walk inside, cause it's fun. We don't even buy anything; it's just fun to go in. Actually, curiosity led my girlfriend and I, we're in Sedona, there's this one more place I want us to go to, and it led us into a sound bath store, sound bowl store, right? And then we were, oh, okay. How much are these things? $15,000. Whoa, didn't expect that. But we ended up going to a sound bath. We got to enjoy a sound bath with bowls that collectively cost $105,000. I'm gonna tell you right now, I felt every dollar of that sound bath in my body, all because we're curious about what's in this store over here. I actually was we're looking for a different store completely. There is magic in detours, and some of your best ideas are gonna be in spaces you didn't plan for. And I'm telling you, that is so fricking true. Some of my best ideas have come from just thinking. Well, what if I did that? How would that fit the plan? I wonder. And then just following it in my brain, right? But that requires having pause time because I cannot let my brain follow a thought or a nugget if I'm rushed up against a deadline. Right? It's not going to work. So now that we know, I hope I sold you on curiosity. 


Lesley Logan 12:44  

When we create space, we create room for confidence. So if you are on a sprint, you're sprinting. You can only see what's in front of you, but when you slow down, you can actually take in what's in front of you into the sides of you. Right? When you go for just a stroll, and so I'm often rushing to get to the gym. And the other day I decided to walk alongside my dad, and I was like, "Has that bar always gone in a full U? I thought it went up against the wall." And my dad looked at him. He was like, "Huh," right? We were just like, "Oh my god, there is space to be curious and see something different because we're not rushing. So the same goes for if you are wanting to take action towards what the the be it till you see it that you're working towards. If you are rushing towards that, you are only able to see what's in front of you. And one, by the way, that doesn't actually create confidence; it creates stress and pressure. But if you actually take a stroll, it allows you to take in all of your surroundings, and you actually have a sense of calmness around you. Think about when we feel safe in a space; it's because we can we know everything that's in it. We can see everything that's going on. We can take it all in, right? You will have more confidence because you know what is what's going on? What's over there? Can make better decisions. So being it until you see it, that next version of yourself, it requires space for magic and coincidence and possibility to enter. You cannot manifest a new reality if you are scheduled is packed tighter than my suitcase in for a month in Europe. Right? There is no room for surprise. You won't even look for surprise. So when we were traveling to Europe, I'll just bring my suitcase back into this. We were traveling to Europe. We were so excited because we had a bunch of flashcards we were getting rid of, and so we were gonna have space to get something fabulous from a vintage shop in Europe. And because we had the space, we went out seeking. We went to 20 vintage shops in Paris in one day. It was so much fun. I got the coolest jacket, and I was, oh my god! But I was really hoping for the purse, you know.


Lesley Logan 14:48  

But Brad found these great shoes, and we could, if we had packed everything so tight that there could be nothing new added to it. We would not have explored as much of Paris as we did. There would be no room for curiosity because there'd be no room for if we found anything. That goes for your life too. If you pack your schedule so tight, you don't even want a detour, even if it would take you exactly where you're wanting to go, because you don't have room to get lost. You can't trust that getting lost could take you exactly to the right place, right?


Lesley Logan 15:20  

So, what does this mean for you? What do we need to do next? Now that we've sold you on curiosity, we sold you on creating space, so you have confidence and room to be it till you see it. What do you need to do? What we need to do is play more, have more unproductive time, have time to be curious. Maybe you take walks without your podcast on, or before you turn your podcast on, maybe you look for, we had a guest who said, "Look for three miracles," right? Maybe you don't just go to a coffee shop to work, but you just go to a coffee shop to sit and read a book that has zero impact on your life, right? Maybe you do paint. Maybe you'll learn a skill that you has nothing to do with the career that you're on, but it's just fun. If that feels overwhelming, then I just want you to have one unproductive hour this week, just one. No cleaning, no working, no social media, so no phone. If you've ever read The Artist's Way, you go on an artist date, so you go do something that you have always thought about doing. Maybe there's a bookstore in town you've always wanted to go to, or a coffee shop you've wanted to explore, or someone recommended a salad or a sandwich at this new place that opened up. But you don't, you go and you don't get on your phone when you're there. You just go and you eat. You take yourself on a date, and you see what bubbles up when there's no pressure. I can't wait to hear about it. So please tell us what happened on your magical unproductive hour date by sending it to thebeitpod.com/questions. Maybe that's your win that you're sending in. Like, hey, I had an unproductive hour this week. I did it. I did my. I took myself on an unproductive date. I want to celebrate that with you. And if you know a friend, this could be helpful to please send it to them. Honestly, you sharing this podcast is one of the best things you could ever, ever, ever do. The next best thing would be a member of OPC, and that'd be something that supports you as well. All right, my loves. Until next time, Be It Till You See It. 


Lesley Logan 17:21  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.


Brad Crowell 18:03  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.


Lesley Logan 18:08  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.


Brad Crowell 18:13  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.


Lesley Logan 18:20  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.


Brad Crowell 18:23  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.



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