Then he pulled his hands into his chest and made a dinner-plate-size circle in the exact middle of the much larger circle. “Well, most of us live in this small space right here. We have no idea what exists on the edges of our potential. And by not having any idea what it’s like out on the edge…man, we really miss something vital.”

At the signing of the Declaration of Independence only 5 percent of us were urbanites. By 1876, that number was still just 25 percent. But roughly 100 years ago we tipped to favor city living. Today, 84 percent of Americans live in cities and more are moving in. It’s an odd trend.

He believes that our collective lack of boredom is not only burning us out and leading to some ill mental health effects, but also muting what boredom is trying to tell us about our mind, emotions, ideas, wants, and needs.

“Misogi is not about physical accomplishment,” said Parrish. “It asks, ‘What are you mentally and spiritually willing to put yourself through to be a better human?’ Misogis have allowed me to let go of fear and anxiousness, and you can see that in my work.”

And here’s the thing: Humans figured out that the amount of food we eat has something to do with our body size about 2,300 years ago. We could have stopped the research then. But we’ve since spent billions proving and re-proving that the ancients had it right: Eating less of something—carbs, fat, sugar, etc.—causes us to…eat less and therefore lose

“Because I can tell you that nothing great in life comes with complete assurance of success. Engaging in an environment where there’s a high probability of failure, even if you execute perfectly, has huge ramifications for helping you lose a fear of failing. Huge ramifications for showing you what your potential is.

“I tell busy people about the productivity and creativity benefits of nature,” she said. Think of that short walk outside like a high-return investment in yourself. Those 20 minutes in the park may cause you to pump out, say, 20 widgets instead of the 18 you would have done had you tried to power through the day in burnout mode. And perhaps those

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This creep phenomenon applies directly to how we now relate to comfort, said Levari. Call it comfort creep. When a new comfort is introduced, we adapt to it and our old comforts become unacceptable. Today’s comfort is tomorrow’s discomfort. This leads to a new level of what’s considered comfortable. Stairs were once a new marvel of efficiency. But