Blocks and Boredom to Breakthroughs
- Rev Jeannie Soverns
- Jul 31
- 5 min read
I started to think about something to write that is innovative and new and I just feel like I have a block, or I’m bored and I need a breakthrough.
Ever have that place where you have so much to do and no motivation to do it? How do you get out of that?
Let’s Talk Blocks
There are different types of blocks you may experience, so let’s look at them first:
Emotional blocks prevent openness and vulnerability, hindering trust and connection in our relationships.
Mental blocks cause an inability to concentrate, leading to a decrease in productivity, and possibly physical and mental health issues as well.
Creative blocks stop our creativity, causing disruptions to our work, as we stay stuck in our in-the-box thinking.
I am offering you some journal prompt experiments. These are tools you can use whenever you feel blocked. You will need something to write on and with.
Journal Prompt #1
I’m in a block about … and it feels like …Explore how it feels to let go of it.
When I think about letting this go, what fears come up?
When I imagine my life one year from today (after letting go of what no longer serves me), how have my relationships, experiences, and beliefs changed?
What might I learn about myself?
Still with me? Great!
We’ve let go of our blocks, and we are doing and being and cruising along—ho hum, this is the same old song and dance as we usually have. Day in, day out. I get up, I go to work, I do my thing, I come home, and sleep and do it all over again. Now we are bored; after all, there is nothing new under the sun. Everyone experiences boredom sometimes. The feeling that nothing catches your interest, that everything's dull and flat, sums up the state of boredom. Too much time on your hands, doing the same thing over and over again, like a dreary task at a job.
Journal Prompt #2
Write down what being bored looks like for you.
When does it happen?
For me, it's being in a meeting that should have been an email that I have a hard time staying present. Sometimes it's repetitive tasks.
Did you notice being bored while you were bored or was this in retrospect, after you looked to get out of the boredom?
Could you be bored?
What was that like?
What physical sensations do you recall?
What did you learn about yourself and boredom?I learned that when I am not present at the moment and not grateful, boredom can sneak up and tap me on the shoulder. I go numb and sit and stare at a TV or doom scroll on the phone. My ministry is called Begin Within, and my co-founder and I talk about Beginning Within weekly. This is where I stop the boredom. I check where my feet are and I am grateful right here and now.
Break on Through to the Other Side
Born from blocks and boredom are dramatic discoveries or developments, or instances of success. Mental and emotional blocks require action and resilience to overcome, requiring us to push past the discomfort to achieve a breakthrough. It's not about bypassing the struggle, but confronting it head-on to experience the breakthrough that lies on the other side.
You can Google How do I know I’m going through a breakthrough? or something along those lines, and you will find a plethora of blogs, lists, and choice words where the authors blame God for trials and tribulations. Previously, I have only ever seen my breakthroughs in hindsight, as I was telling the story of how I got to the amazing spot I am now. I just would move along in my life, business, emotions, classes, sobriety, spiritual growth, and whatever was calling me forward. As I would move past that movement that held me behind a wall of self-doubt, pain (blocks), depression, procrastination, and fear (boredom), I would find that I could bust through the wall like the Kool-Aid man.
Do you suspect you are heading for a breakthrough?
Let’s break down a breakthrough.
A breakthrough is at least a 90-degree difference but generally a full 180 degrees from where you originally were.
I have been bored and blocked without a foreseeable way out, not knowing what I could do to shift it before. What I have gleaned from my life’s experiences is that as I reached for meaning in my life, especially through any type of challenge, whether it be health or wealth, finance or romance, blocks or boredom, someone somewhere has said to me:
Your breaking point is your breakthrough point.
For you to have your breakthrough, you must have your go through.
Brokenness is often the road to Breakthrough. Be Encouraged. This too shall pass,or
If God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it.
Have you heard any of these from well-meaning friends that you just want to stick your tongue out to them? You may be different from me and felt immediately encouraged by these statements. You felt motivated to do and be more than you ever thought possible. Good for you! Sorry, I bored you through this article. For the rest of you, these statements may feel so dismissive and maybe even make you angry.
Yay! Anger is a passionate emotion that will motivate a breakthrough. Tears until you can't breathe? Yay! All excuses are gone, you are empty with nothing left to give. Wonderful! This is the perfect soil for the NEW to come in. Stop sticking your tongue out at me!
Journal Prompt #3
Based on your own breakthrough experience, where do you want to see a breakthrough?What are you willing to do to have one?
Did you learn what you needed to move forward, even if it's not a big breakthrough?
What can you be grateful for right now?
I have experienced creative blocks due to trauma, depression, major life events, and health issues. There were times when I lacked gratitude and felt bored and uninspired. To overcome these blocks, I revisited my morning pages and created a series of journal prompts. In 2020, I developed an online 4-week class based on these prompts to help others who were stuck and bored during the pandemic. Through creating and facilitating this class, I was able to break through my creative block and do something that felt inspirational to me, especially when I received positive feedback from my students, who also had breakdowns and breakthroughs. One of my students created a kintsugi craft, where she broke a bowl and put it back with gold to embrace the imperfections. They sell kits online for this. This served as a beautiful reminder that we are transformed into art as our broken pieces become breakthroughs we needed all along.
Rev. Jeannie Soverns embraces Love, humor, and authenticity by engaging in life's adventures. Her mission is to be a safe container for hugs, comfort, humor, and compassion for those ready to live their best lives.
Email sofasundaysjs@gmail.com
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