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The shower is a wonderful place to get some deep thinking done. We’re not just shampooing our heads in there, after all—we’re taking a break from everything and opening up our minds to a lot of creative insights.

However, let’s get real for a moment: how many of us actually remember these thoughts the moment we step out of the shower, let alone when we’ve finished toweling our hair dry? The odds are, not too many. And it’s a pity because the things that pop into our heads are fascinating. But they have a dreamlike quality in that it’s hard to keep a firm grip on these thoughts.

Luckily for us, the Shower Feelings social media project is here to lend us a helping hand. They’ve been sharing random but interesting shower thoughts for years, and they’re full of bite-sized pieces of wisdom. Scroll down for the best ones, and when you’re done upvoting the thoughts you enjoyed the most, share your own shower thoughts and feelings in the comments.

Bored Panda reached out to digital detox coach Molly DeFrank, the author of 'Digital Detox: The Two-Week Tech Reset for Kids,' to talk about the importance of taking breaks from all the noise and technology in our lives, in order for us to be more creative.

"The shower is one of the last places of human solitude," Molly told us. "But it doesn’t have to be."

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Digital detox coach and author Molly told Bored Panda that technology and entertainment are an ever-present fact in our modern lives. "We are inundated with devices, entertainment, divided attention. Living in 2022 means living in an onslaught of loud, overstimulating data consumption," she said.

"The smartphone steals our attention, our most valuable commodity. Minute by minute, we settle for passive consumption instead of doing the work to think, ponder, imagine. Humans are born creators. But we settle for easy, if it’s available. And boy is it available."

Molly pointed out that the shower is one of the last places where people can actually be alone, with their thoughts, without a lot of the noise that makes up our lives. However, this shouldn't be the case. A digital detox, a break from technology and media consumption, can allow us to feel peaceful and at ease outside of the shower, too.

"When we give ourselves an extended tech break, it gives us space to really assess our media consumption. I did this for my kids, and subsequently myself a few years ago. We were pleasantly surprised by the results—longer attention spans, better moods," she said that the benefits of doing this are great and clear to see.

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Alan Barrington
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2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or even better, figured the sounds out by looking at their nasal cavities.

"After a lot of research, I realized that our generation has crept into a new normal. While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to tech consumption, the goal is to put the digital in its right place. That probably looks a little different for everyone. But here’s an easy scale: when you look at your screen time in your settings, does your actual time spent on apps match your ideal?" she urged everyone to be honest with themselves about this.

"If not, try some physical barriers. Keep your phone in its charger instead of on your person. Turn off all notifications for all apps. Calendar time for solitude, journaling, quiet. Humans need this." And that means that you'll start having creative thoughts about the world not just in the shower, but pretty much everywhere. As it should be.

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The Shower Feelings project is wildly successful. It has over 2.5 million followers on its Instagram page, as well as a further 130.1k fans following its Twitter account. Altogether, that’s a huge number of people who are reached by someone’s wet musings errr I mean shower thoughts.

A while back, my colleague wrote about the r/Showerthoughts subreddit, an entirely separate project, though it shares a similar logo with Shower Feelings. She reached out to Nancy K. Napier, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor at Boise State University and author of Unfolding Curiosity.

Professor Napier hinted that showering is almost a form of meditation. Think about it: you’re in an enclosed space with warm, comforting water running over you, and you’re letting your mind wander where it wants to.

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"As you wash yourself for those three or five or ten minutes, you can let your mind wander and that's often when an idea will hit. Also, during these times when we're with our families in shutdowns, it might be one of the few chances to be alone with your thoughts," she told Bored Panda.

However, people find it hard for their thoughts to drift in other circumstances. There’s just too much information running wild in our environments.

"To have the experience of a wandering mind, we need to intentionally turn OFF the extra information and think about nothing,” Napier told us.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that showers are somehow entirely unique or that they’re the only place where you can let your mind be still, creative, and freer than usual.

"I read recently that taking a walk is another great place for ideas, but the key is to simply walk. Leave the radio and podcasts at home,” the professor suggested that if you go on a walk, try to enjoy your surroundings without distractions.

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"Then, while walking, look in three places and ideas will come: look above eye level (at buildings, trees), look straight ahead, and look on the ground," Napier gave us some pointers for the next time we’re on a walk.

"Many of us are looking for ways to do things differently to get better, which is the ultimate goal of creativity." According to the professor, we can find inspiration in other people’s shower thoughts. That, in turn, can lead us to generate entirely new ideas of our own. So it’s useful to listen to other people’s (sometimes random) musings.

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Being bored can actually be useful. Unfortunately, we live in a society where entertainment of every kind is easily reachable.

“Lots of people have noted that we no longer allow ourselves to become bored. Laying on grass and watching the clouds go by seems to be less common and yet it's another simple way to generate ideas," Napier said.

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Cookie Panda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me too the class was too talkative so my teacher rearranged the seats, and I was assigned to sit next to this person I didn’t know and now we hang out all the time I am sorry for lack of punctuation I am too tired

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CJay M (They-them)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh shiiiiiiiit ( I’m in zoom pretending to be paying attention to maths rn)

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Jo Jo Jones
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I get this one, I'm with the love of my life, and we met by choosing to sit next to each other at school 28 years ago

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Glirpy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Many times you get seated in alphabetical order, though, and you don't have a choice.

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Craig Reynolds
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2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ironically, most of my teachers made us sit in alphabetical order based on surname.

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Ari
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6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...Is anyone else thinking about school shootings?

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Jozsef Szabo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's scary how many small decisions and uncontrollable things can influence our life greatly.

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Richard Willis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my case it was the seat my ex wife chose in the accounting class at catering college. I understood it well, (I ended up as an accountant), and she did not, so sat next to me so that I could help her. I bailed after a 15 year disastrous marriage.

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Debbie Burton
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didnt chose who would be made to sit next to me.... dated that year, married 5 yrs later, divorced 10 yrs later!

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Craig Reynolds
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thinking back on it I now realize that extroverts always picked the seats in front or closest to the front while introverts preferred as far back as possible.

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Jo Iverson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most of the time your friends are the people who got there first.

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DetongLhamo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It took me 12 years of school and my 4th tertiary college/university to learn to sit near the front.

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Josh Cutts
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I sat next to a girl on day one of my Evolutionary Psychology class…we were married a few years later.

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bumble bee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Growing up with a last name near the end of the alphabet, I was always made to sit in the back of class. I always gravitated to the 2nd-3rd row if I had a choice, but nope always in the back

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-logansucrose-
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yes, like if i had chosen to sit next to my other friend in class, i wouldnt have dated the person i DID sit next to and i wouldnt have literal trauma from an emotionally abusive relationship :)

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Steve Fischer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had a girl sit right next to me in my last polisci class at UCLA. She's now the mother of my daughter.

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Huddo's sister
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not really. We didn't have to stay in the same seats each class, so it was all dependent on who was in that particular class. For example, in year 11 & 12 maths, I sat anywhere, as I had no friends but I was allowed to just work through my work at my own pace and not listen to the teacher. In psychology on the other hand I sat with two friends at the front of the class. It didn't change anything.

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GramDB
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seating was alphabetized when I was in school. I was an "R" back of the room usually.

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LaToya Mack
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Both of my parents were teachers unless it was assigned alphabetically I always had to be in the first two rows. I’m pretty smart have a lot of degrees and accolades, standardized testing comes easily to me its true🤷🏽‍♀️😁

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talieb
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

True story: they don't know how I learned how to read, my eyesight was so bad. Had I sat in the back, it would have been much worse.

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Dave Sturtz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always sat in the 2nd row, so I could see well, hear well and participate, but had somewhere to rest my feet.

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Mark Johansen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once a class I was in was transferred to another classroom. And the teacher commented that everyone sat in the exact same place in the new room that they had sat in the old.

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DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So what you're saying is all those times I chose to sit in the far corner alone.....now I see. Lol

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I I
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

mine was at the back until teach made me sit front and centre

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Winter Eleven
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because i was the quiet kid the made me ait with the loud idiots. Guess who developed social anxiety and deep hatred towards humans and the school system

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Speaking of listening to other people’s thoughts, tips, and tricks, previously, Bored Panda spoke to LA-based TV writer Amanda Deibert, who had gone viral for a Twitter thread about surprisingly good advice.

According to her, people are great at giving advice instead of listening to it. That’s because it’s far easier to clearly see the problems someone else might be struggling with. It’s far harder to take an honest look at our own issues. There’s just too much noise.

"When it is our own life, we also have to deal with our own emotions and attachments and habits. I can easily see something with detachment when it isn't my own issue. I think it is actually incredibly difficult to detach and really look at your own life," Amanda said.

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DUN DUN (she/her)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel sorry for the history majors who'll be studying each day of 2020 as individual chapters

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"I think change is difficult and scary and most good advice revolves around change. Not making a decision is a decision... and it's the easiest one to make. I think the best way around it is to remember that. Good things are difficult and take work, but sitting back and allowing life to just happen is a choice."

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Tracy Wallick
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are moody, but it's developmentally appropriate; what we need is to stop shaming teenagers for being moody.

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DUN DUN (she/her)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Sorry the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh! Cuz she's dead!"

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Mark Johansen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have diabetes, which means I have excess sugar in my blood. I wonder if vampires see diabetics as dessert.

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Buren
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We are trying to blend when judgement day comes and vice versa

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Tenacious Squirrel
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I much prefer night showers. Maybe because there’s no time pressure (to be rushed/ready quickly or by a set time e.g. for work or whatever).

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Note: this post originally had 107 images. It’s been shortened to the top 52 images based on user votes.