Intentionally engaging until we find it interesting

I can see that my digging into things that didn’t seem interesting at first glance, has yielded terrific results: Learning, surprise, and happiness to name just three. And not just for myself, but for others too.

It’s surprising how many things become interesting once I spend enough time digging in. Often, other people’s clear interest is an indicator that digging in will be fruitful. “What do they see, that I don’t?” is a question that creates within me an energizing tension.

Facing some new-to-me topic, I try to distinguish between “this topic feels difficult” and “this topic feels uninteresting.” For me, whether or not it feels interesting initially, is not a good indicator. If it feels difficult though, that’s a reliable indicator that there’s more for me to discover. “This feels difficult,” is an indicator that something of interest may be found through deeper enquiry.

Jason Kottke also has this idea, sharpened to a fine point:

Anything is interesting enough if you dig deep enough, observe it from the correct angle, or talk to the right enthusiast.

~ https://kottke.org/23/04/kottke-ama—you-asked-i-answered

My shift to being truly interested doesn’t always happen. It can happen spontaneously, but it’s unreliable. I need to be dedicated in order to increase my success at finding the interesting. I need to be dedicated to get far enough into a lot of topics. I can increase my success by intentionally committing time and energy. If I know a conversation is going to happen, I can prepare specifically. Otherwise, I can prepare generally by being the sort of person who reads, and listens as part of the fabric of my life.

I can see that my digging into things that didn’t seem interesting at first glance, has yielded terrific results: Learning, surprise, and happiness to name just three. And not just for myself, but for others too. This leads to me into the virtuous cycle of believing I’m the sort of person who is dedicated and committed to this sort of discovery, which empowers me to reach more interesting things.

My question for you is: What can you do to encourage your digging far enough into things to find the interesting?

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